The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 497
XI - Treachery of the Banū Quraiẓah and the End of the Jews in Madīnah, Laws of Marriage and Divorce 497 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. 1 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. ” 2 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. 3 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 contradiction 4 within various narrations, that 1 Al-Iṣābah Fī Tamīziṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 8, pp. 146-147, Raiḥānatu Bintu Sham‘ūnabni Zaidin, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2005) 2 An ancient unit of weight among the Arabs, usually to measure gold or silver. One Auqiyyah is equivalent to 213. 6 grammes. [Publishers] 3 * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 8, pp. 310-311, Raiḥānatu Bintu Zaidibni ‘Amrin. . . . . , Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 3, p. 88, Ghazwatu Banī Quraiẓah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 4 * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 4, pp. 462-463, Dhikru Sarārīhi / Raiḥānatu Bintu Sham‘ūn, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)