Zaynab bint Jahsh

ProfileZaynab bint Jahsh

Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) was the daughter of the Prophet's ﷺ paternal aunt, so she had known him from childhood. She was one of the early migrants to Madinah. At the Prophet's ﷺ suggestion she first married Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him), his freed servant and adopted son, a marriage that showed that rank and birth do not decide a person's worth. It did not last. There was friction between them, and when Zayd came to the Prophet ﷺ about it, he told him to keep his wife and to fear Allah. Zayd is the only Companion named in the Quran, and it is in the verse that tells this story.

Around 5 AH, after her waiting period had ended, the Prophet ﷺ married her. It was Zayd himself whom he sent to carry the proposal to her. Her marriage also settled a question of custom: before Islam, an adopted son was treated as a true son in law, and the revelation made clear that adoption does not change lineage. The verse also says that the Prophet ﷺ had hidden within himself what Allah would bring to light, fearing what people would say. Aishah remarked that if he had ever concealed anything of the revelation, it would have been this verse. Zaynab, for her part, would tell the other wives that their families had given them in marriage, while Allah had given her in marriage from above the seven heavens. Zaynab's wedding is also linked to the revelation of the verses on how visitors should behave in the Prophet's ﷺ home.

She worked with her own hands, making and selling goods, and gave the earnings to the poor. Aishah, who said Zaynab was the one wife who rivalled her in the Prophet's ﷺ esteem, still praised her as more devout, more truthful, more generous and more caring of family ties than any woman she knew. She died in 20 AH, in the caliphate of Umar, and she was the first of the wives to follow the Prophet ﷺ in death. He had once told his wives that the one with the longest hand would be the first to join him. They measured their arms against each other, and only later understood that he meant the one most generous with her hand, which was Zaynab.

From the Quran

وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِىٓ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَٱتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ وَتُخْفِى فِى نَفْسِكَ مَا ٱللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى ٱلنَّاسَ وَٱللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَىٰهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ زَيْدٌ مِّنْهَا وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَـٰكَهَا لِكَىْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِىٓ أَزْوَٰجِ أَدْعِيَآئِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْا۟ مِنْهُنَّ وَطَرًا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا ۝٣٧

And ˹remember, O Prophet,˺ when you said to the one for whom Allah has done a favour and you ˹too˺ have done a favour, “Keep your wife and fear Allah,” while concealing within yourself what Allah was going to reveal. And ˹so˺ you were considering the people, whereas Allah was more worthy of your consideration. So when Zaid totally lost interest in ˹keeping˺ his wife, We gave her to you in marriage, so that there would be no blame on the believers for marrying the ex-wives of their adopted sons after their divorce. And Allah’s command is totally binding.

Meet them inWhere they appear in the seerah

More on How to Muslim

• guide.howtomuslim.orgWives of the Prophet ﷺEvery Mother of the Believers on one page.

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