Zaynab bint Jahsh
Encyclopedia
Zaynab bint Jahsh was a wife of Muhammad
and therefore a Mother of the Believers. Prior to this, she was briefly married to Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah
. She was also Muhammad's first cousin, Muhammad's father Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib was brother of Zaynab's mother Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib.
, went on the migration to Abyssinia
and there left Islam
for Christianity
. His wife, Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan
, later married Muhammad.
She had a sister named Hammanah bint Jahsh
.
, she became part of the newly founded Muslim
community. There, Muhammad proposed to Zaynab's family the marriage of his freed slave and adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah. While Zayd was a former slave. Zayd was son of Harithah ibn Shurahbil, a person of the Kalb tribe, and his mother, Su'da bint Tha'labah, was from the Bani Ma'n, a branch of the Tay tribe. When he was eight years old, she took him along to her parents. There the people of Bani Qain bin Jasr raided their camp, plundered their good and took some men as catives, which Zayd was included. Then they sold Zayd at the fair of 'Ukaz near Ta'if. His buyer was Hakim ibn Hizam, a nephew of Khadija. Hakim brought him to Makkah and presented him to his paternal aunt. When Muhammad married Khadija he found Zayd in her service and was so impressed by his good manners and conduct that he asked him of her.
Zaynab had an aristocratic lineage, thus having a higher social status. On these grounds her brothers rejected the proposal and she disapproved of it.
Muhammad, however, was determined to eliminate such class distinctions under pre-Islamic Arab
custom. He also wanted to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted.
Montgomery Watt
discusses other reasons for Zaynab's initial disapproval. He points out that Zayd, despite his social status, was held quite high in Muhammad's esteem. Thus, Watt concludes that one reason for Zaynab's disapproval was that she may have wanted to marry Muhammad herself.
Whatever the reasons, Muhammad insisted on the marriage. When Qur'an
was revealed, Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd in the year 626. However, Zayd divorced Zaynab and their marriage lasted just over a year.
. Since Zaynab was the wife of Muhammad's adopted son, pre-Islamic practices frowned upon such her marriage with the prophet. The marriage was used by Munafiq
s of Medina in an attempt to discredit Muhammad on two fronts, one of double standards as she was his fifth wife, while everyone else was restricted to four, and marrying his adopted son's wife.. This was exactly what Muhammad feared and was initially hesitant in marrying her. The Qur'an, however, confirmed that this marriage was valid. Thus Muhammad, confident of his faith in the Qur'an, proceeded to reject the existing Arabic norms. When Zaynab's waiting period from her divorce was complete, Muhammad married her.
We read in Sura
Al-Ahzab
33:37,
In Pre Islamic Arabia adoption was common and Zayd was given to him as a slave by his wife Khadija. Muhammad freed him and took him to Kaaba in Mecca and declared Zayd his son (thus becoming one who received Muhammad's grace). With coming of Islam all relations of adoption were nulled. And Muhammad himself started calling Zayd Zayd ibn Harithah
instead of Zayd bin Muhammad (Zayd was known as Zayd bin Muhammad i.e. son of Muhammad). Since Zayd's background was a slave, and Muhammad wanted to lift the social status of freed slaves (like Zayd) he asked for Zaynab's hand in marriage for Zayd. Zaynab was Muhammad's first cousin, daughter of his aunt Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib. Zaynab had initially refused to marry Zaid because of his slave background and the same displeasure had come from her brother, 'Abdullah bin Jahsh. However on insistence of Muhammad, Zaynab and everyone else agreed. The marriage was a failure as Zaynab found it extremely difficult to accept a freed slave as her husband. Zayd got tired of her and the bitterness had left him with no desire for her eventually leading to their divorce.Zaynab being Muhammad's first cousin was no stranger for him, he had seen her hundreds of time in his aunt Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib's house for over thirty years before she became Zayd's wife.
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
and therefore a Mother of the Believers. Prior to this, she was briefly married to Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah or Zayd mawla Muhammad was a prominent figure in the early Islamic community and the only one of sahaba whose name is spelled directly in the Qur'an. As he was the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, before Islam abolished adoption in exchange of Kafala. He was an...
. She was also Muhammad's first cousin, Muhammad's father Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib was brother of Zaynab's mother Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib.
Early life
Her brother, Ubayd-Allah ibn JahshUbayd-Allah ibn Jahsh
Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh was the brother of Zaynab bint Jahsh, Hammanah bint Jahsh and Abd-Allah ibn Jahsh. He is one of the four monotheistic hanifs mentioned by Ibn Ishaq. The others being Waraqah ibn Nawfal, Uthman ibn Huwarith and Zayd ibn Amr....
, went on the migration to Abyssinia
Migration to Abyssinia
The migration known as the first Hijarat was made in two groups totalling more than a hundred persons. According to Islamic tradition, eleven male and five female Sahabah, the Muslims who originally converged in Mecca, sought refuge from Quraysh persecution in the Kingdom of Aksum in of in the...
and there left Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
for Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. His wife, Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan, رملة بنت أبي سفيان, aka Umm Habiba, أم حبيبة, was the daughter of Abu Sufyan. She was born c. 589 and died in 666...
, later married Muhammad.
She had a sister named Hammanah bint Jahsh
Hammanah bint Jahsh
Hammanah bint Jahsh or Hamnah was the sister of Abd-Allah ibn Jahsh, Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh and Zaynab bint Jahsh, one of Muhammad's wives. She was niece of Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib. She was married to the Mus`ab ibn `Umair who was killed in the battle of Uhud...
.
Marriage with Zayd ibn Harithah
After her migration to MedinaMedina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, she became part of the newly founded Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
community. There, Muhammad proposed to Zaynab's family the marriage of his freed slave and adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah. While Zayd was a former slave. Zayd was son of Harithah ibn Shurahbil, a person of the Kalb tribe, and his mother, Su'da bint Tha'labah, was from the Bani Ma'n, a branch of the Tay tribe. When he was eight years old, she took him along to her parents. There the people of Bani Qain bin Jasr raided their camp, plundered their good and took some men as catives, which Zayd was included. Then they sold Zayd at the fair of 'Ukaz near Ta'if. His buyer was Hakim ibn Hizam, a nephew of Khadija. Hakim brought him to Makkah and presented him to his paternal aunt. When Muhammad married Khadija he found Zayd in her service and was so impressed by his good manners and conduct that he asked him of her.
Zaynab had an aristocratic lineage, thus having a higher social status. On these grounds her brothers rejected the proposal and she disapproved of it.
Muhammad, however, was determined to eliminate such class distinctions under pre-Islamic Arab
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
custom. He also wanted to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted.
Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
discusses other reasons for Zaynab's initial disapproval. He points out that Zayd, despite his social status, was held quite high in Muhammad's esteem. Thus, Watt concludes that one reason for Zaynab's disapproval was that she may have wanted to marry Muhammad herself.
Whatever the reasons, Muhammad insisted on the marriage. When Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
was revealed, Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd in the year 626. However, Zayd divorced Zaynab and their marriage lasted just over a year.
Marriage with Muhammad
According to the English translation of the book, The Wives of the Messenger of Allah by Muhammad Swaleh Awadh, it states that she was married to Muhammad in Dhul Qa'adah, in the fifth year of HijraHijri year
The Hijri year is year numbering system used in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the Hijra , or emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 CE. In Arabic, AH is symbolized by the letter هـ...
. Since Zaynab was the wife of Muhammad's adopted son, pre-Islamic practices frowned upon such her marriage with the prophet. The marriage was used by Munafiq
Munafiq
Munāfiq is an Islamic Arabic term used to describe a religious hypocrite, who outwardly practices Islam, while inwardly concealing his disbelief , perhaps even unknowingly....
s of Medina in an attempt to discredit Muhammad on two fronts, one of double standards as she was his fifth wife, while everyone else was restricted to four, and marrying his adopted son's wife.. This was exactly what Muhammad feared and was initially hesitant in marrying her. The Qur'an, however, confirmed that this marriage was valid. Thus Muhammad, confident of his faith in the Qur'an, proceeded to reject the existing Arabic norms. When Zaynab's waiting period from her divorce was complete, Muhammad married her.
We read in Sura
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
Al-Ahzab
Al-Ahzab
Surat Al-Ahzab is the 33rd sura of the Qur'an with 73 ayat.Verse 5: Adoption in Islam.Ayat 6 contains a reference to the term Mother of Believers.Ayat 25 contains a reference to Battle of the trench....
33:37,
In Pre Islamic Arabia adoption was common and Zayd was given to him as a slave by his wife Khadija. Muhammad freed him and took him to Kaaba in Mecca and declared Zayd his son (thus becoming one who received Muhammad's grace). With coming of Islam all relations of adoption were nulled. And Muhammad himself started calling Zayd Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah or Zayd mawla Muhammad was a prominent figure in the early Islamic community and the only one of sahaba whose name is spelled directly in the Qur'an. As he was the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, before Islam abolished adoption in exchange of Kafala. He was an...
instead of Zayd bin Muhammad (Zayd was known as Zayd bin Muhammad i.e. son of Muhammad). Since Zayd's background was a slave, and Muhammad wanted to lift the social status of freed slaves (like Zayd) he asked for Zaynab's hand in marriage for Zayd. Zaynab was Muhammad's first cousin, daughter of his aunt Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib. Zaynab had initially refused to marry Zaid because of his slave background and the same displeasure had come from her brother, 'Abdullah bin Jahsh. However on insistence of Muhammad, Zaynab and everyone else agreed. The marriage was a failure as Zaynab found it extremely difficult to accept a freed slave as her husband. Zayd got tired of her and the bitterness had left him with no desire for her eventually leading to their divorce.Zaynab being Muhammad's first cousin was no stranger for him, he had seen her hundreds of time in his aunt Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib's house for over thirty years before she became Zayd's wife.