The Prophet ﷺ and Al-Juniyah — He Married Her, She Refused, He Divorced Her with a Gift
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The Prophet ﷺ Took a Woman Against Her Will Enemies of Islam cite the hadith of Al-Juniyah to claim that the Messenger of God ﷺ was a polygamist who forced himself upon women — reaching out to touch a woman who sought refuge from him.
The refutation is contained within the chapter heading himself chose for this hadith: “Chapter: Who Divorced, and Should a Man Confront His Wife with Divorce?” Al-Juniyah — — was his legally contracted wife. He then divorced her. The chapter heading alone refutes the doubt. The hadith is a demonstration of prophetic mercy, chivalry, and respect for a woman’s consent — not evidence against it.
The Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari — Chapter: Who Divorced, and Should a Man Confront His Wife with Divorce? Abu Naim narrated to us, Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghasil narrated to us, on the authority of Hamza ibn Abi Usayd, on the authority of Abi Usayd (RA), who said: We went out with the Prophet ﷺ until we reached two walls and sat between them. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Sit here.” He entered, and Al-Juniyah had been brought and she was accommodated in a house in a palm grove in the house of Umaymah bint al-Nu’man ibn Shurahil, and her wet nurse was with her. When the Prophet ﷺ entered upon her, he said: “Give yourself to me.” She said: “Does a queen give herself to a commoner?” He reached out his hand towards her so that she would calm down. She said: “I seek refuge in God from you.” He said: “You have sought refuge with something great.” Then he came out to us and said: “O Abu Usayd, clothe her with two raziqeen and send her back to her family.”
Grade: Sahih · Al-Bukhari
A second narration from the same chain, through Abbas ibn Sahl on the authority of his father and Abu Usayd:
Sahih al-Bukhari — second narration The Prophet ﷺ married Umaimah bint Shuraheel, and when she was brought to him, he extended his hand to her, and it seemed that she disliked that, so he ordered Abu Usayd to prepare her and clothe her in two raziq garments.
Grade: Sahih · Al-Bukhari
First — She Was His Legally Contracted Wife
— Fath al-Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, Chapter: Who Divorced “The correct thing is that her name is Umaymah bint al-Nu’man bin Sharaheel as in the hadith of Abu Usayd. He had already married Umaimah and then divorced her.”
“They agreed that the Prophet ﷺ married Al-Juniyah.”
The name of the chapter in Sahih al-Bukhari is not incidental. Al-Bukhari placed this hadith under the divorce chapter precisely because the event is about a man divorcing his wife — not about any form of coercion of a stranger.
Second — How She Came to Madinah
The narration in Ibn Sa’d‘s Tabaqat — cited by Ibn Hajar — clarifies the full context:
— Fath al-Bari, citing Ibn Sa’d’s Tabaqat “Al-Nu’man ibn al-Jun al-Kindi came to the Prophet ﷺ as a Muslim and said: ‘Shall I not marry you to the most beautiful widow among the Arabs?’ So he married her and sent with him Abu Usayd al-Sa’idi. Abu Usayd said: So he settled her in Bani Sa’idah, and the women of the neighbourhood entered upon her, happy with her, and they went out and mentioned her beauty.”
Her own father brought her to the Prophet ﷺ and proposed the marriage himself. She arrived in Madinah, was settled in a home, and was visited by the women of the neighbourhood who praised her beauty. This is not the picture of a woman being taken against her will.
Third — The Meaning of “Give Yourself to Me”
The Prophet’s ﷺ words — “Give yourself to me” — were not a command. They were an invitation intended to put her at ease and win her heart.
— Fath al-Bari “His saying: ‘Give me yourself’ was to please her and win her heart.”
— cited in Fath al-Bari “This is from the remnants of what was in her from the Age of Ignorance. The vulgarian among them is someone who is not a king, whoever he may be. So it is as if she thought it unlikely that the queen would marry someone who is not a king, and the Prophet ﷺ had been given the choice of being a king and a prophet, so he chose to be a servant and a prophet out of humility towards his Lord.”
She had recently come from the Age of Ignorance and did not yet understand the honour of what had been offered to her. The Prophet ﷺ did not hold her accountable for her words.
Fourth — The Reach of His Hand Was an Act of Reassurance
— Fath al-Bari “His saying: ‘So he inclined his hand’ means he inclined it towards her… and his saying: ‘Give me yourself’ was to please her and win her heart.”
The Prophet ﷺ reached towards her not in aggression but as a gesture of comfort — as a husband would reassure a nervous wife. When she expressed her reluctance by seeking refuge in God, he immediately honoured it.
Fifth — He Respected Her Refusal Immediately and Completely
The moment she said “I seek refuge in God from you,” the Prophet ﷺ responded: “You have sought refuge with something great. Go back to your family.”
, narrating from , from , from (RA) — cited in Fath al-Bari “When the daughter of al-Jun was brought to the Messenger of God ﷺ and he came close to her, she said: ‘I seek refuge in God from you.’ So he said to her: ‘You have sought refuge in something great. Go back to your family.’”
He did not persist. He did not argue. He did not raise his voice. He released her immediately upon her expressing reluctance — and then went further.
Sixth — He Divorced Her, Gifted Her, and Sent Her Home with Honour
— Fath al-Bari “His saying: ‘O Abu Usayd, clothe her with two raziqeen’ — the raziqeen are long white linen garments. Ibn al-Tin said: He granted her that either as an obligation or as a favour.”
He divorced her. He clothed her in two fine garments. He sent her home with honour. Ibn Sa’d records: “On the authority of Abu Usayd, he said: So he ordered me, so I returned her to her people.”
A man who forces himself upon women does not divorce them, gift them fine garments, and send them home in dignity. He does.
Seventh — She Was Not Consummated With and Is Not Among the Mothers of the Believers
, from his father — narrated by Ibn Sa’d, cited in Fath al-Bari “The Prophet ﷺ did not marry a Kindi woman except the sister of Banu al-Jun, so he owned her. When she came to Madinah, he looked at her and divorced her but did not consummate the marriage with her.”
The marriage was not consummated. She is not among the Mothers of the Believers — that title belongs to those the Prophet ﷺ married, lived with, and from whom he did not separate in his lifetime.
The Aftermath — She Died of Regret
The narration recorded by Ibn Sa’d and cited in Fath al-Bari preserves what happened when Abu Usayd returned her to her people:
(RA) — narrated in Ibn Sa’d’s Tabaqat, cited in Fath al-Bari “When I reached her, they shouted and said: ‘You are not blessed, what happened to you?’ She said: ‘You were deceived.’ She died during the caliphate of Uthman.” And from added: “She died of grief.”
She came to understand — too late — the magnitude of what she had turned away.
“Rather, We cast the truth upon falsehood, and it destroys it, and thereupon it departs. And for you is woe for that which you describe.”
The hadith of Al-Juniyah is not evidence of coercion — it is evidence of its opposite. She was a legally contracted wife whose father arranged her marriage. When she expressed reluctance, the Prophet ﷺ released her immediately, divorced her, gifted her fine garments, and sent her home with honour without consummating the marriage. Al-Bukhari himself placed this hadith under the chapter on divorce. Ibn Hajar, Ibn Abd al-Barr, al-Awza’i, al-Zuhri, and Aisha (RA) all confirm the same facts. The only thing this hadith proves about the Prophet ﷺ is what his enemies cannot stand to acknowledge: that he was sent as a mercy to the worlds.