False Incident of Raiḥānah

Various historians write that one person from among the prisoners of Banū Quraiẓah, was a lady named Raiḥānah, and the Holy Prophet(sa) kept her as a slave-girl for himself. It is on the basis of this very narration that Sir William Muir has raised a very hurtful allegation against the Holy Prophet(sa). However, in actual fact, this narration is absolutely false and baseless. Firstly, the narration of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī which has been quoted above1 in which it has been stated that the Holy Prophet(sa) distributed the prisoners of Banū Quraiẓah amongst the Companions disproves this narration. If the Holy Prophet(sa) had selected a female prisoner for himself, naturally, this would have been mentioned in the narration of Bukhārī at this occasion. However, even the slightest indication has not been made to this affect in Bukhārī. In addition to this, other authentic narrations clearly prove that Raiḥānah was among those prisoners who the Holy Prophet(sa) released as an act of benevolence, and after this, Raiḥānah left Madīnah and went to the home of her parents (the Banū Naḍīr) and continued to reside there. ‘Allāmah Ibni Ḥajar, who is among the most illustrious of research scholars states that this latter narration is correct.2 However, even if it is accepted that the Holy Prophet(sa) took Raiḥānah into his own guardianship, she definitely lived there as his wife, not a slave-girl. However, as for those historians who have related that the Holy Prophet(sa) took her into his own guardianship, most have also explicitly elucidated that the Holy Prophet(sa) freed her and then married her. Ibni Sa‘d has transmitted a narration related by Raiḥānah herself in which she states that, “The Holy Prophet(sa) freed me and then, after I accepted Islām, he married me. My dowry was set at twelve Auqiyyah.”3 In comparison to this narration, Ibni Sa‘d has declared the other narration, which Sir William Muir has based his conclusion on as being categorically false and contrary to the truth; and has further written that this is the opinion of those who possess knowledge.4

Hence, first and foremost, as substantiated by the narration of Bukhārī, and the same has been expounded in Iṣābah, the Holy Prophet(sa) did not take Raiḥānah under his guardianship in the first place; rather, he set her free, after which she returned to her family and began to live with them. Secondly, even if the narration is accepted that the Holy Prophet(sa) did in fact take her into his own supervision, even in this case, the Holy Prophet(sa) freed her and then married her; he did not keep her as a slave-girl. Furthermore, it should also be remembered that with respect to the name, genealogy, tribe, etc., of Raiḥānah, there is such diverse contradiction5 within various narrations, that it would perhaps not be unreasonable to doubt the very existence of her person all together; especially when it is taken into account that she is said to be the wife of a person who is definitely the most well-documented historical figure in the world. 6