it returns from their mouths and does not harm anyone. O Allāh, remove the distress, Lord of the people. He said: You recite it on a turmeric stick seven times, place it in a clean spot, then rub it on a stone, and apply it to the ant. The judge remained silent about it. al-Dhahabī said: "Ibn Maʿīn was asked about ʿUthmān, but he did not recognize him." Meaning ʿUthmān ibn ʿUmar, and Ibn ʿAdī said: "Unknown." I said: And this path, despite its weakness, as well as the one before it, is acceptable for corroboration. In the strange ḥadīth, (ant) here refers to sores that appear on the side. (Incantation for the ant) al-Shawkānī said in its interpretation: "It is speech that Arab women used, known to all who heard it as words that neither harm nor benefit. The incantation for the ant known among them was to say to the bride to celebrate, adorn herself, apply kohl, and do everything except disobey the man." Thus he said, but I do not know his basis for that, especially since he based his following statement on the Prophet's (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) words: "Do you not know this...": "The Prophet (ṣallá Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) intended by this statement to rebuke and discipline Ḥafṣah indirectly, because he entrusted her with a secret, and she disclosed it, as testified by the revelation in His saying, the Exalted: (And [remember] when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement) the verse."