Malik related to me from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir that Umayma
bint Ruqayqa said, "I went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, with the women who took an oath of allegiance
with him in Islam. They said, 'Messenger of Allah! We take a pledge
with you not to associate anything with Allah, not to steal, not to
commit adultery, not to kill our children, nor to produce any lie that
we have devised between our hands and feet, and not to disobey you in
what is known.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, 'In what you can do and are able.' "
Umayma
continued, "They said, 'Allah and His Messenger are more merciful to
us than ourselves. Come, let us give our hands to you, Messenger of
Allah!' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said, 'I do not shake hands with women. My word to a hundred
women is like my word to one woman.' "