Muwatta Malik 1149

These are the words of a Companion, not of the Prophet ﷺ. The chain is graded on its own terms.

وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ، أَنَّهُ تَزَوَّجَ بِنْتَ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مَسْلَمَةَ الأَنْصَارِيِّ فَكَانَتْ عِنْدَهُ حَتَّى كَبِرَتْ فَتَزَوَّجَ عَلَيْهَا فَتَاةً شَابَّةً فَآثَرَ الشَّابَّةَ عَلَيْهَا فَنَاشَدَتْهُ الطَّلاَقَ فَطَلَّقَهَا وَاحِدَةً ثُمَّ أَمْهَلَهَا حَتَّى إِذَا كَادَتْ تَحِلُّ رَاجَعَهَا ثُمَّ عَادَ فَآثَرَ الشَّابَّةَ فَنَاشَدَتْهُ الطَّلاَقَ فَطَلَّقَهَا وَاحِدَةً ثُمَّ رَاجَعَهَا ثُمَّ عَادَ فَآثَرَ الشَّابَّةَ فَنَاشَدَتْهُ الطَّلاَقَ فَقَالَ مَا شِئْتِ إِنَّمَا بَقِيَتْ وَاحِدَةٌ فَإِنْ شِئْتِ اسْتَقْرَرْتِ عَلَى مَا تَرَيْنَ مِنَ الأُثْرَةِ وَإِنْ شِئْتِ فَارَقْتُكِ ‏.‏ قَالَتْ بَلْ أَسْتَقِرُّ عَلَى الأُثْرَةِ ‏.‏ فَأَمْسَكَهَا عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَلَمْ يَرَ رَافِعٌ عَلَيْهِ إِثْمًا حِينَ قَرَّتْ عِنْدَهُ عَلَى الأُثْرَةِ ‏.‏

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Rafi ibn Khadij married the daughter of Muhammad ibn Maslama al-Ansari. She was with him until she grew older, and then he married a young girl and preferred the young girl to her. She begged him to divorce her, so he divorced her and then he gave her time until she had almost finished her idda period and then he returned and still preferred the young girl. She therefore asked him to divorce her. He divorced her once, and then returned to her, and still preferred the young girl, and she asked him to divorce her. He said, "What do you want? There is only one divorce left. If you like, continue and put up with what you see of preference, and if you like, I will separate from you." She said, "I will continue in spite of the preference." He kept her in spite of that. Rafi did not see that he had done any wrong action when she remained with him in spite of preference