Umm al-Mu'minin Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "O Aishah, do you have anything?" I said: No, by Allah, we have nothing. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then I am fasting." She said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out, and a gift was given to us, or some visitors came to us. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) returned, I said: O Messenger of Allah, a gift was given to us, or some visitors came to us, and I have kept something aside for you. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What is it?" I said: It is hays. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bring it to me." I brought it and he (peace and blessings be upon him) ate. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I had in fact begun this morning with the intention of fasting."
Imam Muslim narrated it with an addition: Talhah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I narrated this hadith to Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him), and he said: That is like a man who sets aside charity from his wealth; if he wishes he gives it, and if he wishes he withholds it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8339
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me. I said: O Messenger of Allah, I have kept hays aside for you. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Well, I had intended to fast, but bring it near."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8340
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me, and I said: We have kept hays aside for you. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I had intended to fast, but bring it near to me, and I will make up a day in its place."
Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) used to lay the blame for this wording on this Muhammad bin Amr bin al-Abbas al-Bahili, claiming that no one else narrated it with this wording and that he was not corroborated in it. That is not so, for Ibn Uyaynah narrated it at the end of his life; and according to the scholars of hadith it is not preserved (ghayr mahfuz).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8341
Sufyan (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this hadith with the wording narrated by al-Rabi' (may Allah have mercy on him), and added at its end: "I will fast a day in its place."
Al-Muzani said: I heard al-Shafi'i say: I heard Sufyan in most of his sessions not mention "I will fast a day in its place" in it; then I presented it to him a year before he died, and he answered with "I will fast a day in its place."
The Shaykh said: His narrating this hadith for most of his life without this wording, together with the narration of the group from Talhah bin Yahya, none of whom mentions it (among them Sufyan al-Thawri, Shu'bah bin al-Hajjaj, Abd al-Wahid bin Ziyad, Waki' bin al-Jarrah, Yahya bin Sa'id al-Qattan, Ya'la bin Ubayd and others), indicates that this wording is a mistake, and Allah knows best. It has also been narrated through another route from Aishah without this wording.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8342
Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: One day the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me and said: "Do you have anything?" I said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then I will fast." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: On another day he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you have anything?" I said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then I will break my fast today, even though I had made the fast binding on myself today."
This chain is sahih (authentic).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8343
Awn bin Abi Juhayfah narrates from his father that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) established brotherhood between Salman and Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with them both). Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) came to visit him and saw Umm al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with her) in a shabby state, and said: "O Umm al-Darda, what is the matter with you?" She said: "Your brother Abu al-Darda fasts by day and stands in prayer at night, and he has no need of anything of this world." Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) came, welcomed him and set food before him. Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Eat." He said: "I am fasting." He said: "I adjure you that you must break it." He said: "I will not eat until you eat." So he ate with him, and then spent the night with him. When it was the latter part of the night, Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) wanted to stand in prayer, but Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) stopped him and said to him: "O Abu al-Darda, your body has a right over you, your Lord has a right over you, and your wife has a right over you; so fast and sometimes leave it, pray, and go to your wife, and give everyone who has a right his right." When dawn drew near, he said: "Get up now, if you wish, and pray." He said: Then they both got up, performed ablution, prayed two rak'ahs and went out to the mosque. Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) drew near to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to tell him what Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) had said, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu al-Darda, your body has a right over you, just as Salman said."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8344
Juwayriyah bint al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me on Friday while I was fasting. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Did you fast yesterday?" She said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Will you fast tomorrow?" She said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then break your fast."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8345
Abu Salih narrates from Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me; he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked for water and drank it, and gave me what was left over. I was fasting, but I drank it. I said: O Messenger of Allah, I have done something and I do not know whether I did right or wrong. You (peace and blessings be upon him) gave me your leftover water while I was fasting, and I drank it because I disliked returning your leftover (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Were you observing a voluntary fast or making up a fast of Ramadan?" I said: Voluntary. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "A voluntary fast is by choice: if you wish, keep it, and if you wish, break it."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8346
Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one observing a voluntary fast is master of himself: if he wishes he fasts, and if he wishes he breaks the fast."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8347
Simak narrates from the grandson of Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her), who narrates from his grandmother and heard it from her. She said: On the day of the Conquest of Makkah a drink was brought to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he drank. Then he gave it to me and I drank from it, although I was fasting; I disliked returning his (peace and blessings be upon him) leftover. Then I said: O Messenger of Allah, I was fasting, but I disliked returning your (peace and blessings be upon him) leftover. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Were you making up a fast you owed?" I said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then there is no harm."
(Abu al-Walid said that Harun narrated from Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Were you making up a fast?" She said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then there is no harm to you.")
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8348
Shu'bah said: Ja'dah, one of the sons of Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her), narrated to me from Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to her, and she gave him (peace and blessings be upon him) a drink. He (peace and blessings be upon him) drank, then gave it to Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her), and she drank too and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I was fasting. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The one observing a voluntary fast is a trustee and master of himself: if he wishes he fasts, and if he wishes he breaks the fast."
Shu'bah said: I said to Ja'dah: Did you hear it yourself from Umm Hani? He said: Our family and Abu Salih, the freed slave of Umm Hani, told me from Umm Hani.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8349
Sayyidah Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: On the day of the Conquest of Makkah, Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) came and sat on the left of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and Sayyidah Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her) on his (peace and blessings be upon him) right. A girl brought a vessel with a drink in it and handed it to him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) drank from it and gave it to Sayyidah Umm Hani (may Allah be pleased with her), who drank from it and said: O Messenger of Allah, I was fasting, and I have broken my fast. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Are you making up a fast?" She said: No. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then there is no harm to you, if it was voluntary."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8350
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When you begin the morning intending to fast, you have one of two options: if you wish, fast, and if you wish, break the fast.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8351
Ata' bin Abi Rabah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) saw no harm in a person breaking a voluntary fast, and he would give examples of it: a man who began seven circuits but did not complete them has the reward of what he did; and one who prayed one rak'ah and did not pray another has a reward accordingly.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8352
Sa'd bin Ubaydah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The fasting person has a choice until midday.
This has also been narrated through other routes as marfu' (from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)), but its being marfu' is not sound.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8355
Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The fasting person has a choice until half of the day."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8356
Al-Qasim narrates that Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a similar hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Only Awn bin Umarah al-Anbari narrated it, and he is da'if (weak).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8357
Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard my intimate friend Abu al-Qasim (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The one observing a voluntary fast has a choice until midday."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8358
Ahmad bin Ubayd al-Saffar narrates that Muhammad bin al-Faraj al-Azraq narrated a similar hadith with the same chain.
Ibrahim bin Muzahim and Sari' bin Nabhan are majhul (unknown).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8359