Rayhana bint Zayd (; died ) was a Jewish convert to Islam from the

Banu Nadir The Banu Nadir (, ) were a Jewish Arab tribe that lived in northern Arabia at the oasis of Medina until the 7th century. They were probably a part of the Constitution of Medina, which was formed after Muhammad's Hijrah. Tensions rose between th ...

. Through marriage, she was also a part of the

Banu Qurayza The Banu Qurayza (; alternate spellings include Quraiza, Qurayzah, Quraytha, and the archaic Koreiza) were a Jewish tribe which lived in northern Arabia, at the oasis of Yathrib (now known as Medina). They were one of the three major Jewish ...

, another local Jewish tribe. During the siege of Banu Qurayza in 627, she was widowed and taken captive by the

early Muslims From 613 to 619 Common Era, CE, the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad gathered in his hometown of Mecca a small following of those who embraced his message of Islam and thus became Muslims. The first person who professed ...

and subsequently became a concubine and according to some also a

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

.Rodinson, ''Muhammad: Prophet of Islam'', p. 213.
online
. Their relationship produced no children and in 631 she passed on while in her home city of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

Biography

The 9th century Arab historian

Ibn Sa'd Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Sa‘d ibn Manī‘ al-Baṣrī al-Hāshimī or simply Ibn Sa'd () and nicknamed ''Scribe of Waqidi'' (''Katib al-Waqidi''), was a scholar and Arabian biographer. Ibn Sa'd was born in 784/785 CE (168 AH) and di ...

wrote that Rayhana went on to be manumitted and subsequently married to

upon her conversion to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

from

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. It has been a subject of much speculation and controversy if Muhammed married Rayhana, and her status as a wife have been contested. Rayhana has been referred to as one of the concubines of Muhammad, as well as a wife, and may have been a wife or a concubine. Different sides have put forward different arguments. The 11th-century Persian religious scholar

Abu Ishaq al-Tha'labi Abū Isḥāḳ Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Nīsābūrī al-Thaʿlabī ; died November 1035), who was simply known as Al-Tha'labi (), was an eleventh-century Sunni Muslim scholar of Persian origin. Al-Tha'labi was considered a leadin ...

agreed that she became one of

Muhammad's wives A total of eleven women are confirmed as having been married to Muhammad, the founder of Islam. As a sign of respect, Muslims refer to each of these wives with the title ''"Umm al-Mu'minin"'' (, ), which is derived from of the Quran. Muhammad' ...

and cited evidence that he had paid ''

mahr In Islam, a mahr (in ; ; Bengali: দেনমোহর; ; ; ; also transliterated ''mehr'', ''meher'', ''denmohor, mehrieh'', or ''mahriyeh'') is the bride wealth obligation, in the form of money, possessions or teaching of verses from the Qur ...

'' for her. The 15th-century Egyptian religious scholar

Ibn Hajar Ibn Hajar may refer to: *Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (1372–1449), Shafi'i and Hadith scholar *Ibn Hajar al-Haytami Sheikhul Islam Shihāb al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī al-Makkī al-Anṣārī kn ...

makes reference to Muhammad giving Rayhanah a home upon their marriage. Antonie Wessels of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

suggested that Muhammad married Rayhana for political reasons, particularly in light of her direct affiliation with two of the region's Jewish tribes—the

and the

—while British-American author

Lesley Hazleton Lesley Adele Hazleton (September 20, 1945 – April 29, 2024) was a British-American author and journalist. Born in Reading, Berkshire, she began her career as a correspondent in Israel before moving to the United States in 1979. She wrote about ...

felt it was evidence of Muhammad creating alliances. Conversely, Indian religious scholar

Barakat Ahmad Barakat Ahmad (died 1988) was an Ahmadi scholar and Indian diplomat. He had a doctorate in Arab history from the American University of Beirut and a doctorate in literature from the University of Tehran.Leon Nemoy, ''Barakat Ahmad's "Muhammad and ...

felt such rationale to support the notion of Rayhana and Muhammad's marriage was "meaningless" after both Jewish tribes were wiped out, in accordance with

Talmudic law Talmudic law is the law that is derived from the Talmud based on the teachings of the Talmudic Sages. * See Talmud or Talmudical Hermeneutics Talmudical hermeneutics (Hebrew: מידות שהתורה נדרשת בהן) defines the rules and metho ...

, following their betrayal of the

. Similar to the status of the Egyptian woman

Maria al-Qibtiyya , better known as or (), or Maria the Copt, died 637, was an Egyptian woman who, along with her sister Sirin bint Shamun, was given as a slave to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 628 by Al-Muqawqis, a Christian governor of Alexandria, during ...

—who, along with her sister

Sirin bint Shamun Sīrīn bint Shamʿūn (Arabic: سيرين بنت شمعون) was an Egyptian Coptic Christian concubine, sent with her sister Maria al-Qibtiyya as gifts to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by the Egyptian official Muqawqis in 628. According to the ...

, was gifted to Muhammad by the Egyptian governor

Al-Muqawqis Al-Muqawqis (, ) is mentioned in Muslim history as a ruler of Egypt who corresponded with Muhammad. He is widely identified with the last prefect of Egypt, Cyrus of Alexandria, who was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria of the second ...

in 628—there is no universal consensus among Muslim scholars as to whether Rayhanah was one of Muhammad's wives. It was said that she did not convert, and hence Muhammed did not marry her but kept her as a concubine. She is mentioned alongside Maria al-Qibtiyya as a slave-concubine.

Hafiz ibn Minda Hafiz () or Hafez may refer to: * Hafiz (Quran), a term used by Muslims for people who have completely memorized the Qur'an ** ''Al-Ḥafīẓ'', one of the names of God in Islam, meaning "the Ever-Preserving/Guardian/All-Watching/ Protector" Pe ...

and Indian religious scholar

Shibli Nomani Shibli Nomani (4 June 1857 – 18 November 1914) was an Indian Islamic scholar, poet, philosopher, historian, educational thinker, author, orator, reformer and critic of orientalists during the British Raj. He is regarded as the father of Urdu ...

, for example, believed that she returned to the Banu Nadir upon her manumission.Nomani, Shibli (1979). ''The Life of the Prophet''. Vol. II, pg. 125–6 Abu ‘Ubaydah said about Muhammed: Rayhanah died in

in 631, eleven days after ''

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

'' and one year before Muhammad's death. She was buried in the city's

al-Baqi Cemetery ''Jannat al-Baqī'' (, "The Baqi'", ) is the oldest and first Islamic cemetery of Medina located in the Hejazi region of present-day Saudi Arabia. It is also known as ''Baqi al-Gharqad'' (, meaning "Baqiʿ of the Boxthorn"). Al-Baqi is reporte ...

, like other members of Muhammad's family, known as ''

Ahl al-Bayt () refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daugh ...

(

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: أَهْل البَيْت, lit. 'people of the house or household')''. Translated by Muhammad Aslam Qasmi.

References

{{Authority control Banu Nadir 7th-century Arabian Jews Wives of Muhammad 7th-century women Converts to Islam from Judaism Jewish Saudi Arabian history Muslim female saints Burials at Jannat al-Baqī 7th-century Arab slaves Slave concubines