\u201cBut my lineage is better than his\u201d said Zainab bint Jahsh radiallahu anha, Rasulullah\u2019s sallallahu alaihi wasallam cousin, when he proposed to her on behalf of his freed slave, Zaid bin Haaritha radiallahu anhu. However, her argument carried no weight in the court of Allah and His Rasul sallallahu alaihi wasallam whose aim was to eradicate all such social prejudices.<\/p>\n
Thus the following aayah was soon revealed:
\n\u0648 \u0645\u0627 \u0643\u0627\u0646 \u0644\u0645\u0624\u0645\u0646 \u0648 \u0644\u0627 \u0645\u0624\u0645\u0646\u0629 \u0627\u0630\u0627 \u0642\u0636\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0648 \u0631\u0633\u0648\u0644\u0647 \u0623\u0645\u0631\u0627
\n\u0623\u0646 \u064a\u0643\u0648\u0646 \u0644\u0647\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u062e\u064a\u0631\u0629 \u0645\u0646 \u0623\u0645\u0631\u0647\u0645
\n\u201cIt is impermissible for a believing male and female to have a choice when Allah and His Rasul decide a matter for them.\u201d
\nZainab radiallahu anha therefore accepted Rasulullah\u2019s sallallahu alaihi wasallam and got married to Zaid bin Haaritha radiallahu anhu.<\/p>\n
They lived together for approximately one when cracks began appearing in their marriage. Zaid radiallahu anhu would thus complain of Zainab radiallahu anha to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam who would advise him to exercise patience and refrain from divorcing her. However, during the same period of time Allah had already informed Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam that Zaid radiallahu anhu would soon divorce Zainab radiallahu anha and she would thereafter become his wife. This is exactly what transpired a little while later. Zaid radiallahu anhu divorced Zainab radiallahu anha and after her iddah terminated, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam proposed to her. He sent his proposal with Zaid radiallahu anhu. When Zaid radiallahu anhu presented Rasulullah\u2019s sallallahu alaihi wasallam proposal to her, her immediate response was: \u201cI will not do anything without consulting my Rabb.\u201d She thus engaged herself in salaah (salaat-ul-istikhaarah). In the mean time the following aayah was revealed to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam:
\n\u0648\u064e\u0625\u0650\u0630\u0652 \u062a\u064e\u0642\u064f\u0648\u0644\u064f \u0644\u0650\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0630\u0650\u064a \u0623\u064e\u0646\u0652\u0639\u064e\u0645\u064e \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064f \u0639\u064e\u0644\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0647\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u0623\u064e\u0646\u0652\u0639\u064e\u0645\u0652\u062a\u064e \u0639\u064e\u0644\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0647\u0650 \u0623\u064e\u0645\u0652\u0633\u0650\u0643\u0652 \u0639\u064e\u0644\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0643\u064e \u0632\u064e\u0648\u0652\u062c\u064e\u0643\u064e \u0648\u064e\u0627\u062a\u0651\u064e\u0642\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064e \u0648\u064e\u062a\u064f\u062e\u0652\u0641\u0650\u064a \u0641\u0650\u064a \u0646\u064e\u0641\u0652\u0633\u0650\u0643\u064e \u0645\u064e\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064f \u0645\u064f\u0628\u0652\u062f\u0650\u064a\u0647\u0650 \u0648\u064e\u062a\u064e\u062e\u0652\u0634\u064e\u0649 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0627\u0633\u064e \u0648\u064e\u0627\u0644\u0644\u0651\u064e\u0647\u064f \u0623\u064e\u062d\u064e\u0642\u0651\u064f \u0623\u064e\u0646\u0652 \u062a\u064e\u062e\u0652\u0634\u064e\u0627\u0647\u064f \u0641\u064e\u0644\u064e\u0645\u0651\u064e\u0627 \u0642\u064e\u0636\u064e\u0649 \u0632\u064e\u064a\u0652\u062f\u064c \u0645\u0650\u0646\u0652\u0647\u064e\u0627 \u0648\u064e\u0637\u064e\u0631\u064b\u0627 \u0632\u064e\u0648\u0651\u064e\u062c\u0652\u0646\u064e\u0627\u0643\u064e\u0647\u064e\u0627 . . .
\n\u201cRemember when you said to the person to whom Allah and you had shown favour: \u2018Keep your wife and fear Allah\u2019. You concealed in your heart what Allah was going to expose (that you would eventually marry Zainab) and you feared the people whereas Allah is more deserving of being feared. Then, when Zaid fulfilled his need with her, We married her to you . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
The words \u0632\u064e\u0648\u0651\u064e\u062c\u0652\u0646\u064e\u0627\u0643\u064e\u0647\u064e\u0627 (We married her to you) indicated that the marriage had already taken place. There was hence no need for further consultation with Allah. Zainab radiallahu anha was already the wife of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam thus went to the house of Zainab radiallahu anha and entered without taking permission. Dhahabi writes in this regard: \u201cAllah married her to His Nabi through a decree in His kitaab with neither guardian nor witness. Thus she would (later) boast to the rest of the Mothers of the believers that: \u201cYour families married you to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam whereas Allah married me to him from above the \u2018arsh (throne).\u201d Ibn Katheer writes: \u201cThe being who was responsible for marrying her off to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was Allah Azza wa Jallaa. The meaning of this is that Allah commanded him to go to her with out a guardian, agreement (of nikaah), mahr (dowry) and human witnesses. On the occasion of this waleemah Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam slaughtered a goat in order to entertain his guests. He never did this when he married any of his other wives.<\/p>\n
\u2018Aa-isha\u2019s Testimony
\nTestifying to Zainab\u2019s radiallahu anha noble conduct, \u2018Aa-isha radiallahu anha said: \u201cZainab was my rival in closeness to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. In spite of this, I (acknowledge that I) never saw a lady better in deen, more fearful of Allah, more truthful in speech, more concerned about maintaining family ties and more charitable than her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The First among You to Reach Me
\nRasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam would often tell his wives: \u201cThe first among you to reach me is the one whose hand is the longest.\u201d \u2018Aa-isha radiallahu anha says that therefore, whenever they were all together, they would measure their hands against a wall in order to ascertain whose hand is the longest and hence the first among them to leave the world after Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. They continued doing this until 20AH when the Zainab bint Jahsh radiallahu anha passed away. \u2018Aa-isha radiallahu anha says that she was a short person; not the tallest among them. Thus they realized that by long hands, Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was actually referring to the most charitable among them.<\/p>\n
May Allah Forgive \u2018Umar
\nBarzah bint Raafi\u2019 narrates that \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu sent Zainab bint Jahsh\u2019s radiallahu anha allowance from the bait-ul-maal (public treasury) to her. When she received it, she said: \u201cMay Allah forgive \u2018Umar. There are other people who are more capable of distributing this than me.\u201d \u201cBut it is all yours!\u201d she was told. \u201cSubhaanallah!\u201d she exclaimed. She then told her servants to cover it with a cloth. Once they had done so, she began distributing it among her relatives and the orphans. (The reason for covering the allowance with a cloth was so that she could not see how much she was spending and how much was left.) After sending amounts of coins to all her relatives and others she told Barzah to take what was left beneath the cloth. Barzah did so and later counted it; it was only eighty five dirhams. Zainab radiallahu anha thereafter lifted her hands to the sky and said: \u201cO Allah! May \u2018Umar\u2019s allowance not reach me after this year.\u201d Her du\u2019aa was accepted. She passed away in that same year \u2013 before she could receive another allowance from the bait-ul-maal (public treasury).<\/p>\n
How much was Zainab\u2019s radiallahu anha annual allowance from the bait-ul-maal (public treasury)? The answer is: twelve thousand dirhams. Zuhri narrated that \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu had fixed an annual allowance of twelve thousand dirhams for all the wives of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam excluding Juwairyyah and Safiyyah radiallahu anhuma. Some narrations indicate that \u2018Aa-isha\u2019s radiallahu anha allowance was twelve thousand dirhams. The allowance of the other wives of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was ten thousand dirhams. What ever the case may be, Zainab bint Jahsh radiallahu anha spent her entire allowance on the poor, the orphans and her relatives and kept nothing \u2013 not even one dirham \u2013 for herself. Is this not sufficient explanation for her title Umm-ul-Masaakeen (Mother of the Destitute)?<\/p>\n
A narration in the Tabaqaat of Ibn Sa\u2019d mentions that this was the only time that Zainab radiallahu anha accepted her allowance from the bait-ul-maal (public treasury). \u201cO Allah\u201d she prayed when she received it, \u201cLet this wealth not find me next year because it is a fitnah (test).\u201d When \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu was informed of how she spent her entire allowance, he commented: \u201cThis is a lady for whom good has been intended.\u201d He thereafter went to her house and, standing at the door, he told her servant to convey his salaam (greetings) to her and to inform her that he was aware of how she had spent her allowance. He thereafter sent her another one thousand dirhams . . . Off course, she distributed this amount too.<\/p>\n
Besides spending on the needy in the above manner, Zainab radiallahu anha was very skilled in making things with her hands. Thus she would make things and then give it in charity. For example, she would tan animal skin and then give it to somebody in need.
\nI Have Prepared My Kafan (Shroud)
\nWhile on her deathbed she told her attendants: \u201cI have prepared my kafan (shroud). If \u2018Umar sends me another kafan, give one of them in charity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surely Zainab is an Awwaahah
\nAbdullah bin Shaddaad radiallahu anhu narrates that Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said: \u201cSurely Zainab is an awwaahah.\u201d \u201cWhat is the meaning of awwaahah? Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was asked. He replied: \u201cA person who is fearful of Allah and fill with humility.\u201d He sallallahu alaihi wasallam then quoted the aayah:
\n\u0627\u0646 \u0627\u0628\u0631\u0627\u0647\u064a\u0645 \u0644\u062d\u0644\u064a\u0645 \u0623\u0648\u0627\u0647 \u0645\u0646\u064a\u0628
\n\u201cCertainly Ibrahim was tolerant, awwaah and
\noft-returning (to Allah).\u201d<\/p>\n
Demise
\nAccording to some narrations (preferred by Dhahabi) Zainab bint Jahsh radiallahu anha was twenty five years old when Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam married her in 5AH. Thus she was only forty years old when she passed away in 20AH. Other narrations, however, indicate that she was a little more than thirty years old at the time of her marriage to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam and that she passed away at the age of fifty three.<\/p>\n
Prior to her death she requested that upon her death, her body should be carried on the same sareer (bier) on which Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was carried. Before her, the only other person besides Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam to be carried on this sareer (bier) was Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu. After that all deceased women in Madinah would be carried on the same sareer (bier). This practice continued until the time of Waleed bin Abdil Malik.<\/p>\n
Upon her death \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu commanded somebody to proclaim in the streets of Madinah: \u201cListen! Nobody besides Zainab\u2019s close relatives should attend her janaazah.\u201d Hearing this announcement, Fatimah bint \u2018Umais radiallahu anha, approached \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu and told him: \u201cShould I not show you something which I saw the people in Habshah (Abyssinia) doing for their women?\u201d She thereafter practically demonstrated to him how they would cover the corpse of a female with a cloth so that her figure would not be exposed to the congregation. \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu was impressed with her suggestion. He accepted it and permitted the general public to attend the janaazah.<\/p>\n
The salaat-ul-janaazah was led by \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu. He thereafter stood at the side of her grave, praised Allah and said: \u201cWhen this lady fell ill, I sent a message to the (other) wives of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam asking them who would nurse her and care for her. They replied that they would do so. I believed that they were talking the truth. I then sent a message to them asking who would give her the ghusl and embalm and enshroud her. They replied that they would do so. I believed that they were correct. I then sent another message asking them who should place her in her grave. (Some narrations in the Tabaqaat of Ibn Sa\u2019d indicate that \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu was hopeful that he would be given this privilege.) They replied: \u2018Those (man) who were permitted to visit her (without observing the restrictions of hijaab) in her lifetime.\u2019 I believe that they are correct. Therefore step back, O people.\u201d He then commanded two men from her family to lower her into the grave. It was an extremely hot summer day. \u2018Umar radiallahu anhu therefore ordered that a tent be erected over her grave. This was the first time in Madinah that a tent was erected over a grave.<\/p>\n
\u2018Uthman bin Abdullah Al-Jahshy narrates: \u201cZainab did not leave behind any dirham or dinaar. She would give everything she possessed in charity \u2013 she was the refuge of the destitute. All that she left behind was her house . . .\u201d When Waleed bin Abdul Malik renovated the Haram in Madinah Munawwarah and included the rooms of Rasulullah\u2019s sallallahu alaihi wasallam wives into the masjid, he purchased the house (room) of Zainab bint Jahsh radiallahu anha for a total sum of fifty thousand dirhams.<\/p>\n
\u2018Urwah narrates that upon the death of Zainab radiallahu anha \u2018Aa-isha radiallahu anha cried and made du\u2019aa that mercy is shown to her. When asked to explain the reason for behaving in this manner, she replied: \u201cShe was a pious woman . . . Zainab bint Jahsh and Umm Salmah occupied a special position in the heart of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. In my opinion they were the most beloved of his wives me to him besides me.\u201d \u2018Aa-isha radiallahu anha is also reported to have said: \u201cShe left us in a praiseworthy condition. The solace of the orphans and widows will be missed.\u201d
\nMay Allah fill our hearts with love for all his wives, family members and companions. May He guide us to emulate their noble example and May He resurrect as with them. Aameen!<\/p>\n
Abu Hudhaifa Muhammed Karolia
\n12 Shawwaal 1431 \\ 21 September 2010
\nAl-Jaami\u2019ah Al-Mahmoodiah
\nPersida, Springs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cBut my lineage is better than his\u201d said Zainab bint Jahsh radiallahu anha, Rasulullah\u2019s sallallahu alaihi wasallam cousin, when he proposed to her on behalf of his freed slave, Zaid bin Haaritha radiallahu anhu. However, her argument carried no weight in the court of Allah and His Rasul sallallahu alaihi wasallam whose aim was to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jameah-mahmoodiyah.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}