One day, while we had stopped at a village, I saw a Bedouin with a rabbit, so I bought it; and it was a female. When I brought it to my camp, I hastened to place it before Yahya ibn Umm al-Tawil al-Thamali—peace be upon him. When he saw it, he said: 'From where did you get this?' I said: 'I bought it for you from some rabbit?' He said: 'She is none other than a woman from the grandees and elites of Quraysh. Would you like her to speak to you so that you may know who she is?' I said: 'By God, I would love that.' He said: 'Turn toward her.' I turned toward her as he commanded me, and he said to her: 'By the right of the High, the Most High, who created you, fashioned you, and transferred you—speak to Wahbah ibn 'Abd Allah in eloquent Arabic so that he may know who you are.' She said: 'I am al-Humayra', daughter of Zazamad, Aisha, the companion of Master Muhammad.' He said: 'Have you heard, O son of 'Abd Allah? Do you know now who she is? Have you heard her speech, and recognized her and her father?'

I said: 'Yes, my Master; is she then within metamorphosis (al-Maskh)?' He said: 'Yes. Have you not heard that the degree of metamorphosis is the Greater Punishment? Know that.' Wahbah ibn 'Abd Allah said: I saw him speaking to the camel beneath him, and the camel was speaking back to him. When he saw that, he recited: {...the matter about which you both inquire has been decreed} ¹ ."