Sunday, February 28, 2010

Zaynab bint Jahsh

Posted by Unknown | Sunday, February 28, 2010 | Category: |

Zaynab bint Jahsh (Arabic: زينب بنت جحش‎, born c. 593) 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 brother of Zaynab's mother Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib.
Her 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.
Marriage with Zayd ibn Harithah
After her migration to Medina, she 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. While Zayd was a former slave. Zayd was son of Harithah bin 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, she took him along to her parents. There the people of Bani Qain bin Jasr raided their camp, plundered their good: and took some men prisoners, Hadrat Zaid included. Then they sold Zayd at the fair of 'Ukiiz near Ta'if. His buyer was Hakim bin Hizam, a nephew of Khadija. Hakim brought him to Makkah and presented him to his paternal aunt. When Muhammadmarried Khadija he found Zayd in her service and was so impressed by his good manners and conduct that he asked him of her.
Zaynab had an aristocratic lineage, thus having 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 under pre-Islamic Arab custom. He also wanted to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted.
Montgomery Watt discusses other reasons for Zaynab's initial disapproval. He points out that Zayd, despite his social status, was held quite high in Muhammad's esteem. Thus, Watt concludes that one reason for Zaynab's disapproval was that she may have wanted to marry Muhammad herself.
Whatever the reasons, Muhammad insisted on the marriage. When Qur'an 33:36 was revealed, Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd in the year 626. However, Zayd divorced Zaynab and their marriage lasted just over a year.
Marriage with Muhammad
Since Zaynab was the wife of Muhammad's adopted son, pre-Islamic practices belonging to a lower, communalistic level of familial institutions where a child's paternity was not definitely known, considered such a marriage to be a taboo. Such a view considered a biological son to be the same as an adopted one. The idea, was she was the wife of his adopted son, and the adopted sons were counted the same as a biological son.
The marriage resulted in a mass propaganda by Munafiqs of Medina on two fronts, one of double standards as she was his fifth wife, while everyone else was restricted to four, and marrying his adopted son's wife.. This was exactly what Muhammad feared and 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 33:3733:37,
Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy favour: "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 him as a slave by his wife Khadija. Muhammad freed him and took him to Kaaba in Mecca and declared Zayd his son (thus becoming one who received Muhammad's grace). With coming of Islam all relations of adoption were nulled. And Muhammad himself started calling Zayd Zayd bin Harriss instead of Zayd bin Muhammad (Zayd was known as Zayd bin Muhammad i.e. son of Muhammad). Since Zayd's background was a slave, and Muhammad wanted to lift the social status of freed slaves (like Zayd) he 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 had left him with no desire for her eventually leading to their divorce.Zaynab being Muhammad's first cousin was no stranger for him, he had seen her hundreds of time in his aunt Umaima bint Abdul Muttalib's house for over thirty years before she became Zayd's wife.
The verse above starts with the time when Zayd came to seek council of Muhammad to divorce Zaynab, however Muhammad to him to 'Keep thy wife to thyself; and fear God'. Muhammad had already been informed by Gabriel that Zayd will divorce his wife and Muhammad will have to marry her, in spite of this knowledge Muhammad asked Zayd to keep his wife. It was because of this Muhammad was rebuked and told to fear God and not to fear men. Muhammad had two things to fear of, one was that Quran had restricted men to keep more than four wives, and 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 on blood relations (like adoption) have no place in Islam, so an example had to be set for people to realise that era of non blood relations is over. The best way to do this was by marrying Zaynab, however the matter was of a lady and Muhammad feared that hypocrites of Medina will not leave this golden chance to start a new propaganda against Islam. It was against this background Muhammad was rebuked and told to fear God and not to fear men. The full verse was revealed to tell the complete tale to Muslims and hypocrites of Medina as to what actually happened, and put an end to the continuous grapevine that was going around.

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