حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، حَدَّثَنَا مُسْلِمٌ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ قَالَتْ خَيَّرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاخْتَرْنَا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ، فَلَمْ يَعُدَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْنَا شَيْئًا.
Narrated `Aisha:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) gave us the option (to remain with him or to be divorced) and we selected Allah and His Apostle . So, giving us that option was not regarded as divorce.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 5262
In-book : Book 68, Hadith 12
USC-MSA web (English) : Vol. 7, Book 63, Hadith 188 (deprecated)