Rayhanah

Rayḥānah was a woman of Banū Qurayẓah taken captive after the tribe's defeat (5 AH) and given to the Prophet ﷺ as part of his share of the spoils under the rules of Sūrat al-Anfāl. The Prophet ﷺ invited her to Islam, and she initially declined, remaining upon her own religion for a time. Because he did not wish to keep a non-Muslim woman in this capacity, he gave her an extended period to decide her own fate; when she understood he intended otherwise to release his claim on her, she chose to embrace Islam. As he did with his other wives of similar background, the Prophet ﷺ then offered her freedom with her freedom itself serving as her marriage dowry (mahr). The classical sources disagree on what followed: the majority and best researched view holds that Rayḥānah preferred to remain in her existing status (mulk al-yamīn) rather than become a wife, and the Prophet ﷺ honored her preference; a minority report holds that she accepted the offer of marriage.