Assalaamu alaykum dear scholars. My question is in regards to the following Quranic verse: {Men shall take full care of women with the bounties which God has bestowed more abundantly on the former than on the latter, and with what they may spend out of their possessions. And the right­eous women are the truly devout ones, who guard the intimacy which God has [ordained to be] guar­ded. And as for those women whose ill-will you have reason to fear, admonish them [first]; then leave them alone in bed; then beat them; and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek to harm them. Behold, God is indeed most high, great!} (Qur'an: 4:34) My question in regards to this verse is the following: is it true that when the above Quranic verse authorizing the beating of a refractory wife was revealed, the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is reported to have said, "I wanted one thing, but Allaah has willed another thing - and what Allah has willed must be best." If such a report is true, then what is the source of this statement? And is the report from the prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, authentic or weak? Your assistance in this matter will be greatly appreciated. May Allaah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

This was narrated in some mursal reports, i.e. reports narrated on the authority of some of the Taabiʻoon (the generation that followed the Companions).

Shaykh ʻAbd Ar-Razzaaq Al-Mahdi wrote in his commentary on Tafseer Al-Baghawi, "It is weak. It was cited with this wording by Al-Waahidi in his book Asbaab An-Nuzool on the authority of Muqaatil without a chain of narration. Also, Al-Haafith attributed the report to Ath-Thaʻlabi in his book Takhreej Al-Kashshaaf. It was also cited in a summarized form by Al-Waahidi and At-Tabari on the authority of Al-Hasan as a mursal report and on the authority of Ibn Jurayj as a mursal report. Perhaps all these mursal reports reinforce each other, and Allaah knows best."

Allaah knows best.