إجازة الأستاذ أحمد لبن مدير المنتدى بقراءة الإمام عاصم الكوفي

Zaynab bint Jahsh Al-Asadiyah Img_1375455444_529

Zaynab bint Jahsh Al-Asadiyah
may Allaah be pleased with her,
mother of the Faithful
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Allaah Says (what means):
{Allaah has not put for any man two hearts inside his body. Neither has He made your wives whom you declare to be like your mothers' backs, your real mothers. [Adh-Dhihaar is the saying of a husband to his wife, `You are to me like the back of my mother' i.e.

You are unlawful for me to approach], nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons.

That is but your saying with your mouths. But Allaah says the truth, and He guides to the [Right] Way. Call them [adopted sons] by [the names of] their fathers: that is more just with Allaah. But if you know not their father's [names, call them] your brothers in faith and Mawaaleekum [your freed slaves]. And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend. And Allaah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.} [Quran 33: 4-5]

Allaah also Says (what means): {It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error. And [remember] when you said to him [Zayd ibn Haarithah — the freed-slave of the Prophet] on whom Allaah has bestowed Grace [by guiding him to Islam] and you [O' Muhammad too] have done favor [by manumitting him], `Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allaah.' But you did hide in yourself [i.e. what Allaah has already made known to you that He will give her to you in marriage] that which Allaah will make manifest, you did fear the people [i.e., their saying that Muhammad married the divorced wife of his manumitted slave] whereas Allaah had a better right that you should fear Him.

So when Zayd had accomplished his desire from her [i.e. divorced her], We gave her to you in marriage, so that [in future] there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of [the marriage of] the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them [i.e. they have divorced them]. And Allaah's Command must be fulfilled. There is no blame on the Prophet in that which Allaah has made legal for him. That has been Allaah's Way with those who have passed away of [the Prophets of] old. And the Command of Allaah is a decree determined.} [Quran 33: 36-38]

Personalities and events are interwoven and rules and ordainments are revealed. So anybody who wants to write or talk about the mother of the faithful Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allaah be pleased with her, should be conversant with all this. He should do so in accordance with what the necessity of the research and study demands and within the literary and topical limits without losing the purpose so that no aspect with override another and in order to avoid a mistake that could lead to the abyss of ignorance and desire.

Dear reader, prefacing this discussion with clear verses from the Quran does not in any way, mean that I am going to make an exegesis of the verses. That is an entirely different field. The aspect of the verses that concerns us here is that with which we can support a fact and in which we can seek arbitration in the course of exchanging views.

Allaah says the truth, and He guides to the (Right) Way.

Zayd ibn Haarithah, may Allaah be pleased with him

The story of Zayd's life in the house of Khadeejah, may Allaah be pleased with her, is well-known and does not need any repetition.

But what we are concerned with here is the Prophet's, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, adoption of Zayd. Adoption was a very popular habit during the time of ignorance.

Zayd's father, Haarithah ibn Shuraaheel had known of his son's being in Makkah in the house of Muhammad ibn `Abdullaah, the husband of Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, may Allaah be pleased with her. So he quickly came to Makkah in the company of a brother of his, wanting to get his son back and paying whatever ransom was needed, for before that, he was very sad and tearful.

Of the poem he used to repeat in expression of his sorrow about Zayd is the one whose meaning is rendered as follows: "I wept over Zayd for I didn't know what happened to him;
Is he still alive or he has been seized by death.

By Allaah! I don't know if I may ask:
Were you snatched by the even ground or you were snatched by the mountain.

Would that I knew whether you will be back;
For, it suffices me in this world that you return to me quickly.

Whenever the sun rises it reminds me of him;
And when the rain falls, the memory of him comes to me.

When the wind blows, it stirs his memory;
How often is my sorrow and fear over him!

I will make — of the camel over the land with great effort;

And I shall not relent in roaming about the land (in search of him) until the camel becomes weary and tired.

Or until the death comes to me;
Then, every man will die even if he is deluded by hope."

The above lines sufficiently show us the suffering of Haarithah from the agony of his missing of Zayd. Every word, rather every letter of these lines indicates how sad and distressed he was. We can notice the tears that fall from Haarithah's eyes with every poetic form he exudes.

I take Allaah as a witness that each time I read these poetic lines, I am seized by shock and I share with Haarithah his emotions and then tears roll down from my eyes.

Haarithah and his brother K`ab entered the house of Muhammad, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, and then addressed him thus: "O son of `Abdul-Muttalib, O son of the leader of his people! You are the inhabitants of Allaah's sacred city. You give relief to the sufferer and you feed the captive. We come to you because of our son who is your slave. Grant us a favor and show kindness to us in his ransom."

The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, asked, "What is that?" They said: "It is Zayd ibn Haarithah."

The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, said: "Is there anything besides that? Call him and let him choose. If he chooses to go with you, that is better for you and I will not take any ransom from you. And if he chooses to stay with me, by Allaah, I am not going to prefer taking ransom above someone who chooses to stay with me."

They said: "You have increased us in fairness."

The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, then called Zayd and asked him whether he knew these two men. Zayd said: "Yes, this is my father and this is my uncle."

The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, then said: "I am as you know me and you have seen my companionship with you. So choose between me and them."

Zayd said: "I'm not going to prefer anyone to you. You are to me like a father and uncle."

Zayd's father and his uncle then said: "Are you going to prefer slavery to freedom and are you going to prefer others to your father, uncle and your family?"

Zayd said: "Yes, I have seen in this man [meaning the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam] something that will not make me prefer anyone to him."

Zayd son of Muhammad!

When the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, saw that, he took Zayd out to the place near the Black Stone and said: "I take you all as witnesses that Zayd is my son.

He can inherit me and I can inherit him."

When Zayd's father and uncle saw that, they were happy and they went away.

Let us ponder a little bit over Haarithah and his brother's statement, "You have increased us in fairness."

Fairness is justice. The historical fact testifies that Muhammad, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, gave both men more than fairness when he, firstly, gave Zayd the freedom of choice and that if he preferred to go with his father he was free to do so; and secondly, that he would not take any ransom for him.

Muhammad, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, then attained the highest level of justice and fairness in human relations with Zayd when he took a group of Qurayshites as witnesses in the precincts of the Sacred Mosque that he had adopted Zayd as a son and abided by the implications of this adoption in all matters relating to a father and his son. This is the third act of fairness on his path, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam.

This concept of justice was a human norm and a followed tradition of the time of ignorance.

Noble people who possessed qualities of manliness keenly followed it and were proud of it. It was not only in the case of adoption but in many other matters as well.

When the dawn of Islam appears and its illuminating light beamed through the minds and hearts of the rightly guided and the darkness of the age of ignorance was eliminated, the concept of fairness then became defined by the divine law that is more just with Allaah.

The Quran says:
{... Nor He made your adopted sons your real sons. That is but your saying with your mouths.

But Allaah Says the truth, and He guides to the [Right] Way. Call them [adopted sons] by [the names of] their fathers: that is more just with Allaah. But if you know not their father's [names, call them] your brothers in faith and Mawaaleekum [your freed slaves].

And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake, except in regard to what your hearts deliberately intend. And Allaah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.}[Quran 33: 4-5]

With the revelation of these clear verses on the heart of the noble Messenger, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, the system of adoption as a custom and tradition was abrogated because it was neither truth nor reality; it was for sometime a human fairness governed by manliness. It was only an emotional feeling free of fundamentals and it did not transcend a word spoken by the mouth: {That is but your saying with your mouths}.

So Zayd returned to the originality of his lineage and turned from Zayd ibn Muhammad to Zayd ibn Haarithah. And it was only the link of religion and faith that remained between the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, and Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him.

The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, then chose Zaynab bint Jahsh Al-Asadiyah as a wife for his freed slave Zayd ibn Haarithah.

Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, was a Qurayshi girl. She was beautiful and of noble lineage. A great number of Qurayshi young men had wanted to marry her but she rejected all of them out of pride in her origin and high lineage. She was from the highest branch of the clan of Bani Asad. Her mother was Umaymah, the daughter of `Abdul-Muttalib, the chief of Quraysh. She therefore did not want to marry but only a noble man.

That was the complexity in her life, and it was of the remnants of the days of ignorance in her heart.

When the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, informed her of his intention, she eschewed, raged and refused.

She narrated the story to her brother `Abdullaah. So `Abdullaah came to the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, to talk to him and ask him to have a second look at the matter.

The family of Banu Jahsh had all embraced Islam and the faith has penetrated in to their hearts and overwhelmed them.

`Abdullaah asked the Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam: "Are you pleased that Zaynab should marry Zayd?"

The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: "Yes."

`Abdullaah then said: "We are pleased with what pleases you, O' Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, and we shall not disobey your command."

Zaynab was also satisfied, albeit reluctantly.

That was in response to the command of Allaah:
{It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.} [Quran 33: 36]

Thus did the marriage of Zaynab to Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with them, take place and a dark page in the journey of history was closed and a new and bright page was opened.

This new page spoke the truth through the saying of Allaah (which means):
{Verily, the most honorable of you with Allaah is that [believer] who has piety} [Quran 49: 13]

And the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam: "There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab or for a non-Arab over an Arab except through piety."

The ship of life then moved with them through a fathomless sea.

Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him, was a favourite of Allaah's Messenger, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, and the dearest of all people to him. He was always in his company and follows him, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, about like a shadow. He was his companion during his journey to Taaif. He entrusted him to bring his family from Makkah to Madeenah during migration and he made him a commander of a number of contingents to fight to the polytheists. `Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, said: "Had Zayd been alive on the day the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, died, he would have assigned him a responsibility."

Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him, was undoubtedly a great energy of faith. That is why he was able to endure the waves of yelling provoked by the violent winds of Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, and he tried as much as he could to paddle the ship far from the stormy currents with the wisdom of an experienced sailor.

But Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, was in a perpetual and unquiet storm. Many a time she had injured the pride and the nobleness of faith in the heart of Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him, by her constantly reminding him of her high nobility and hurting him with that.

When Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him, could no longer bear the matter, he went to the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and complained to him. He opened his mind to him and sought a way out. The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, asked him to keep his wife.

The complaint was made repeatedly and the answer was the same.

The Quran narrates the event to us. Allaah Says (what means) in clear verses:
{And [remember] when you said to him [Zayd ibn Haarithah —, the freed-slave of the Prophet] on whom Allaah has bestowed Grace [by guiding him to Islam] and you [O' Muhammad too] have done favor [by manumitting him], `Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allaah.' But you did hide in yourself [i.e. what Allaah has already made known to you that He will give her to you in marriage] that which Allaah will make manifest, you did fear the people [i.e., their saying that Muhammad married the divorced wife of his manumitted slave] whereas Allaah had a better right that you should fear Him...} [Quran 33: 37]

Here, dear reader, some ignorant people among the orientalists and occidentalists who are advocates of evil launched one of their dirty attacks against Islam and the Messenger of Islam, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam.

They say —may Allaah destroy their mouths and disgrace them— that Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, loved Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, and was stunned by her beauty. They claimed that he came one day to Zaynab's house asking for Zayd, and Zaynab came out to meet hurriedly before she could dress herself up properly, so some attractive parts of her body was exposed. Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him, was not at home so Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, cheerfully invited him in and he thanked her and left while saying: "Glory be to Allaah Who twists hearts."

The advocates of evil even ignorantly cite to support their fabrication the saying of Allaah (which means): {But you did hide in yourself [i.e. what Allaah has already made known to you that He will give her to you in marriage] that which Allaah will make manifest}.

They do all this to diminish the status of prophethood! But the reality in which there is no dispute is entirely different from this.

This poisoned arrow of Fitnah and error is disproved by the conclusion of the quoted verse in which the purpose of this divine commandment is explained. Allaah Says (what means): {... So when Zayd had accomplished his desire from her [i.e. divorced her], We gave her to you in marriage, so that [in future] there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of [the marriage of] the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them [i.e. they have divorced them]. And Allaah's Command must be fulfilled.} [Quran 33: 37]

Since adoption was then the order of the day and a pure pre-Islamic culture that transgressed over the reality, so was marrying the divorced wife of an adopted son regarded a taboo, because it was regarded as marrying the wife of one's son.

Who then has a greater right to establish the truth and put it in its rightful place and remove the difficulty (in legislation) than the one with whom the Message was sent? Who has the greater right to be the excellent model that should be followed?

{Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah [Muhammad] you have a good example to follow ...} [Quran 33: 21]

What was it that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, was trying to hide and for which he feared people? Was it the love for Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, as claimed by the ignorant and the people of desire and evil intentions? Or was it legislation of the truth and abrogation of an ignorant and erroneous custom? This question was clearly answered by the above verse.

It is because, it is the command of Allaah {And Allaah's Command must be fulfilled}.

If it is true that he loved Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, what then prevented him from marrying her?

Also, what was the thing that Zayd had accomplished from Zaynab?
The Arabs of the time of ignorance were
The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, has relentlessly lived all his life in destroying all these false deities. He laid a practical example with his own person and his close relatives so that the balance of truth may stand firm without any prejudice or partiality. The purpose of Zayd's marriage to Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with them, was therefore to destroy the false deity of racial discrimination and abolition of the segregation of the time of ignorance.

This incidence reminds us of the Prophet's, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, standing and sermon in his farewell pilgrimage when he said: "All usury is abrogated; and the first usury I will abrogate is that of Al-`Abbaas!!!"

The divorce then took place between Zayd and Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with them.

Revelation came from the heaven that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, should marry Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, to complete the form and legislation of laws and in order to remove the despicable and heavy burden that had been on the people.

The event, from the beginning to the end, is resplendent in laws and verses that are recited for eternity. Add to this the fact that no companion of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, is mentioned by name in the Book of Allaah —in spite of many rules and reasons of revelation— except Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him, alone, without mentioning the name of the other party, Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her.

It was reported that Ibn `Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: "When Zaynab heard the news of her divorce from Zayd and her engagement to the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, she prostrated to Allaah (in gratitude)."27

Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, then lived in the house of prophethood as a mother of the faithful. She was given to observing much fasting and night prayers; and she was a pious worshipper. The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, would incline to her and keep her company frequently. She would incessantly mention her superiority over other wives of the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, without hurting any of them.

She once told the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam: "O Allaah's Messenger! By Allaah, I am not like your other wives. There is none among your wives whose father, brother or family had not married her off to you except me. For, it is Allaah, from above the heaven, Who married me off to you."

Whenever `Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, remembered her, she would invoke Allaah's Mercy on her and describe her, especially concerning her stand during the incidence of slander saying: "Allaah protected her with abstention (i.e. from wading into the matter)."

`Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, also mentioned that the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: "The quickest of you to join me is the one with the longest hand.”28

What did they understand from this statement?
`Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, narrated that the Prophet's, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, wives would go to a wall and stretch up their hands in order to know which of them has the longest hand.

It would be noted that Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, was not tall but she was the first of the Prophet's, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, wives to die after him. It is then understood that what the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, meant by long hand was charity and generosity. And among the purest sources of income is the work done with one's hands.

27 This narration is in Al-Isaabah; and it is weak. 29. Muslim

`Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, said: "Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, was very proud with Allaah's Messenger. The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, would frequently keep her company. She was given to performing fasting and prayer. She was a skilled craftswoman and she would give charity with the proceeds of her handiwork."

Ibn Sa`d reported on the authority of Al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad that Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, said when she was about to die, "I have prepared my own shroud, and `Umar is going to sent a shroud for me. So give out one of them in charity. And if you are able to also give my loincloth in charity you can do so."

`Amrah bint `Abdur-Rahmaan Al-Ansaariyah had the following to tell us:
“`Umar sent five Harranee cloths, each of them incensed. She was shrouded with them. Her sister, Hamnah gave out the shroud she had prepared for her own burial in charity."

`Amrah narrated that she heard `Aa'ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, said: "The praiseworthy woman, the devoted worshipper and the refuge of the orphans and the widows is gone."

Muhammad ibn K`ab Al-Quradhi said:
"Zaynab hint Jahsh's, may Allaah be pleased with her, annual grant was twelve thousand.

She took it only once and she started saying, `O' Allaah, do not let this money catch up with me next year because it is a trial.' She then distributed it to her kith and kin and the needy.

When `Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, heard that, he said: `This is a blessed woman.'

He then sent greetings to her and said: `The news of what you have done have reached me.' So he sent her one thousand dirham that would last her. But she treated the money as she did with the first."

Zaynab, may Allaah be pleased with her, died in year 20 A.H. at the age of fifty-three. `Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, performed funeral prayer on her. May Allaah be pleased with her and please her.

There is indeed a lesson in her person, in her life with Zayd, may Allaah be pleased with him, in her life in the house of prophethood and with her co-wives and even in her death.

» Zaynab bint Khuzaymah,
» Zaynab the Great
» Umm Kulthoom bint 'Uqbah59
» Umm Sulaym bint Milhaan
» Umm Haraam bint Milhaan

IZHAR UL-HAQ

إجازة الأستاذ أحمد لبن مدير المنتدى بقراءة الإمام عاصم الكوفي

Zaynab bint Jahsh Al-Asadiyah