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# '''Abd''' was the eldest son. As an adult he was always known by his ''kunya'' '''Abu Ahmad'''.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> | # '''Abd''' was the eldest son. As an adult he was always known by his ''kunya'' '''Abu Ahmad'''.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> | ||
# '''Abdullah''' was the second son. | # '''Abdullah''' was the second son. | ||
# '''Zaynab''' was born c. 590. The birth-order of the daughters is not really known, but Zaynab appears to have been the only one who married before Islam.<ref>Both her sisters married prominent Muslims, suggesting that these marriages occurred after they had all converted to Islam. Zaynab would have been over twenty years old by then, and her husband appears to have remained a pagan, suggesting that they were already married before Islam. Of course, marriage-order is not proof of birth-order.</ref> | # '''Zaynab''' was born c. 590.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:81.</ref> The birth-order of the daughters is not really known, but Zaynab appears to have been the only one who married before Islam.<ref>Both her sisters married prominent Muslims, suggesting that these marriages occurred after they had all converted to Islam. Zaynab would have been over twenty years old by then, and her husband appears to have remained a pagan, suggesting that they were already married before Islam. Of course, marriage-order is not proof of birth-order.</ref> | ||
# '''Ubaydullah''' (“little Abdullah”) was the third son. | # '''Ubaydullah''' (“little Abdullah”) was the third son. | ||
# '''Habibah''' was also known as '''Umm Habib'''. Both are feminine forms of the masculine ''Habib'' (“beloved”). | # '''Habibah''' was also known as '''Umm Habib'''. Both are feminine forms of the masculine ''Habib'' (“beloved”). | ||
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Zaynab’s eldest brother married Abu Sufyan’s daughter Al-Faraa, and Ubaydullah married his daughter Ramlah.<ref></ref> As far as we know, Abu Sufyan did not arrange a marriage for the middle brother Abdullah. | Zaynab’s eldest brother married Abu Sufyan’s daughter Al-Faraa, and Ubaydullah married his daughter Ramlah.<ref></ref> As far as we know, Abu Sufyan did not arrange a marriage for the middle brother Abdullah. | ||
Zaynab was also married in Mecca, but almost nothing is known about her husband.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:72; {{Tabari|39|p. 180}}: “''Zaynab bint Jahsh ... said, 'O Messenger of God, I cannot give my consent, for I am a widow of the Quraysh.’''” Strictly speaking, these words do not even prove ''how many'' husbands Zaynab had already had. It is in theory possible that she was married more than once in Mecca although, to be parsimonious, we shall here assume that there was only one husband.</ref> He was a Quraysh, but probably not from the leading clans of Umayya, Makhzum or even Hashim, since Zaynab’s declaration that he was a Quraysh<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 180}}: "I am the widow of the Quraysh."</ref> was asserted in order to emphasise his high social status; if he had belonged to these prestigious families, she would certainly have mentioned it. But every Quraysh was deemed of higher social status than every other person in Mecca. It is safe to say, however, that Zaynab’s bridegroom was approved, or even chosen, by Abu Sufyan, and that he was | Zaynab was also married in Mecca, but almost nothing is known about her husband.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:72; {{Tabari|39|p. 180}}: “''Zaynab bint Jahsh ... said, 'O Messenger of God, I cannot give my consent, for I am a widow of the Quraysh.’''” Strictly speaking, these words do not even prove ''how many'' husbands Zaynab had already had. It is in theory possible that she was married more than once in Mecca although, to be parsimonious, we shall here assume that there was only one husband.</ref> He was a Quraysh, but probably not from the leading clans of Umayya, Makhzum or even Hashim, since Zaynab’s declaration that he was a Quraysh<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 180}}: "I am the widow of the Quraysh."</ref> was asserted in order to emphasise his high social status; if he had belonged to these prestigious families, she would certainly have mentioned it. But every Quraysh was deemed of higher social status than every other person in Mecca. It is safe to say, however, that Zaynab’s bridegroom was approved, or even chosen, by Abu Sufyan, and that he was deemed a person suitable to marry into the family favoured by the Umayyads.<ref></ref> | ||
Her husband’s anonymity is decidedly strange. All the previous husbands of Muhammad’s other wives are carefully listed in their biographies. The lists include some men who were Muslim heroes, others who were considered enemies of Islam, and others again who were of no great importance. The historians were very obviously not excluding information that was somehow “embarrassing,” so this cannot be the reason why Zaynab’s first husband is missing from the list. It is more likely because, by the time the ''ahadith'' were committed to writing, the information had been lost. If nobody remembered the man’s name, this suggests that Zaynab did not talk about him very much. Perhaps she had loved him so much or hated him so much that she could not bear to speak about him; or perhaps the marriage had been so short-lived, or he had spent so much of it travelling away from home, that he had made very little impression on her. But Zaynab is not the only silent person here. Other people must have known her first husband: her siblings, their numerous Hashimite cousins, their honorary Umayyad kin, their friends who emigrated with them. Yet none of them speaks a word, either good or bad. | Her husband’s anonymity is decidedly strange. All the previous husbands of Muhammad’s other wives are carefully listed in their biographies. The lists include some men who were Muslim heroes, others who were considered enemies of Islam, and others again who were of no great importance.<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918; {{Tabari|9|pp. 127-135}}; {{Tabari|39|pp. 163-165, 169-186}}.</ref> The historians were very obviously not excluding information that was somehow “embarrassing,” so this cannot be the reason why Zaynab’s first husband is missing from the list. It is more likely because, by the time the ''ahadith'' were committed to writing, the information had been lost. If nobody remembered the man’s name, this suggests that Zaynab did not talk about him very much. Perhaps she had loved him so much or hated him so much that she could not bear to speak about him; or perhaps the marriage had been so short-lived, or he had spent so much of it travelling away from home, that he had made very little impression on her. But Zaynab is not the only silent person here. Other people must have known her first husband: her siblings, their numerous Hashimite cousins, their honorary Umayyad kin, their friends who emigrated with them. Yet none of them speaks a word, either good or bad. | ||
We can take two educated guesses about Zaynab’s married life. Firstly, she became a skilled craftswoman. She knew how to tan leather,<ref></ref> dye cloth,<ref></ref> pierce pearls<ref></ref> and make clothes and other household items from textiles and leather.<ref></ref> There is no indication that any other member of the Jahsh family had these skills, and she certainly did not grow up with the economic need to learn a trade. So it is reasonable to infer that Zaynab's first husband was from one of Mecca’s many leather-working families<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 150-151.</ref> and that she learned her skills from them. Since she continued with this work all her life, whether there was an economic need for it or not,<ref></ref> she must have enjoyed it. So the everyday-labour aspect of her first marriage must have been happy. | We can take two educated guesses about Zaynab’s married life. Firstly, she became a skilled craftswoman. She knew how to tan leather,<ref></ref> dye cloth,<ref></ref> pierce pearls<ref></ref> and make clothes and other household items from textiles and leather.<ref></ref> There is no indication that any other member of the Jahsh family had these skills, and she certainly did not grow up with the economic need to learn a trade. So it is reasonable to infer that Zaynab's first husband was from one of Mecca’s many leather-working families<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 150-151.</ref> and that she learned her skills from them. Since she continued with this work all her life, whether there was an economic need for it or not,<ref></ref> she must have enjoyed it. So the everyday-labour aspect of her first marriage must have been happy. | ||
Secondly, it appears that she had a child. She was occasionally known as ''Umm al-Hakam'',<ref>[http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-1/zainab-bint-djahsh-SIM_6058/ Vacca, V. (2013). “Zainab bint Djahsh" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam. First Edition (1913-1936)''. Brill Online, 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.]: “her ''kunya'' was Umm al-Hakam and her name had been Barra."</ref> which literally means “Mother of the Judge”. There is nothing in her biography that indicates she had any kind of legal expertise or even that she was consulted for her general wisdom. It is therefore most likely that ''Umm al-Hakam'' was not a by-name but a literal ''kunya'' and that Zaynab gave birth to an actual child named Al-Hakam. This child is never otherwise mentioned, so he probably died in infancy. It is unlikely that Zaynab had any further children; she certainly had none who survived and none at all by her subsequent husbands.<ref></ref> Although the reason for her secondary infertility cannot be known, a modern doctor would suspect the Rhesus negative condition. There is further evidence for a hereditary condition of this type in that her sister | Secondly, it appears that she had a child. She was occasionally known as ''Umm al-Hakam'',<ref>[http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-1/zainab-bint-djahsh-SIM_6058/ Vacca, V. (2013). “Zainab bint Djahsh" in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam. First Edition (1913-1936)''. Brill Online, 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.]: “her ''kunya'' was Umm al-Hakam and her name had been Barra."</ref> which literally means “Mother of the Judge”. There is nothing in her biography that indicates she had any kind of legal expertise or even that she was consulted for her general wisdom. It is therefore most likely that ''Umm al-Hakam'' was not a by-name but a literal ''kunya'' and that Zaynab gave birth to an actual child named Al-Hakam. This child is never otherwise mentioned, so he probably died in infancy. It is unlikely that Zaynab had any further children; she certainly had none who survived and none at all by her subsequent husbands.<ref></ref> Although the reason for her secondary infertility cannot be known, a modern doctor would suspect the Rhesus negative condition.<ref></ref> There is further evidence for a hereditary condition of this type in that her sister Habibah was also childless.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:171.</ref> | ||
===Islam=== | ===Islam=== | ||
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Zaynab was about twenty years old when her cousin Muhammad declared himself a prophet.<ref></ref> Another cousin, Abu Salama ibn Abdulasad, was among the earliest converts to Islam.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 116.</ref> Her brothers Abu Ahmad and Abdullah came under the influence of Abu Bakr and were converted slightly later, perhaps in 612.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 116.</ref> The other four siblings and their father Riyab are not included in Ibn Ishaq’s list of “those who accepted Islam at Abu Bakr’s invitation,” but they were nevertheless all Muslims by 615.<ref></ref> This suggests that Zaynab was converted<ref>{{Tabari|39|180}}.</ref> under the influence of her brothers. | Zaynab was about twenty years old when her cousin Muhammad declared himself a prophet.<ref></ref> Another cousin, Abu Salama ibn Abdulasad, was among the earliest converts to Islam.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 116.</ref> Her brothers Abu Ahmad and Abdullah came under the influence of Abu Bakr and were converted slightly later, perhaps in 612.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 116.</ref> The other four siblings and their father Riyab are not included in Ibn Ishaq’s list of “those who accepted Islam at Abu Bakr’s invitation,” but they were nevertheless all Muslims by 615.<ref></ref> This suggests that Zaynab was converted<ref>{{Tabari|39|180}}.</ref> under the influence of her brothers. | ||
Zaynab’s single siblings soon married into the small Muslim community: Abdullah to the Hilal widow Zaynab bint Khuzayma, “Mother of the Poor”;<ref></ref> Habibah to the newly divorced Abdulrahman ibn Awf, <ref></ref> a wealthy merchant<ref></ref> who was related to Muhammad’s mother;<ref></ref> and Hamnah to Masood ibn Umayr,<ref></ref> a blue-eyed<ref></ref> rich boy<ref></ref> from the Abduldar clan.<ref></ref> Abu Sufyan’s daughters, the wives of Abu Ahmad and Ubaydullah, | Zaynab’s single siblings soon married into the small Muslim community: Abdullah to the Hilal widow Zaynab bint Khuzayma, “Mother of the Poor”;<ref></ref> Habibah to the newly divorced<ref></ref> Abdulrahman ibn Awf,<ref></ref> a wealthy merchant<ref></ref> who was related to Muhammad’s mother;<ref></ref> and Hamnah to Masood ibn Umayr,<ref></ref> a blue-eyed<ref></ref> rich boy<ref></ref> from the Abduldar clan.<ref></ref> Abu Sufyan’s daughters, the wives of Abu Ahmad<ref></ref> and Ubaydullah,<ref></ref> also became Muslims; but the lists of early converts do not include anyone who could have plausibly been Zaynab’s husband. While the lists specifically mention those men whose widows later married Muhammad,<ref></ref> there is no such notice about Zaynab, so her husband probably remained a pagan. Her mother Umama did not become a Muslim either.<ref>The biographies of Abdulmuttalib’s six daughters in Bewley/Saad 8:29 state that Safiya, Arwa and Atiqa became Muslims but say nothing about Umm Hakim, Barrah or Umama. {{Tabari|39|p. 198}} explains that Umm Hakim died before Islam; however, Umama was still alive in 628 (REF).</ref> | ||
After 613 the Quraysh began a campaign of persecuting vulnerable Muslims.<ref></ref> Zaynab’s family was under the protection of Abu Sufyan and therefore the worst that could be done to them was that their businesses were boycotted, though apparently not very systematically.<ref></ref> In 615 Abdullah, Ubaydullah and their two brothers-in-law joined the emigration to Abyssinia.<ref></ref> Zaynab’s father Jahsh also left Mecca, although apparently not as part of the general exile to Abyssinia. As it happened, Jahsh never returned to Mecca. He travelled eastwards to preach Islam to whoever would listen.<ref></ref> It is even claimed that he reached China and that the Muslim residents of western China are descended from his converts.<ref></ref> | After 613 the Quraysh began a campaign of persecuting vulnerable Muslims.<ref></ref> Zaynab’s family was under the protection of Abu Sufyan and therefore the worst that could be done to them was that their businesses were boycotted, though apparently not very systematically.<ref></ref> In 615 Abdullah, Ubaydullah and their two brothers-in-law joined the emigration to Abyssinia.<ref></ref> Zaynab’s father Jahsh also left Mecca, although apparently not as part of the general exile to Abyssinia. As it happened, Jahsh never returned to Mecca. He travelled eastwards to preach Islam to whoever would listen.<ref></ref> It is even claimed that he reached China and that the Muslim residents of western China are descended from his converts.<ref></ref> | ||
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====The Wedding==== | ====The Wedding==== | ||
Zaynab married Zayd.<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918.</ref> Muhammad paid the dower.<ref></ref> | Zaynab married Zayd.<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918.</ref> The date is not given, but it was after 20 January 625<ref>XXX states that the marriage lasted less than two (lunar) years, and the divorce date was 29 December 626.</ref> and before 22 March 625.<ref>Since it is specifically stated that Abdullah consented, he must have been alive at the time.</ref> Muhammad paid the dower.<ref></ref> | ||
The fortunes of the Jahsh family suffered a major setback at the Battle of Uhud on 22 March 625. Muhammad suffered the worst defeat of his career when his army was routed and decimated.<ref></ref> Zaynab lost three family members. Her sister Hamnah, who had served as a battle auxiliary, met the returning army to ask about casualties, and Muhammad told her, “Hamnah, expect that your brother Abdullah will be rewarded.” Hamnah dutifully responded, “We belong to Allah and to him we return.” Then Muhammad told her, “Hamnah, expect that your uncle Hamza will be rewarded.” Hamnah repeated, “We belong to Allah and to him we return.” Then Muhammad told her, “Hamnah, expect that your husband Musaab will be rewarded.” Hamnah then exclaimed, “Oh, loss! His children are orphans!”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:170.</ref> The Meccans had cut off the ears and noses of Abdullah and his uncle Hamza, and Abu Sufyan’s wife had even chewed Hamza’s liver.<ref>Guillaume/Ibn Ishaq 385-386, 388, 401.</ref> | |||
Muhammad decreed that the women could only mourn their relatives (other than a husband) for three days. After the three days were over, Zaynab received a condolence visit from the daughter of her cousin Abu Salama.<ref>Abu Salama and Zaynab were the offspring of two sisters. His daughter, also named Zaynab, would have been about nine years old and was perhaps reporting on the health of her father, who had been wounded at Uhud.</ref> In front of her guest, Zaynab made a show of asking for perfume and anointing herself, then explaining that she did not really want the perfume but that she was officially out of mourning.<ref>{{Abudawud|2|2292}}. The ''hadith'' does not state which one of Zaynab’s brothers had just died. However, it cannot have been Abu Ahmad, who outlived her; and it is unlikely that she was much distressed by the death of Ubaydullah, whom the family had disowned and whom, by the time of his death, she had not seen for twelve years. So it almost certainly refers to the death of Abdullah at Uhud.</ref> The prohibition on displays of grief must have been hard for the bereaved mothers, sisters and daughters. The specific loss for Zaynab, however, was that her brother Abdullah had been willing to support her against Muhammad’s wishes; now she had lost her protector just as she found herself married to a man whom she disliked. | |||
It is sometimes claimed that the defeat at Uhud created a great social problem because there were so many widows to support. It is even claimed that the excess of widows was the reason why polygamy became necessary.<ref></ref> However, of the seventy Muslims who were killed, sixty-six were from Medina and only four were Meccan immigrants.<ref></ref> The community was accustomed to losing men to the tribal wars<ref></ref> and there was already a system in place to ensure the rights of widows, largely based on the assumption that most families owned some farmland.<ref></ref> Muhammad did have to adjudicate a few civil cases in which widows or orphans were being cheated by their relatives;<ref></ref> and perhaps a few of the poorest families had to join the beggars on the mosque Bench.<ref></ref> But there is no evidence at all that Medina was suddenly swamped by seventy desperate widows; it is even claimed that only thirty of the dead men had been married, suggesting that the city would also have had several surviving bachelors. The real problem for Muhammad was that his hosts in Medina had taken a great hit on his behalf and he was at risk of losing their sympathy. This would have bothered him far more than the issue of the widows.<ref></ref> | |||
Hamnah had barely completed her ''idda'' before she was remarried to | Hamnah had barely completed her ''idda'' before she was remarried to Talhah ibn Ubaydullah, a wealthy<ref></ref> thirty-year-old<ref></ref> bachelor who was kin to Abu Bakr.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:170.</ref> Although he later became a polygamist, Hamnah was his only wife for several years.<ref></ref> Hamza’s widow also found a new husband,<ref></ref> but Abdullah’s widow never remarried; she had a bleeding disorder that raised doubts about her ritual cleanness.<ref></ref> | ||
===Third Marriage=== | ===Third Marriage=== | ||
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Zaynab was the first of Muhammad’s official<ref>Muhammad’s concubine, Mariya bint Shamoon, had died first of all in 637.</ref> widows to die, so his guess about the future had been wrong. The surviving wives then rationalised that “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 Omar, “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.” Ayesha 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.” | Zaynab was the first of Muhammad’s official<ref>Muhammad’s concubine, Mariya bint Shamoon, had died first of all in 637.</ref> widows to die, so his guess about the future had been wrong. The surviving wives then rationalised that “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 Omar, “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.” Ayesha 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.” | ||
''When you said to him whom Allah had blessed and you had favoured, ‘Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allah,’ and you were concealing within yourself what Allah should reveal, fearing other men; and Allah has better right for you to fear him. So when Zayd had accomplished what he would of her, then We gave her in marriage to you, so that there should not be any fault in the believers, touching the wives of their adopted sons, when they have accomplished what they would of them; and Allah’s commandment must be performed. There is no fault in the prophet, touching what Allah had ordained for him.”<ref>{{Quran-range|33|36-38}}.</ref> | ''When you said to him whom Allah had blessed and you had favoured, ‘Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allah,’ and you were concealing within yourself what Allah should reveal, fearing other men; and Allah has better right for you to fear him. So when Zayd had accomplished what he would of her, then We gave her in marriage to you, so that there should not be any fault in the believers, touching the wives of their adopted sons, when they have accomplished what they would of them; and Allah’s commandment must be performed. There is no fault in the prophet, touching what Allah had ordained for him.”<ref>{{Quran-range|33|36-38}}.</ref> | ||
{{Quote|[http://www.a2youth.com/ebooks/the_wives_of_the_prophet/zainab_bint_jahash/ Thompson, A. (DATE). “Zainab bint Jahash” in ''The Wives of the Prophet''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.|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 counselled to hold onto his wife and to fear Allah, in the end the divorce took place. The Prophet then was ordered by Allah to marry Zaynab bint Jahsh, while he did in 5 AH, when he was 58 years old, and she was 35 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 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.}} | {{Quote|[http://www.a2youth.com/ebooks/the_wives_of_the_prophet/zainab_bint_jahash/ Thompson, A. (DATE). “Zainab bint Jahash” in ''The Wives of the Prophet''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.|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 counselled to hold onto his wife and to fear Allah, in the end the divorce took place. The Prophet then was ordered by Allah to marry Zaynab bint Jahsh, while he did in 5 AH, when he was 58 years old, and she was 35 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 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.}} | ||
===See Also=== | |||
===References=== | ===References=== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||