What exactly happened in this part of the Hadith?

Question

Rifa'a divorced his wife whereupon 'AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. 'Aisha said that the lady (came), wearing a green veil (and complained to her (Aisha) of her husband and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating). It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah's Apostle came, 'Aisha said, "I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!" When 'AbdurRahman heard that his wife had gone to the Prophet, he came with his two sons from another wife. She said, "By Allah! I have done no wrong to him but he is impotent and is as useless to me as this," holding and showing the fringe of her garment, 'Abdur-Rahman said, "By Allah, O Allah's Apostle! She has told a lie! I am very strong and can satisfy her but she is disobedient and wants to go back to Rifa'a." Allah's Apostle said, to her, "If that is your intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifa'a unless Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you." Then the Prophet saw two boys with 'Abdur-Rahman and asked (him), "Are these your sons?" On that 'AbdurRahman said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "You claim what you claim (i.e.. that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow resembles a crow," Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 7, Book 72, Hadith 715

Why didn't the Prophet(PBHU) grant a divorce for the woman, who, unless I'm miss interpreting what happening here, is being beaten by the husband. True men can beat his wife lightly,with certain conditions and I think the husband really did overstep his power. Instead, it seems to me that the Prophet had told her to go back and do the husbands bidding.

How accurate is this Hadith anyway?

May Allah forgive me for any mistakes.

Answer 1

Divorce was not granted because the wife did not give a valid reason for a divorce. The reason she gave was this:

By Allah! I have done no wrong to him but he is impotent...

The husband argued that it wasn't true:

By Allah, O Allah's Apostle! She has told a lie! I am very strong and can satisfy her...

The Prophet (SAW) decided on the side of the husband because he already had young sons so it was not possible that he was impotent:

You claim what you claim (i.e. that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow resembles a crow.

The wife never argued for "being beaten" as a cause of the divorce.

Answer 2

Bismillah hir rahman nir raheem Wa alaykum as sallam wa rahmatullah wa baraktuhu may Allah have mercy on me and you the ulama spoke about this hadith in umdat ul fiqh by ibn qudamah which in the chapter of divorce at the beginning he says "she's not permissable for him until she marries another husband a sincere marriage and he has intercourse with her" then he mentioned the evidence which is the hadith you quoted. So the prophet muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم answered the reason for not granting divorce in the same hadith لعلك تريدين أن ترجعي إلى رفاعة؟لا حتى تذوقي عسيلته و يذوق عسيلتك Translation is the prophet said perhaps you want to return to rufaah (her previous husband)no until you taste his(current husband's) honey and he tastes your honey i.e intercourse. Because if a couple divorce they cannot re marry until the women goes into a genuine marriage and the husband has intercourse with her genuinely and they divorce genuinely. This teaches us and the arabs of that time not to take divorce lightly and control your tounge etc. So divorce here wasnt granted for several reasons. Allah knows best.