—so the Prophet ﷺ asked him about it. He replied, “We are a household well known for that.” (1)
This report, however, does not accord with what is known of Safwān’s character; the Prophet ﷺ had appointed him to command the army’s rear guard, so the story probably concerns another man who shared his name.
Al-Wāqidī said: Safwān ibn al-Muʿaṭṭal died in the year 60 AH at Sumaīsāṭ.
Khalīfah said: He died in al-Jazīrah; he served as the Prophet’s ﷺ rear-guard commander and was a poet.
Ibn Isḥāq said: He was killed in the Armenia campaign in 19 AH, adding that he was one of the commanders that day.
I say: The considerable divergence in the reported time of his death suggests that there were in fact two men of the same name—and Allah knows best.
116 – Dihyah ibn Khalifah ibn Farwah ibn Faḍalah al-Kalbī* (D), of the Quḍāʿah tribe, a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ.
(1) Reported by Abu Dawud, no. 2459, Book of Fasting, chapter “A woman who fasts without her husband’s permission,” and by Ahmad, 3 / 80, through the isnad of Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah – Jarir – al-Aʿmash – Abu Salih – Abu Saʿid al-Khudri. The latter relates: “The wife of Safwan ibn al-Muʿattal came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, while we were with him and said: ‘Messenger of Allah, my husband Safwan ibn al-Muʿattal strikes me when I pray, makes me break my fast when I fast, and he does not perform the fajr prayer until the sun has risen.’ Safwan was present, so the Prophet questioned him about her complaint. Safwan replied: ‘Messenger of Allah, as for her saying that I strike her when she prays, she recites two surahs and I forbade her to do so.’ The Prophet said, ‘One surah would have sufficed the people.’ Safwan continued, ‘As for her saying that I make her break her fast, she is a woman who fasts a great deal, and I am a young man who cannot be patient.’ The Messenger of Allah then declared, ‘No woman should fast except with her husband’s permission.’ Safwan added, ‘As for her saying that I do not pray until the sun rises, we are a household known for that; we can hardly wake up before sunrise.’ The Prophet said, ‘When you do wake up, perform the prayer.’
All the transmitters are reliable, and Ibn Hajar states in al-Isaba, 5 / 153, that the chain is sound (sahih).
(*) Also cited in Musnad Ahmad, 4 / 311; Tabaqat Ibn Saʿd, 4 / 294; Khalifa’s Tarikh, p. 79; and other historical works.