The Prophet’s Daughter, Sayyidatuna Zaynab رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا

Pious Women

The Prophet’s Daughter, Sayyidatunā Zaynab

Muhammad Hassaan Haashim Attari Madani

Brief Introduction: Allah Almighty blessed the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم with four daughters. The eldest of them was Sayyidatunā Zaynab bint Khadīja رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُمَا .^[1]

Birth: Sayyidatunā Zaynab رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا was born ten years prior to the Prophet’s صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم declaration of prophethood. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was 30 years old at the time.^[2]

Marriage: During the lifetime of her blessed mother, she was married to Abū al-ʿĀṣ b. Rabīʿ. The latter was the son of Sayyidatunā Khadīja’s sister, Sayyidatunā Hāla bint Khuwaylid.^[3]

Family: Allah Almighty blessed her with a son, ʿAlī, and daughter, Umāma. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم had great love and compassion for them, as evident from the report of Abū Nuʿaym: “When Makka was conquered, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم seated ʿAlī behind him on his camel. The young ‘Ali passed away before reaching adolescence. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم would carry Umāma on his back during salah.”^[4]

Accepting Islam: She accepted Islam before her husband and migrated.^[5]

Husband’s Ransom: Before accepting Islam, her husband fought alongside the disbelievers during the Battle of Badr. This resulted in the honourable Companions taking him captive. When the disbelievers of Makka sent ransoms to release their prisoners, Sayyidatunā Zaynab also sent some wealth to release her husband, which included a necklace given to her by Sayyidatunā Khadīja. Seeing it remined the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم of Sayyidatunā Khadīja, and he became tearful. After consulting the Companions, it was decided that Abū al-ʿĀṣ should be released without ransom on the condition that he sends Sayyidatunā Zaynab to Madina upon returning.^[6]

An Unpleasant Event: As per this condition, Sayyidatunā Zaynab set off for Madina with her brother-in-law, Kanāna, accompanying her. The disbelievers quickly dispatched a contingent to stop them. This included Habbār b. Aswad, the son of Sayyidatunā Khadīja’s رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا paternal cousin, and another man. One of them, Habbār according to the widely held account, fired an arrow at Sayyidatunā Zaynab, causing her to fall from her camel and have a miscarriage. Kanāna retaliated by drawing an arrow and warning, “Whoever comes forward will not survive this ˹arrow˺.” The contingent promptly backed away. Abū Sufyān, who had not yet accepted Islam, cried, “Wait! Listen to me! You know the difficulties Muhammad ( صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم ) has caused us. For you to travel with his daughter in broad daylight while we do nothing is a sign of weakness ˹on our part˺. We have no benefit in stopping his daughter. So, go back with her and travel secretly during the night.” Kanāna accepted his suggestion and returned. A few days later, he arranged for Sayyidunā Zayd b. Hāritha and his friend to accompany Sayyidatunā Zaynab by night to Madina.^[7]

Abū al-ʿĀṣ accepting Islam: Abū al-ʿĀṣ accepted Islam in Muharram 7AH. When he travelled with a caravan of Quraysh to the Levant, Sayyidunā Zayd followed them with 170 troops and captured the caravan, seizing their possessions and imprisoning the people, including Abū al-ʿĀṣ. One morning, he approached Sayyidatunā Zaynab and asked her for protection. She granted him protection and asked her noble father صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم if his belongings could be returned. The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم accepted her request. However, Sayyidatunā Zaynab was told that Abū al-ʿĀṣ could not continue the marriage with her as long as he remained a polytheist. After this incident, he returned to Makka and busied himself with fulfilling the rights of people. Eventually, he embraced Islam and migrated to Madina and became one of the blessed Muhājirīn.^[8]

Repeating rites of marriage: According to one narration, after Abū al-ʿĀṣ became a believer, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم renewed his marriage to Sayyidatunā Zaynab with a new nikah and dowry. Another account suggests that their initial marriage was restored without the need for a new nikah.^[9]

Passing: Sayyidatunā Zaynab رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا passed away in 8 AH.^[10]

The Prophet’s love for her: After Sayyidatunā Zaynab رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا passed away, the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was deeply grieved. He stood in the grave of his blessed daughter, but upon exiting from it, there was no sign of sadness on him. He explained: “I remembered Zaynab’s fragility and asked Allah to make her grave spacious, as well as assuage her grief. He did so and made this (the grave) easy for her.”^[11]