Zaynab bint Jahsh (radiAllahu anha) married the Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi
wasallam) in 5 AH, when she was thirty-five and the Prophet was fifty-eight, but
only after her pervious marriage, which had been arranged by the Prophet himself,
had ended in divorce. As with all the marriages of the Prophet Muhammad, there was
much for all the Muslims to learn from it. Zaynab bint Jahsh was the Prophet Muhammad's
cousin, her mother Umayma being the daughter of Abdul Muttalib, Muhammad (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam)'s grandfather, who, while he was alive, had ensured the safety of
his grandson, thanks to his position as one of the most respected leaders of the
Quraish. Thus Zaynab bint Jahsh came from one of the noblest families of the Quraish,
and everyone expected her to eventually marry a man with the same high social status.
The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) 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 wanted her to marry a young man called Zayd ibn Harith, whose
background was very different to that of Zaynab bint Jahsh. Zayd 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 (radiAllahu anha) 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.
The Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) had watched both Zayd and Zaynab
grow up, and thought they would make a good couple, and that their marriage would
demonstrate that it was not who their ancestors were, but rather their standing
in the sight of Allah, that mattered. When the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
asked for her hand on behalf of Zayd, Zaynab had her family were shocked at the
idea of her marrying a man who in their eyes was only a freed slave. Moreover, Zaynab
had wanted to marry the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) himself and in fact he
had already been asked by her family whether or not he would like to marry her.
At first both she and her brother refused, but then the following ayat was revealed:
It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when a matter has been decided
by Allah and His Messenger, to have any say in their decision; and whoever disobeys
Allah and His Messenger has most clearly gone astray. [33: 36]
When Zayd, who had also had misgivings about the proposed match, and Zaynab realized
that there was no difference between what the Prophet wanted and what Allah wanted,
they both agreed to the marriage, the Prophet providing a handsome dowry for Zaynab
on Zayd's behalf. The marriage, however, was not a success. 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. 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. The
Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) then was ordered by Allah to marry Zaynab bint
Jahsh, while he did in 5 AH, when he was fifty-eight years old, and she was thirty-five
years old. In doing so, he demonstrated beyond doubt that in Islam an adopted son
is not regarded in the same light as a natural son, and that although a father may
never marry a woman whom his natural son has married and then divorced, the father
of an adopted son is permitted to marry a woman who was once, but is no longer,
married to that adopted son. Furthermore, by marrying Zaynab, the Prophet (salAllahu
alayhi wasalam) also confirmed that it is permissible for cousins to marry, and
, at the same time, Zaynab was given her heart's desire to be married to the Best
of Creation.
The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) received the command to marry
Zaynab while he was with A'isha. After he had received the revelation, he smiled
and said, "Who will go and give Zaynab the good news?" and he recited the ayat that
he had received. Some say that it was Zayd himself who told her the good news. When
Zaynab heard the news, she stopped what she was doing and prayed to thank Allah.
Afterwards, she was fond of pointing out that her marriage had been arranged by
Allah. It was at this point that the Prophet changed her name from Barra to Zaynab.
Zaynab's wedding feast was also the occasion for another ayat of Qur'an to be sent
down. The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) 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 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)
Zaynab was a woman who was constantly immersed in the worship of Allah. It is related
by Anas ibn Malik that once the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) 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."
Zaynab bint Jahsh (radiAllahu anha) was with the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam)
for six years, and lived for another nine years after his death, dying at the age
of fifty, in 20 AH, and thus fulfilling the Prophet's indication that she would
be the first of his wives to die aftehim. Zaynab bint Jahsh, like Zaynab bint Khuzayma
before her, was very generous to the poor, and indeed the Prophet said, when speaking
of her to his other wives, "She is the most generous among you."
It has been related by A'isha that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) 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 whose as
longest, 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."
Several years after the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) 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 (radiAllahu anhu) 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.
RadiAllahu anha.
Resources:
Companions of the Prophet - Abdul Wahid Hamid
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabir - Muhammad Ibn Sa'd
The Women of Madina - Translated by Aisha Bewley
Sahih al-Bukhari
The wives of the Prophet - Ahmad Thompson