Hadith: Fear Allah and keep your wife

عن أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه قال: جاء زيدُ بنُ حارثة يشكو، فجعل النبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: «اتَّقِ اللهَ، وأمسِكْ عليك زوجَك»، قال أنس: لو كان رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كاتمًا شيئًا لكتم هذه، قال: فكانت زينبُ تَفْخرُ على أزواج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم تقول: زوَّجَكنَّ أهاليكنَّ، وزوَّجني اللهُ تعالى من فوق سبع سموات، وعن ثابت: {وتُخفي في نفسِك ما اللهُ مُبْدِيهِ وتخشى الناسَ} [الأحزاب: 37]، «نزلت في شأن زينبَ وزيد بن حارثة».
[صحيح] - [رواه البخاري]

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Zayd ibn Hārithah came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) complaining (about his wife). The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) kept on saying to him: "Fear Allah and keep your wife." Anas said: "If the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) were to conceal anything (of the Qur'an), he would have concealed this (verse)." Then Anas said: "Zaynab used to boast before the Prophet's wives and say: 'You were given in marriage by your families, while I was given in marriage by Allah, the Almighty, from above seven Heavens.'" Thābit narrated that the Qur'anic verse: {while you concealed within yourself that which Allah is to disclose, and you feared the people} [Sūrat al-Ahzāb: 37] was revealed in connection to the story of Zaynab bint Jahsh and Zayd ibn Hārithah (may Allah be pleased with both of them).
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari]

Explanation

Zayd ibn Hārithah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about his wife Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) and consulting him about divorcing her. Allah, the Almighty, had revealed to His Messenger that he would eventually marry Zaynab. This was revealed to him before Zayd divorced her. When Zayd came complaining about her to the Prophet and consulting him about divorcing her, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Fear Allah, O Zayd, and keep your wife." Allah, the Almighty, reproached him for that in the Qur'anic verse: {And remember (O Muhammad) when you said to the one on whom Allah bestowed favor and you bestowed favor, "Keep your wife and fear Allah," while you concealed within yourself that which Allah is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allah has more right that you fear Him. So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you in order that there not be upon the believers any discomfort concerning the wives of their adopted sons when they no longer have need of them. And ever is the command of Allah accomplished.} [Sūrat al-Ahzāb: 37] What the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) concealed within himself was dislike to marry her in fear of the people's expected disapproval of him marrying the ex-wife of his adopted son (adoption was legitimate among the Arabs before the advent of Islam). The statement of Anas: "If the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) were to conceal anything (of the Qur'an), he would have concealed this (verse)”, means that were he enabled to conceal anything from the revelation that he receives - which was definitely impermissible for him to do - then he would have concealed this verse; however, it was impossible for him to do so. This verse is among the greatest proofs of the truthfulness of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) as Allah, the Almighty, informed us about what the Prophet felt of fearing the people's reaction. The Prophet conveyed this verse just as Allah, the Almighty, revealed it, even though it included Allah's reproach to him. This is contrary to what a liar would do; he would avoid everything that might blemish his character. The same can be said of the verse: {He frowned and turned away. Because the blind man came unto him.} [Sūrat ‘Abasa: 1-2], and similar verses in the Qur'an. The statement of Anas: "Zaynab used to boast before the wives of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)" means that she used to say that her marriage to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was ordained by Allah, and that this is a great virtue in which none of the Prophet’s wives is equal to her. She used to say to them: "Your families have given you in marriage, while I was given in marriage by Allah, the Almighty, from above seven heavens." This part of the Hadīth establishes Allah’s presence above the heavens and how it is acknowledged by the believers. It is axiomatic to all Muslims. Rather, it is axiomatic to all the creation except the ones whose natural disposition has been altered. It is one of the attributes of Allah that is known through texts, intellect, and natural disposition of everyone whose natural disposition has not deviated from its original sound state. The meaning of "I was given in marriage by Allah" is that Allah ordered His Messenger to marry her in the verse: {So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you.} It is as if Allah, the Almighty, was her guardian who concluded her marriage contract to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).