Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (Mother of the Poor)

Zaynab bint Khuzaymah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd Manaf, known as “the Mother of the Poor”. She was given this title because of her great kindness and compassion towards the poor, and her generosity.  She was one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.  She was born approximately thirteen to fourteen years before the beginning of the Prophet’s mission. There are differing accounts of who her husband was before she married Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.  

Her Marriage to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

After her husband died in the Battle of Uhud and her waiting period had ended, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married her out of compassion for her. It was reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ proposed to her directly, and she entrusted the matter to him. He then married her and gave her a dowry of four hundred dirhams. He also held a wedding feast for her, serving a camel. It was also said that her uncle, Qabisa ibn ‘Amr al-Hilali, arranged her marriage. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married her in Ramadan in the third year after the Hijrah, after his marriage to Hafsah and before his marriage to Maymunah bint al-Harith. 

    When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married her, she did not concern herself with jealousy towards his other wives, despite her young age. Instead, she devoted herself to worshipping Allah and caring for the poor.

Her Death

Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (may Allah be pleased with her) did not remain in the Prophet’s household for long. She died in Rabi‘ al-Akhir in the fourth year after the Hijrah, at the age of over thirty, having spent eight months with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He ﷺ had no children with her.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed the funeral prayer for her and buried her in al-Baqi‘ Cemetery. She was thus the second of his wives to pass away during his lifetime, after Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. May Allah be pleased with her and all the Mothers of the Believers.