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Zaynab’s grandfather was Riyab ibn Yaamur, a Bedouin from the tribe of Asad ibn Khuzayma.<ref>Note. The Asad ibn Khuzayma tribe should not be confused with the Asad clan of the Quraysh. The latter were a single family who lived in Mecca, i.e., the descendants of Asad ibn Abduluzza, of whom Khadijah was one.</ref> He immigrated to [[Mecca]] and requested an alliance with the Quraysh, apparently because he desired their assistance in a quarrel with the Khuza’a tribe. [[Khadijah bint Khuwaylid|Khadijah’s]] grandfather, Asad ibn Abduluzza, responded “and he gladly joined them as ''hali'' [ally on equal terms].” But the Meccans later told him that Asad’s family were “a wretched branch of the Quraysh.” Riyab then broke this alliance and formed one with the Umayya, who were the most powerful clan in Mecca.<ref>Kister, M. J. (1990). On Strangers and Allies in Mecca. ''Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 13'', 113-154.</ref> Thereafter Riyab’s children and grandchildren were regarded as honorary Umayyads.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:170-172 lists members of Riyab’s clan who lived in Mecca. Some were his biological family but others may have been more loosely attached.</ref> | Zaynab’s grandfather was Riyab ibn Yaamur, a Bedouin from the tribe of Asad ibn Khuzayma.<ref>Note. The Asad ibn Khuzayma tribe should not be confused with the Asad clan of the Quraysh. The latter were a single family who lived in Mecca, i.e., the descendants of Asad ibn Abduluzza, of whom Khadijah was one.</ref> He immigrated to [[Mecca]] and requested an alliance with the Quraysh, apparently because he desired their assistance in a quarrel with the Khuza’a tribe. [[Khadijah bint Khuwaylid|Khadijah’s]] grandfather, Asad ibn Abduluzza, responded “and he gladly joined them as ''hali'' [ally on equal terms].” But the Meccans later told him that Asad’s family were “a wretched branch of the Quraysh.” Riyab then broke this alliance and formed one with the Umayya, who were the most powerful clan in Mecca.<ref>Kister, M. J. (1990). On Strangers and Allies in Mecca. ''Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 13'', 113-154.</ref> Thereafter Riyab’s children and grandchildren were regarded as honorary Umayyads.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:170-172 lists members of Riyab’s clan who lived in Mecca. Some were his biological family but others may have been more loosely attached.</ref> | ||
Riyab’s son Jahsh married Umama (or Umayma) bint Abdulmuttalib, who was Muhammad’s aunt;<ref>Tabari 39:180.</ref> hence their six children were Muhammad’s first cousins. Zaynab was born c. 590;<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 182}}.</ref> her sisters were Habibah (or Umm Habib) and Hamnah, but their birth-order is unknown. Some early sources claimed that Zaynab had only one sister, i.e., that “Umm Habib” was the ''kunya'' of Hamnah; but Ibn Ishaq makes it clear that they were indeed two people,<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 522-523.</ref> and Ibn Saad presents their separate biographies.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:170-171. It can only be speculated that, as Zaynab was the only one who did not marry a Muslim, hence was probably the only one who married before Islam, she may have been the eldest of the three. Hamnah married twice, both times to men who were some years younger than Zaynab and her brothers, suggesting that she was the youngest of the six.</ref> Her eldest brother, Abd, was always known as an adult by his ''kunya'' Abu Ahmad.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> He was born blind but “he used to go all round Mecca from top to bottom without anyone to lead him. He was a poet.”<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> The second brother was Abdullah and the third was Ubaydullah.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 99, 116.</ref> | Riyab’s son Jahsh married Umama (or Umayma) bint Abdulmuttalib, who was Muhammad’s aunt;<ref>Tabari 39:180.</ref> hence their six children were Muhammad’s first cousins. Zaynab was born c. 590;<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 182}}.</ref> her sisters were Habibah (or Umm Habib) and Hamnah, but their birth-order is unknown. Some early sources claimed that Zaynab had only one sister, i.e., that “Umm Habib” was the ''kunya'' of Hamnah; but [[Ibn Ishaq]] makes it clear that they were indeed two people,<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 522-523.</ref> and Ibn Saad presents their separate biographies.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:170-171. It can only be speculated that, as Zaynab was the only one who did not marry a Muslim, hence was probably the only one who married before Islam, she may have been the eldest of the three. Hamnah married twice, both times to men who were some years younger than Zaynab and her brothers, suggesting that she was the youngest of the six.</ref> Her eldest brother, Abd, was always known as an adult by his ''kunya'' Abu Ahmad.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> He was born blind but “he used to go all round Mecca from top to bottom without anyone to lead him. He was a poet.”<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> The second brother was Abdullah and the third was Ubaydullah.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 99, 116.</ref> | ||
It is possible that Zaynab remembered Muhammad’s wedding to Khadijah, which took place when she was about five years old.<ref>{{Tabari|6|p. 47}}.</ref> As an honorary Umayyad, she would have socialised with the Meccan aristocracy. She | It is possible that Zaynab remembered Muhammad’s wedding to Khadijah, which took place when she was about five years old.<ref>{{Tabari|6|p. 47}}.</ref> As an honorary Umayyad, she would have socialised with the Meccan aristocracy. She was about fifteen when the [[Ka'aba]] was damaged by floods and had to be repaired. This re-housing of the idols seems to have made a deep impression on her brother Ubaydullah, for he then decided that the [[Black Stone]] was useless “for it can neither see nor hear nor hurt nor help.” He declared that he believed in only one God and set out on a quest to discover the true religion.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 98-99.</ref> He came under the influence of the monotheist Zayd ibn Amr, whose outspoken opinions on the Arabian gods made him so unpopular in Mecca that his family drove him out of the town proper into the mountains. Zayd journeyed to Syria and Mesopotamia, questioning monks and rabbis about the religion of Abraham. On his return to Mecca, before he could enter the city, he was attacked and murdered by some unknown persons.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 102-103. Ibn Ishaq also states that Zayd met in Syria a monk who told him that a prophet would soon arise in his own country, and that Zayd was returning home in order to meet that prophet. But it is difficult to discern how this could have been known to anyone in Mecca, since Zayd did not have the opportunity to talk about his travels before he was murdered.</ref> Ubaydullah was not discouraged but “went on searching until Islam came.”<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 99.</ref> | ||
===First Marriage=== | ===First Marriage=== | ||
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Zaynab’s eldest brother married Abu Sufyan’s daughter Al-Faraa,<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> and Ubaydullah married his daughter Ramlah.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 99.</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,<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214.</ref> and Ubaydullah married his daughter Ramlah.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 99.</ref> As far as we know, Abu Sufyan did not arrange a marriage for the middle brother Abdullah. | ||
Zaynab was also married in Mecca. It seems likely that her bridegroom was approved, or even chosen, by Abu Sufyan | Zaynab was also married in Mecca. It seems likely that her bridegroom was approved, or even chosen, by Abu Sufyan. However, almost nothing is known about this man. Zaynab once reminded Muhammad that her husband had been a Quraysh in order to emphasise his high social status.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:72; {{Tabari|39|p. 180}}: “''Zaynab bint Jahsh ... said, ‘O Messenger of God … 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. To be parsimonious, however, we shall here assume that there was only one husband.</ref> If he had been from the leading clans of Umayya, Makhzum or even Hashim, she would certainly have mentioned it; since she did not, he must have been from a humbler clan. But every Quraysh was deemed of higher social status than every other person in Mecca.<ref>{{Tabari|6|pp. 20-21, 29-31}}.</ref> | ||
Her husband’s anonymity is curious. 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 to be a simple case of the information’s having been lost by the time the ''ahadith'' were committed to writing. It is easy enough to imagine reasons why Zaynab might not have talked very much about her husband. Perhaps she loved him so much or hated him so much that she could not bear to speak about him; perhaps the marriage was so short-lived, or he spent so much of it travelling away from home, or his personality was so quiet or so bland that he made very little impression on her. But Zaynab is not the only silent person here. Other Muslims must have known her first husband: her siblings, their numerous Hashimite cousins, their honorary Umayyad kin, any number of their friends from Mecca. Yet none of them passed on any tradition about him, and his name is forgotten. | Her husband’s anonymity is curious. 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 to be a simple case of the information’s having been lost by the time the ''ahadith'' were committed to writing. It is easy enough to imagine reasons why Zaynab might not have talked very much about her husband. Perhaps she loved him so much or hated him so much that she could not bear to speak about him; perhaps the marriage was so short-lived, or he spent so much of it travelling away from home, or his personality was so quiet or so bland that he made very little impression on her. But Zaynab is not the only silent person here. Other Muslims must have known her first husband: her siblings, their numerous Hashimite cousins, their honorary Umayyad kin, any number of their friends from Mecca. Yet none of them passed on any tradition about him, and his name is forgotten. | ||
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We can take two educated guesses about Zaynab’s married life. Firstly, she was a skilled craftswoman. She knew how to tan leather,<ref>{{Muslim|8|3240}}.</ref> dye cloth<ref>{{Abudawud|32|4060}}.</ref> and sew textiles and leather to make clothes and sew other household items.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:74, 77.</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>Bewley/Saad 8:74, 77.</ref> she must have enjoyed it. This suggests that the everyday-labour aspect of her first marriage was happy. | We can take two educated guesses about Zaynab’s married life. Firstly, she was a skilled craftswoman. She knew how to tan leather,<ref>{{Muslim|8|3240}}.</ref> dye cloth<ref>{{Abudawud|32|4060}}.</ref> and sew textiles and leather to make clothes and sew other household items.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:74, 77.</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>Bewley/Saad 8:74, 77.</ref> she must have enjoyed it. This suggests that the everyday-labour aspect of her first marriage was 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 by her subsequent husbands.<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 134}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 161}}.</ref> | 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 by her subsequent husbands.<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 134}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 161}}.</ref> This secondary infertility was possibly due to a hereditary condition, for her sister Habibah was also childless.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:171.</ref> | ||
===Islam=== | ===Islam=== | ||