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Prophethood House
Mother of the believers Zaynab Bint Jahsh
Her Family :
Her marriage to Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him:
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was well
aware that it is a person's standing in the eyes of Allah that
is important, rather than his or her status in the eyes of the people.
He knew who Zayd Ibn Haritha was to Allah, so wanted Zaynab, his
cousin, to marry Zayd.
When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked
for her hand on behalf of Zayd, Zaynab had her family was shocked
at the idea of her marrying a man who in their eyes was only a
freed slave. At first both she and her brother refused, but
then the following verses from the holy Quran was revealed:
It is not fitting for a believing man or a believing woman, when a
matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any
option in their decision; if anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger
he is indeed on a clearly wrong path.
Thereupon Zaynab married Zayd without hesitation to obey the command of
Allah and His messenger.
Although both Zaynab and Zayd were the best of people, who loved
Allah and His Messenger, they were very different and in the end
they could not overcome their incompatibility. Zaynab the high-born
looked down upon Zayd the freed man who had been a slave.
Zayd asked the Prophet's permission to divorce Zaynab more
than once, and although he was counseled to hold onto his
wife and to fear Allah, in the end the divorce took place.
Why did the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him marry Zaynab..?
The aim of the marriage between the Prophet, peace and blessings
be upon him, and Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, was to
destroy the pagan taboo about adopted sons and the superstition
of erecting false relationships to the detriment or loss of blood relations.
However deep inside the Prophet heart he feared that the people,
especially the disbelievers, would criticize his marriage to
Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, hid this fear in his heart.
But the Quranic verse ordered the Prophet not to fear people
criticism as long as this is the will of Allah.
This whole story of the marriage including the Prophet's embarrassment
and fear of people criticism was explained by Allah in the following verses:
Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah
and thy favorer: "Retain than (in wedlock) thy wife, and fear Allah."
But thou didst hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest:
The marriage :
Zaynab's wedding feast was also the occasion for another
ayat of Qur'an to be sent down. The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, sacrificed a sheep and then
commanded his servant, Anas, to invite the people to partake of it.
After they had eaten, two men remained there after the meal chatting.
The Messenger of Allah went out and said goodnight to his other wives
and then came back and the two men were still there chatting.
It was very hard on the Prophet who did not like to criticize people
directly, and so he waited patiently until they left. Then Allah
sent down the following ayat which is known as "The Ayat of Hijab":
O you who believe! Do not go into the Prophet's rooms except after
She boasted over the other mothers of the faithful by saying,
"it is your families who concluded your marriage but Allah
concluded mine from above his throne"
In another version she said, "Allah concluded my marriage in the heaven."
Her Life after the marriage :
She was a woman who was constantly immersed in the worship of Allah.
It is related by Anas ibn Malik that once the Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, entered the mosque and found a
rope hanging down between two of the pillars, and so he said, "What
is this?" He was told, "It is for Zaynab.
She prays, and when she loses concentration or feels tired,
she holds onto it." At this time the Prophet said, "Untie it.
Pray as long as you feel fresh, but when you lose concentration
or become tired, you should stop."
It has been related by A'isha that the Prophet, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, once said to his wives, "The one who has the
longest hands among you will meet me again the soonest." A'isha
added, "They use to measure each other's hands to see who has
the longest hands, and it was the hand of Zaynab that was the
longest, because she used to work by hand and give away
(what she earned) in charity."
The Messenger of Allah said to Umar, "Zaynab bint Jahsh is one
who is full of prayer." A man said, "Messenger of Allah,
what is that?" He said, "The one who is humble and earnest in prayer."
A'isha also said that Zaynab, "I have never seen a
woman so pure as Zaynab, so God-fearing, so truthful, so
attentive to family ties, so generous, so self-sacrificing
in everyday life, so charitable, and thus so close to Allah,
the Exalted."
She would tan hides and weave clothes to give them in cause
of Allah to the needy and the poor.
Several years after the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him, had died, when Umar was the khalif, great wealth
came to the Muslims as a result of their victories in fighting
the Persians. The immense treasures of Chosroes, the Persian Emperor,
fell into their hands, and when Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
sent Zaynab a pile of gold as her share of the treasure, she called
her maid servant and told her to take a handful of it to so-and-so,
naming one of the poor people of Medina. One after another, she named
all the poor people whom she knew, until they had all received a share
of the treasure. Then she told her maidservant to see what was left.
All that remained of the large pile of gold was eighty dinars, and
this she accepted as her share, thanking Allah for it; but, because
she believed so much money was a temptation, she asked Allah that she
would never witness such a large distribution of wealth again.
By the time a year had passed, when Umar again came to distribute
money amongst those wives of the Prophet who were still alive, her
prayer had been granted for she had already passed away, may Allah
be pleased with her.
When she died Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her
said, "A thank-giver a devout and a haven of orphans
and widows has passed away."
Her Death :
She was Zaynab Bint Jahsh daughter of Rabab Ibn Ya'mur. Her mother was
Umaima, the Prophet's aunt.
Zayd Ibn Haritha had been taken prisoner while he was still a child
during one of the inter-tribal wars that had been common before
the coming of Islam. He had been sold as a slave to a nephew
of Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, who had given Zayd
to her as a gift. In turn, Khadijah had given him to the Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the days
before the revelation of the Qur'an had begun, and the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had given him his freedom
and adopted him as his own son, at the age of eight.
(Al-Ahzab:36)
In the jahiliyyah, an adopted son was regarded as a natural
son, and an adopted son's wife was therefore regarded as a
natural son's wife would be. According to the Qur'anic verse,
those who have been wives of your sons proceeding from your
loins' fall within the prohibited degrees of marriage.
But this prohibition does not relate to adopted sons with
whom there is no real consanguinity.
What now seems obvious was not so then. The pagan taboo
against marrying the former wives of adopted sons was deeply rooted.
It was to uproot this custom that the Prophet's marriage to Zaynab
was commanded by the Revelation.
Thou didst fear the people, but it is more fitting that than shouldst. Fear Allah. Then when Zayd had dissolved (his marriage) with her we joined her in marriage to thee: in order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers in the (matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons; when the later have dissolved (their marriage) with them. And Allah's command must be fulfilled.
(Al-Ahzab:37)
Thus, Allah joined Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, in
marriage to His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
without a bride's guardian. The contract of marriage was
stated in the glorious Quran.
being given permission to come and eat, not waiting for the food
to be prepared, However, when you are called, then go in and when
you have eaten, then disperse, and do not remain wanting to chat together.
If you do that, it causes injury to the Prophet though he is too reticent
to tell you.
But Allah is not reticent with the truth. When you ask his
wives for something, ask them from behind a screen. That is purer for
your hearts and their hearts. It is not for you to cause injury to the
Messenger of Allah nor ever to marry his wives after him. To do that
would be something dreadful in the sight of Allah. Whether you make
something known or conceal it, Allah has knowledge of all things.
There is no blame on them regarding their fathers or their sons or
their brothers or their brothers's sons or their sisters's sons or
their women or those their right hands own.
Have fear of Allah.
Allah is witness over everything. Allah and His angels pray blessings
of the Prophet.
O you who believe! Pray blessings on him and ask for
peace for him.
(Quran 33:53-56)
And in another version she said, "Allah concluded my marriage from above
the seven heavens."
She also said, "I have the most honorable guardian; your families
concluded your marriage and Allah concluded mine from above the seven heavens."
Zaynab proved herself most worthy to be the Prophet's wife; she was
always aware of the responsibilities as well as the courtesies
proper to her role, and fulfilled those responsibilities to universal admiration.
She was the first among the Prophet's wives to die after
him and the Muslim Khalif at that time, Umar Ibn Elkhattab
prayed over her corpse. The people of Medina walked in her
funeral until they buried her in Baquee'.
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