Zaynab bint Ja¦sh
A close relative of the Holy Prophet, Zaynab was married to Zayd ibn °¡rithah, the Holy Prophet's stepchild.[1] She married the Holy Prophet after her separation from Zayd.
Zayd had been the slave of Khad¢jah before he was freed and adopted by the Holy Prophet. From then on, he was called Zayd son of Mu¦ammad.[2]
After the prophethood, God made the adoption of sons illegal:
Allah has not made for any man two hearts within him; nor has He made your wives whose backs you liken to the backs of your mothers as your mothers, nor has He made those whom you assert to be your sons your real sons; these are the words of your mouths; And Allah speaks the truth and He guides to the way. Assert their relationship to their fathers; this is more equitable with Allah, but if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brethren in faith and your friends; and there is no blame on you concerning that in which you made a mistake, but concerning that which your hearts do purposely blame may rest on you, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (33:4-5)
Upon receiving these revelations, the Holy Prophet said to Zayd, “You are Zayd son of °¡rithah.” From then on, he was nicknamed freed by the Holy Prophet.[3]
The Holy Prophet proposed Zaynab for himself. However, since she was one of the granddaughters of `Abd al-Mu§§alib and she belonged to a well-known tribe, she refused to accept such a proposal in the beginning, because Zayd was not from a Quraysh family; rather, he was freed slave. However, the Holy Prophet insisted; and Zaynab agreed. This marriage was the annihilation of racial and class privileges, which were so emphatically approved of. The Prophet's insistence on such a marriage was aimed at removing such unfounded principles.
Due to some ethical maladjustment, the marriage of Zaynab and Zayd became vulnerable; it was on the threshold of being cut. Several times, Zayd decided to divorce her, but the Holy Prophet called them for more perseverance by saying, “Keep your spouse.”[4] Finally, Zayd divorced her. After their divorce, the Holy Prophet received direction from God to marry Zaynab so that the marriage of an adopted son's divorcee would not create a problem for Muslims. In this way, a wrong custom was broken, because an adopted son was considered real son. For this reason, marrying the wife of such a person was not allowed. The Holy Qur'¡n describes the aim of this marriage in the following manner:
And when you said to him to whom Allah had shown favor and to whom you had shown a favor: Keep your wife to yourself and be careful of your duty to Allah; and you concealed in your soul what Allah would bring to light, and you feared men, and Allah had a greater right that you should fear Him. But when Zayd had accomplished his want of her, We gave her to you as a wife, so that there should be no difficulty for the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons, when they have accomplished their want of them; and Allah's command shall be performed. (33:37)
The unbelievers found an excuse in this marriage to level some accusations against the Holy Prophet: they accused him of marrying the wife of his son![5] Then God revealed to the Holy Prophet:
Mu¦ammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the last of the Holy Prophets; and Allah is Cognizant of all things. (33:40)
Some Christian Orientalists have changed this event into a romance and have added unfounded details to it,[6] but this accusation does not comply with the Holy Prophet’s traits. Besides, we have seen that the issue was something else and this is vividly explained in the Holy Qur'¡n.
The aforementioned accounts of the Holy Prophet’s wives are enough for an explanation of the real motives behind his polygamy. The other wives of the Holy Prophet had more or less similar traits.
The Holy Prophet's Journey to ±¡’if
Seventy-two kilometers away from Mecca, ±¡’if is a countryside with mild weather. It was known for its vineyards in those days.[7] Some of Quraysh’s noblemen had gardens and pastures there. The citizens of ±¡’if were wealthy; they were famous usurers. It was the resort of the strong tribe of Thaq¢f.
After the death of Khad¢jah and Ab£-±¡lib, the tormenting of the Holy Prophet by Quraysh increased and propagating the religion became difficult. However, the invitation to Islam could not be stopped. Therefore, the Holy Prophet decided to journey to ±¡’if in order to invite its people to his religion. He hoped to find some protectors there. On this journey, Zayd ibn °¡rithah[8] and Imam `Al¢[9] accompanied him.
The Holy Prophet met three brothers of the noblemen of Thaq¢f; the wife of one of these three was from a branch of Quraysh, called Ban£-Juma¦.[10] He invited them to Islam and asked them for help. However, they refused and used strong words in reply. He also asked them to keep his journey secret so that the chiefs of Quraysh might not be annoyed. But they did not pay attention to what he said.
The Holy Prophet visited other leaders of ±¡’if as well, but they rejected his invitation and feared that their youth might be inclined towards Islam.[11] The leaders of ±¡’if provoked the rogues, the destitute, and their slaves to curse, humiliate and throw stones at him. In this conflict, some parts of the Holy Prophet's legs were badly hurt and Zayd's head was wounded.
The Holy Prophet headed for a vineyard which belonged to `Utbah and Shaybah, two chiefs of Quraysh, and rested in the shade of a vine, praying to God.
`Utbah and Shaybah, who had been watching the tormenting of the Holy Prophet, sympathized with him; they sent him some grapes through their Christian servant, `Add¡s, who was from Nineveh. While eating the grapes, the Holy Prophet said, “In the Name of Allah.” This statement roused `Add¡s's curiosity. After some conversation through which the Holy Prophet told `Add¡s about his Divine mission, `Add¡s threw himself at the Holy Prophet's feet, kissed his hands and feet,[12] and became Muslim.[13] Having stayed in ±¡’if[14] for ten days and discouraged by the refusal of the Thaq¢f tribe, he returned to Mecca.
[1] Ibn Sa`d, op cit, 8:101; Ibn al-Ath¢r, Usd al-Gh¡bah 2:226; Ibn °ajar, al-I¥¡bah 4:564.
[2] Ibn Sa`d, op cit; Ibn al-Ath¢r, op cit, 2:224; Ibn °ajar, op cit, pp. 563.
[3] al-ªl£s¢, Tafs¢r R£¦ al-Ma`¡n¢ 21:147.
[4] Ibn Sa`d, op cit, 8:103.
[5] Ibn al-Ath¢r, op cit, 7:494; ±abars¢, Majma` al-Bay¡n 8:337; Qas§al¡ni, al-Maw¡hib al-Ludaniyyah 2:87.
[6] Islamic Encyclopedia; Mu¦ammad °asanayn Haykal, °ay¡t Mu¦ammad, pp. 316, 323.
According to Orientalists, Mu¦ammad passed by Zayd's house and accidentally saw his wife, Zaynab. He fell in love with her!! When Zayd noticed this, he divorced Zaynab who was one of the Prophet's relatives and was not unknown to the Prophet since, in those days, women’s veil was not yet common!!
To refute this fable, members of a family must know who is beautiful and who is not among them. We should add here that these Orientalists have got this fable from some baseless narrations recorded in some reference books, such as T¡r¢kh ±abar¢ 3:42; Al-±abaq¡t al-Kubr¡ 8:101. Some other writers, too, have unknowingly adopted these sources. However, the Holy Qur’¡n has vividly revealed the truth. Of course, some Muslim scholars have proved the forgery of this story. One of these is Sayyid Murta¤¡ `Alam al-Hud¡, a well-known Sh¢`ite scholar (436 AH). He has described such reports as dirty and ugly. See Tanz¢h al-Anbiy¡', pp. 114. Al-ªl£s¢ considers the issue as a myth uttered by story-tellers. He says, “We should acquit the Prophet from such accusations.” See Tafs¢r R£¦ al-Ma`¡n¢ 22:24-25.
[7] Y¡q£t al-°amaw¢, Mu`jam al-Buld¡n 4:9.
[8] ±abar¢, T¡r¢kh al-Umam wa’l-Mul£k 2:230; al-Bul¡dhar¢, Ans¡b al-Ashr¡f 1:237.
[9] Ibn Ab¢’l-°ad¢d, Shar¦ Nahj al-Bal¡ghah 14:97 and 4:127-128.
[10] ±abar¢, op cit, pp. 230; Ibn Hush¡m, Al-S¢rah al-Nabawiyyah 2:60.
[11] Ibn Sa`d, op cit, pp. 212.
[12] ±abar¢, op cit, 2:230; Ibn Hush¡m, op cit, 2:62.
[13] Ibn W¡¤i¦, T¡r¢kh al-Ya`q£b¢ 2:30.
[14] Ibn Sa`d, op cit, 1:212; Ibn Ab¢’l-°ad¢d, op cit, 14:91; al-Majlis¢, Bi¦¡r al-Anw¡r 19:22. It is also reported that the Holy Prophet stayed at ª¡’if more than this period.
