The Marriage That Freed a Hundred

ʿĀʾishah said, "She was a very sweet and attractive woman; every man who saw her fell for her. She came to the Messenger of Allah to ask him help in preparing the document, and I swear, as soon as I saw her at the door of my room, I disliked her, and recognised that he would see in her what I did." ʿĀʾishah was saying that she felt jealous, because Juwayriyah was beautiful, and ʿĀʾishah was worried that if the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sees her, he might want to get married to her. "When she went in to him, she said, 'Messenger of Allah, I am Juwayriyah, daughter of al-Ḥārith ibn Abī Ḍirār, the leader of his people. You can see what my plight is now. I have fallen to the lot of Thābit ibn Qays ibn Shammās, and I've prepared a deed awarding myself to him. I've come to ask your help in writing it.' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, 'Would you prefer better?' She said, 'What is it, O Messenger of Allah?' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, 'I will take responsibility for your deed myself, and marry you.' She replied, 'Yes, Messenger of Allah, I agree.'" So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married Juwayriyah, and he paid her ransom.

Now the news spread that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had married Juwayriyah, and the people said, "Then they" — meaning our captives — "are relatives of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)," so they released the captives. Why? Because Juwayriyah is now the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him); they didn't want her relatives to be slaves, so they freed them. ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "And so by his marriage to her, he released one hundred of her relatives from Banū al-Muṣṭaliq.^* I know no woman who brought greater blessings to her people than she." So Juwayriyah was a blessing on her people; they were freed because of her.