What is the meaning of the Hadith: "O my head!" So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "That would be if it were while I am alive, so I would seek forgiveness for you and supplicate for you." Thereupon, Aisha said: "O my misfortune! By Allah, I think you wish for my death, and were that to happen, you would spend the rest of your day marrying one of your wives." Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Rather, O my head!..."?

This hadith (definition) is explained by Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, saying: "The Prophet, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, returned from a funeral at Al-Baqi' and found me suffering from a headache, saying, 'Oh, my head!'" He said, "(That would be) if it were while I am alive," indicating what the illness necessitates of death, meaning, "if you were to die while I am alive." This is further clarified by the narration of Ubaidullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah, whose wording is: Then he said, "(What harm would it be) if you were to die before me? I would shroud you, then pray over you, and then bury you." Aisha's saying, "Wathaklah!" (Thakl: the loss of a child, or someone dear to the bereaved, and its literal meaning is not intended here, but it is an expression they used when a calamity occurred or was expected).

Her saying, "By Allah, I think you wish for my death," she took from his saying to her, "(if you were to die before me)." And her saying, "Even if that were to happen" (meaning her death), "you would spend the last part of your day 'mu'arrisan,'" meaning, marrying a new wife. In Ubaidullah's narration: "It is as if, by Allah, if you had done that, you would have returned to my house and married one of your women." She said: "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, then smiled." And her saying, "Rather, I say, 'Oh, my head!'" is a word of refutation, meaning: "Leave off mentioning the pain you feel in your head and occupy yourself with me." In Ubaidullah's narration, it adds: "Then he began to suffer from the illness from which he died, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him."

In this hadith is what is inherent in women of jealousy, and it contains the jesting of a man with his family and revealing to them what he conceals from others. It also shows that mentioning pain is not a complaint, for how many are silent yet discontent, and how many complain yet are content. The reliance in this is on the action of the heart, not on the utterance of the tongue.