Her name was associated with a great transformation in social customs and Islamic legislation. It was a tremendous challenge to what the Arabs considered unchangeable. She was not an ordinary wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ; her marriage was ordained from above the heavens. She was the seventh wife of the Messenger of Allah. It was established by a decree from Allah in the Holy Qur’an, and to this day Muslims continue to recite the story of her marriage in Surah Al-Ahzab. Her biography is not connected to just one radical social change; in fact, it is connected to two major transformations: her marriage to Zayd ibn Harithah, and later her marriage to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. She is Umm Al-Mu’minin Zaynab bint Jahsh ibn Ri’ab ibn Ya‘mar Al-Asadiyyah. Her mother was Umaymah bint Abd Al-Muttalib (RA), the aunt of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Her brother was Abdullah ibn Jahsh (RA) the first commander appointed in Islam. She was born, may Allah be pleased with her, thirty-three years before the Hijrah.
Islam came as a great message to all mankind. It guided people from worshipping idols to monotheism, and to worshipping Allah alone. Its impact extended to confronting all forms of moral corruption. It came to establish a world that embraces all human beings. Islam removed all distinctions between people except those based on righteous deeds: ”O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” (يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ) (Qur’an 49:13). The beginning of breaking down class and racial distinctions among Muslims was marked by the marriage of Zayd ibn Harithah to Zaynab bint Jahsh, who was from the nobility of Quraysh and a relative of the Prophet. While Zayd ibn Harithah was among the freed slaves (mawālī) — may Allah be pleased with him — and he was a freedman of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Her Marriage to Zayd ibn Harithah
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to propose on behalf of Zayd ibn Harithah. He entered upon Zaynab bint Jahsh — may Allah be pleased with her — and proposed to her on his behalf, but she said: ”I will not marry him.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ”Rather, marry him.”
She said: ”O Messenger of Allah, are you consulting me about myself?’” While they were speaking, Allah revealed to His Messenger the verse: ”It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, to have any choice in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.”
(وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُّبِينًا) (Holy Quran 33:36). She then said, may Allah be pleased with her: ”Have you chosen him for me as a husband, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: ”Yes.” She said: ”Then I will not disobey the Messenger of Allah; I have accepted him as my husband.” It was by the wisdom of Allah Almighty that Zayd and Zaynab — may Allah be pleased with them both — were not compatible in their marriage. Before the separation, Zayd used to complain to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about his inability to continue living with Zaynab and expressed his desire to divorce her. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would advise him to keep his wife and remain mindful of Allah, until Allah decreed the divorce. Zayd then divorced her after remaining with her for nearly a year.
Her Marriage to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
The efforts to abolish all aspects of the old social order did not stop at this stage, but were extended even further. Zayd ibn Harithah had been adopted by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and thus, in the eyes of the people, he was regarded as his son. However, Allah decreed that this practice must be changed. Children must be attributed to their true fathers and mothers. This marriage was essentially legislated to abolish the pre-Islamic system of adoption and its legal consequences regarding lineage, inheritance, and rights. This event is explained by Allah in the following verse; ”And [remember, O Muhammad], when you said to the one on whom Allah bestowed favor and you bestowed favor, “Keep your wife and fear Allah,” while you concealed within yourself that which Allah is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allah has more right that you fear Him. So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you in order that there not be upon the believers any discomfort concerning the wives of their adopted sons when they no longer have need of them. And ever is the command of Allah accomplished.” (وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِي أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَاهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ زَيْدٌ مِّنْهَا وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا لِكَيْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِي أَزْوَاجِ أَدْعِيَائِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْا مِنْهُنَّ وَطَرًا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا). (Holy Quran 33:37).
Allah, the Almighty, informed His Prophet that Zaynab bint Jahsh would become one of his wives. However, the Prophet ﷺ was concerned about the reactions and speech of the hypocrites, since Zayd had been regarded as his adopted son. But Allah brought to light what the Prophet was concealing within himself, making his marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh — may Allah be pleased with her — a matter of profound legislative wisdom, namely the abolition of adoption as it was practiced in pre-Islamic times. The first to implement this ruling was the Prophet himself regarding the one he had adopted, as Zayd had been attributed to the Prophet and was called ‘Zayd ibn Muhammad.’ Then adoption as a system was abolished, and Zayd was restored to his true lineage as Zayd ibn Harithah.
It is reported that the Prophet ﷺ was sitting and speaking with Aisha when he was overcome by a state of revelation. When it passed, he smiled and said: ”Who will go to Zaynab and give her the good news that Allah has married her to me from above the heavens?” It is also narrated that the Prophet ﷺ sent Zayd ibn Harithah to Zaynab, saying: ”I trust no one more in my heart than you. Go and mention me to her.” Zayd said: ”When he said that, I felt a great sense of awe, so I went to her. I stood at the door and said: O Zaynab, rejoice, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has proposed to you.”
She became very happy and said: ”I will not do anything until I consult my Lord.” She then went to her place of prayer, prayed two rak‘ahs, and supplicated to her Lord, saying: ”O Allah, if Your Messenger is suitable for me, then marry me to him.”
In honoring the legacy of Sayyida Zaynab bint Jahsh, we remember a woman of exceptional charity, devotion, and faith. May Allah be pleased with her and grant us the wisdom to follow in her righteous footsteps. Ameen.
