The wife of Safwan bin Muattal came to the Prophet ﷺ while we were with him and said, "Messenger of Allah, my husband Safwan bin Muattal beats me when I pray, makes me break my fast when I fast, and does not pray the dawn prayer until the sun has risen."Safwan was present, so the Prophet ﷺ asked him about what she had said.Safwan replied, "Messenger of Allah, as for her saying that I beat her when she prays, she recites two surahs and I have forbidden her from doing so."The Prophet ﷺ said, "If it were a single surah, it would be enough for the people."Safwan continued, "As for her saying that I make her break her fast, she fasts while I am a young man and cannot be patient."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, "A woman must not fast except with her husband's permission."Safwan said, "As for her saying that I do not pray until the sun has risen, we are a household known for that. We can hardly wake up until the sun rises."The Prophet ﷺ said, "When you wake, then pray."
جاءت امرأة صفوان بن المعطل إلى النبي ﷺ ونحن عنده فقالت: يا رسول الله، إن زوجي صفوان بن المعطل يضربني إذا صليت، ويفطرني إذا صمت، ولا يصلي صلاة الفجر حتى تطلع الشمس قال-وصفوان عنده قال: فسأله عما قالت، فقال: يا رسول الله، أما قولها: يضربني إذا صليت، فإنها تقرأ سورتين، فقد نهيتها عنها. قال: فقال: لو كانت سورة واحدة لكفت الناس. وأما قولها يفطرني. فإنها تصوم وأنا رجل شاب. فلا أصبر. قال: فقال رسول الله ﷺ يومئذ: لا تصومن امرأة إلا بإذن زوجها. قال: وأما قولها: بأني لا أصلي حتى تطلع الشمس، فإنا أهل بيت قد عرف لنا ذاك، لا نكاد نستيقظ حتى تطلع الشمس. قال: فإذا استيقظت فصل.
Abu Dawud (2459), Imam Ahmad and his son (11759) narrated it, Ibn Hibban (1488) graded it sahih, and Hakim (1/436) did likewise, and from him Bayhaqi (4/303) narrated it, all of them through the hadith of Jareer, from Amash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Saeed, who mentioned it. Its isnad is sahih. Hakim said, "Sahih according to the standard of the two Shaykhs."Ibn Majah (1762) narrated it through the hadith of Abu Awana, from Sulayman Amash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Saeed, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade women to fast except with their husbands' permission." This is in abridged form, and its isnad is sahih.Ibn Hajar graded it sahih in Al-Isabah (1912), in the biography of Safwan bin Muattal. He said, "But there is a difficulty with this, in that Ayesha said in the hadith of the slander, 'Safwan said, By Allah, I have never uncovered a woman's private area at all.' Bukhari raised this difficulty long ago and leaned toward weakening the hadith of Abu Saeed because of it. He said, it can be answered by saying that Safwan married after that." End of Ibn Hajar's statement.I say, he lived for a time after the story of the slander, for he was killed as a martyr in the campaign of Armenia in the year 19 AH, as stated by Ibn Ishaq.On this subject there is also what has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, both traced back to the Prophet and stopped at Ibn Abbas himself.As for the one traced back to the Prophet, it is what Abu Yaala narrated, as found in Al-Matalib (2/195), through the route of Layth bin Abu Salim, from Ataa, from Ibn Abbas, who said, A woman asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying, "What is the husband's right over his wife?" He said, "She should not refuse him herself, even if she is on the back of a saddle." She said, "And what is the husband's right over his wife?" He said, "She should not fast a voluntary day except with his permission. If she does, she sins, and it will not be accepted from her."Layth bin Abu Salim has poor memory, and he was inconsistent in this hadith, narrating it once in this way, and another time from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas. Bayhaqi narrated it (7/292) through the route of Hushaym, from him.Abdul-Razzaq narrated it in Al-Musannaf (7889) from a man, from Salih the freed slave of Tawama, who said, I heard Ibn Abbas say, "It is not permissible for a woman to fast voluntarily except with her husband's permission," as a report stopped at him.Then Layth bin Abu Salim narrated it another time and made it a report attributed to Ibn Umar. Abu Dawud Tayalisi narrated it, from Jareer, from Layth bin Abu Salim, from Ataa, from Ibn Umar, from the Prophet ﷺ, that a woman came to him and said, "What is the husband's right?" and he mentioned the same as before.And through his route, Bayhaqi narrated it (7/292) and said, "Layth bin Abu Salim alone narrated it."