Friday, September 22, 2023

2023: Zaynab - Zayyani

 

Zaynab bint Jash
Zaynab bint Jash (Zaynab bint Jahsh ibn Ri‘ab) (Zaynab bint Jahsh) (c.591/593-c.643).  Married to the Prophet Muhammad from 626 until his death in 632.  Muhammad’s marriage to Zaynab was the result of Muhammad falling in love, which is different from most of his other marriages, where brothers or fathers had given sisters or daughters to Muhammad as wives.  Moreover, Zaynab was married to Zaid at that time.  Zaid was one of the first that had converted to Islam, and he divorced Zaynab so that Muhammad could marry her.  Zaynab received a dowry of 400 dirhams.  Zaynab had good relations with ‘A’isha and was one of Muhammad’s favorite wives. Zaynab is celebrated in the texts for her charity.  

Zaynab bint Jahsh was a wife of Muhammad and, therefore, a "Mother of the Believers". Prior to this, she was briefly married to Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah. She was also Muhammad's first cousin. Muhammad's father Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib was a brother of Zaynab's mother Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib.

Zaynab's brother, Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh, went on the migration to Abyssinia and there left Islam for Christianity. His wife, Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan, later married Muhammad. She had a sister named Hammanah bint Jahsh.

After her migration to Medina, Zaynab became part of the newly founded Muslim community. There, Muhammad proposed to Zaynab's family the marriage of his freed slave and adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah. However, Zayd was a former slave and of lower social status. Zayd was son of Harithah ibn Shurahbil, a person of the Kalb tribe, and his mother, Su'da bint Tha'labah, was from the Bani Ma'n, a branch of the Tay tribe. When he was eight years old, Su'da took Zayd along to visit her parents. There the people of Bani Qain bin Jasr raided their camp, plundered their goods and took some men as captives, including Zayd. They later sold Zayd at the fair of 'Ukaz near Ta'if. His buyer was Hakim ibn Hizam, a nephew of Khadija. Hakim brought him to Makkah (Mecca) and presented him to his paternal aunt. When Muhammad married Khadija, he found Zayd in her service.  Muhammad was so impressed by Zayd's good manners and conduct that he asked Khadija to give Zayd to him.

Zaynab had an aristocratic lineage and thus had a higher social status. On these grounds, her brothers rejected the proposal and she disapproved of it.

Muhammad, however, was determined to eliminate such class distinctions that had their roots in pre-Islamic Arab custom. He also wanted to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted.

Additionally, there may have been other reasons for Zaynab's initial disapproval. After all, Zayd, despite his social status, was held quite high in Muhammad's esteem. Thus, one reason for Zaynab's disapproval may have been that she wanted to marry Muhammad herself.

Whatever the reasons, Muhammad insisted on the marriage of Zayd to Zaynab. When Qur'an 33:36 was revealed, Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd in the year 626. However, Zayd divorced Zaynab after just over a year.

Zaynab was married to Muhammad in Dhul Qa'adah, in the fifth year of the Hijra. Since Zaynab was the wife of Muhammad's adopted son, pre-Islamic practices frowned upon her marriage with the prophet. The marriage was used by Munafiqs of Medina in an attempt to discredit Muhammad on two fronts, one of double standards as she was his fifth wife (seventh wife in total with Khadija and Zaynab bint Khuzaima having died before Muhammad's marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh), while everyone else was restricted to four, and marrying his adopted son's wife. This was exactly what Muhammad feared and why he was initially hesitant in marrying her. The Qur'an, however, confirmed that this marriage was valid. Thus Muhammad, confident of his faith in the Qur'an, proceeded to reject the existing Arabic norms. When Zaynab's waiting period from her divorce was complete, Muhammad married her.

We read in Sura Al-Ahzab 33:37:

    "Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy favor: "Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife, and fear Allah." But thou didst hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest: thou didst fear the people, but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear Allah. Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her, with the necessary (formality), We joined her in marriage to thee: in order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with the necessary (formality) (their marriage) with them. And Allah's command must be fulfilled."

In Pre Islamic Arabia, adoption was common and Zayd was given to Muhammad as a slave by his wife Khadija. Muhammad freed Zayd and took him to Kaaba in Mecca.  He declared Zayd to be his son (thus becoming one who received Muhammad's grace). However, with the coming of Islam all relations of adoption were nullified. Muhammad himself started calling Zayd, Zayd ibn Harithah instead of Zayd bin Muhammad (Zayd was known as Zayd bin Muhammad, i.e. son of Muhammad). Since Zayd's background was as a slave, and Muhammad wanted to lift the social status of freed slaves (like Zayd), Muhammad asked for Zaynab's hand in marriage for Zayd. Zaynab was Muhammad's first cousin, daughter of his aunt Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib. Zaynab had initially refused to marry Zaid because of his slave background and the same displeasure had come from her brother, 'Abdullah bin Jahsh. However, on insistence of Muhammad, Zaynab and everyone else agreed. The marriage was a failure as Zaynab found it extremely difficult to accept a freed slave as her husband. Zayd got tired of her and the bitterness left him with no desire for her, eventually leading to their divorce.  Zaynab being Muhammad's first cousin was no stranger to Muhammad, he had seen her hundreds of times in his aunt Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib's house for over thirty years before she became Zayd's wife.

The Quranic verse set forth above starts with the time when Zayd came to seek the council of Muhammad to divorce Zaynab.  However, Muhammad advised Zayd to 'Keep thy wife to thyself; and fear God'. Muhammad had already been informed by Gabriel that Zayd would divorce his wife and Muhammad would have to marry her. In spite of this knowledge, Muhammad asked Zayd to keep his wife. It was because of this that Muhammad was rebuked and told to fear God and not to fear men. Muhammad had two things to fear: One was that the Qur'an had restricted men to keep no more than four wives, and that if he was to marry Zaynab she would be his fifth wife, hence people would say double standards, 'four for us and five for you'. The second thing he feared was loss of reputation, Arabs had not been able to digest the fact that non-blood relations (like adoption) had no place in Islam, so an example had to be set for people to realize that the era of non-blood relations was over. The best way to do this was by marrying Zaynab.  However, the matter was concerning a woman and Muhammad feared that the hypocrites of Medina would not leave this golden chance to start a new propaganda against Islam. It was against this background that Muhammad was rebuked and told to fear God and not to fear men. The full verse was revealed to tell the complete tale to the Muslims and the hypocrites of Medina as to what actually happened, and to put an end to the continuous gossip that was going around.

Zaynab was the first of Muhammad's wives to die after him. She died during the caliphate of Umar bin Khattab in the 23rd year of Hijra (643/644).

Zaynab bint Jahsh ibn Ri'ab see Zaynab bint Jash
Zaynab bint Jahsh see Zaynab bint Jash


Zaynab bint Khuzaima

Zaynab bint Khuzaima (Zaynab bint Khuzayma) (Umm al-Masakin - Mother of the Poor) (595-626).  Wife of Muhammad for a period of two to eight months in 626.  Zaynab had been married twice before, the first marriage had ended with divorce, while her other husband had been killed in the battle at Badr.  Zaynab received a dowry of 400 dirhams, and she died after a few months, either two or eight of marriage.

Zaynab bint Khuzaima was the fifth wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As a result of her early death, less is known about her than any of his other wives.

Typically described as being in her late 20s, although occasionally said to be 48, she was described as "beautiful". She was known for her "compassion and pity" for the poor.

Zaynab was first married to Tufail bin Harith, who either divorced her or died shortly afterward. Zaynab then married her first husband's brother, Ubaydah ibn al-Harith. In 624, her husband died of wounds received in the Battle of Badr, and she began to live in poverty. Ibn Kathir, in his 14th century Sira, referred to Zaynab's first husband as being Husayn bin al-Harith, and her second marriage to Jahsh bin Ri'ab, who was killed at the Battle of Uhud.

There are conflicting reports as to whether she was shunned or whether she was sought after for marriage. Some even suggest she had a third husband, who also died.

The following year shortly after his marriage to Hafsa bint Umar, Muhammad approached Zaynab with a mahar of either 400 dirhams or 12 ounces of gold and offered to marry her. There was debate about how the marriage was proposed. In Ibn Kalbi's al-Isaba, he claimed that Muhammad proposed to her directly - while Ibn Hashim wrote that her uncle, Quobaisa bin Arm al-Hilali arranged the marriage proposal.

It was said that the marriage, which took place during the month of Ramadan, was meant to assure Muhammad's followers that their deaths in battle would not mean their families would starve and be neglected. She was the first of his wives to come from outside the Quraysh tribe.

Unlike Aisha and Hafsa, who bickered with each other, Zaynab was believed to have offered no trouble to either of them. At one point, a poor man came to her house to beg for some flour, and she gave him the last of her own, and went without food that night. Muhammad was moved by her compassion and told his other wives about it and preached that "if you have faith in Allah...he would provide for your sustenance, even as he doeth for the birds, who leave their nest hungry in the morning, but return full at night".

Zaynab died less than two years later, some suggest as little as two months, the only one of Muhammad's wives to die before him, other than his first wife Khadijah. It has been suggested she died during the month of Rabi' al-thani, four years after the Hijra.

Zaynab was buried in Jannat al-Baqi, carried into her grave by Muhammad.

The wives of Muhammad were:

     *  Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
     *  Sawda bint Zama
      Aisha bint Abi Bakr
     *  Hafsa bint Umar
     *  Zaynab bint Khuzaima
     *  Hind bint Abi Umayya
     *  Zaynab bint Jahsh
     *  Juwayriya bint al-Harith
     *  Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan
     *  Rayhana bint Zayd
     *  Safiyya bint Huyayy
     *  Maymuna bint al-Harith
     *  Maria al-Qibtiyya

Zaynab bint Khuzayma see Zaynab bint Khuzaima
Umm al-Masakin see Zaynab bint Khuzaima
Mother of the Poor see Zaynab bint Khuzaima

Zaynab bint Muhammad
Zaynab bint Muhammad (Zainub bint Muhammad) (Zainab bint Muhammad) (?-630).  Daughter of Muhammad and Khadija.  Zaynab was perhaps the oldest of Muhammad’s daughters.  By the time of the hijra (the exodus to Medina in 622), she was married to a non-Muslim man so she did not follow her father to Medina.  However, when her husband was taken prisoner after the battle of Badr in 626, Muhammad had him freed after Zaynab had promised to come to Medina.  Her husband was taken prisoner again in 628, and once again freed by Zaynab’s intercession.  He became a Muslim the following year, and was reunited with his wife.  Zaynab had two children, Ali, who died as a child, and Umama, who married Ali after Fatima died.

While Sunnis view Zainab as the daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, other Muslim sects such as Shia Muslims debate her being the daughter of Muhammed (or even of Khadijah).

Zainab was married to her maternal cousin Abu al-Aas ibn al-Rabiah prior to his conversion to Islam. She became the mother of two children: Ali and Umamah.

When Muhammad abandoned Mecca for Medina, his daughter Zainab could not bear to leave her non-Muslim husband Abu al-'Aas, and was not required to do so until years later under other circumstances. Muhammad did not automatically divorce them.

Some sources states that at one time there were three girls living in the household of Khadija. Their names were Zainab, Ruqayya and Umm Kulthoom. Zainab, the eldest of the three, was married to one Abul-'As ibn er-Rabi' (Abu al-'Aas) of Makkah (Mecca). This man fought against the Prophet in the battle of Badr, and was captured by the Muslims. To ransom his freedom, his wife sent to the Prophet, a necklace which at one time had belonged to Khadijah that Khadijah had given to her as a present on her marriage. Abul-'As was set free. He returned to Makkah, and sent Zainab to Medina as he had promised to do. Zainab, however, died soon after her arrival in Medina. Later, Abul-'As also went to Medina, accepted Islam, and lived with the Muslims.

The daughters attributed to Muhammad are;

   1. Zainab bint Muhammad, married to her maternal cousin Abu al-Aas ibn al-Rabee before al-Hijra
   2. Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, first married to Utbah ibn Abu Lahab and then to Uthman ibn Affan
   3. Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, first married to Utaybah bin Abu Lahab and then to Uthman ibn Affan after the death of her sister Ruqayyah
   4. Fatimah, married to Ali ('Ali bin Abi Talib)

According to some Shi'a Muslim sources Khadijah only had one daughter, Fatimah. The others either belonged to her sister or were orphaned girls raised by her. Possibly all of them were Khadijah's, but only Fatimah was born to Muhammad.  Sunni Muslims, however, do not contest the parentage of her daughters.

Based on narrations found even in Sunnī sources, Muhammad said that daughters of his household could only marry those who were from Banū Hāshim.

However, if it is assumed that Zainab, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were daughters of Muhammed and Khadijah, this argument does not seem to be correct as:

    * Zainab was married to Abu al-Aas ibn al-Rabee who belonged to the Banu Abd Shams clan of the tribe Quraish.
    * Ruqayyah and after her death Umm Kulthum were married to Uthman bin Affan who belonged to the Banu Umayya clan of the tribe Quraish.

Zainab bint Muhammad see Zaynab bint Muhammad

Zaynabi, Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali al-

Zaynabi, Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali al- (Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali al-Zaynabi) (d. 1144).  Vizier under the ‘Abbasid Caliphs al-Mustarshid, al-Rashid, and al-Muqtafi.  He was on particularly good terms with the Great Saljuq Mas‘ud ibn Muhammad ibn Malik Shah.

Abu'l-Qasim 'Ali al-Zaynabi see Zaynabi, Abu’l-Qasim ‘Ali al-


Zayyani, Abu’l-Qasim al-
Zayyani, Abu’l-Qasim al- (Abu’l-Qasim al-Zayyani) (Abu al-Qasim al-Zayyani<?I>) (Abu al-Qasim ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Zayani) (1734/1735-1833).  Moroccan (Berber) statesman and historian.  He wrote a general history of Islam and a full account of his various journeys, among which is a description of his visit to Istanbul of 1786.

Abu al-Qasim al-Zayyani was a Berber historian, geographer, poet and statesman from Morocco. He undertook diplomatic missions to the Ottoman court and engineered government attempts to bring tribes under central authority. His writings include several historical accounts of the Ottoman and Alaouite dynasties. Al-Zayyani wrote fifteen works in the field of history and geography. Some authors even consider him the greatest historian of Morocco.

Abu’l-Qasim al-Zayyani see Zayyani, Abu’l-Qasim al-
Abu al-Qasim al-Zayyani see Zayyani, Abu’l-Qasim al-
Abu al-Qasim ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Ibrahim al-Zayani see Zayyani, Abu’l-Qasim al-

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