From among the daughters of Hazrat Khadijah (ra) and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas), Zainab (ra) was the eldest. Ruqayyah (ra) was three years younger than her and Umme Kulsoom (ra) was a year younger than Ruqayyah (ra).
Hazrat Khadijah (ra) took great care in their upbringing. Love of Islam was inculcated in their hearts. They also inherited qualities like generosity, sympathy for the poor and faithfulness to their husbands, from their revered mother.
Zainab (ra) was born five years after the marriage, and ten years before the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was appointed as the Messenger of Allah. When Zainab (ra) reached a marriageable age, the Holy Prophet (sas) and Hazrat Khadijah (ra), gave her hand in marriage to a young man called Abul‘Aas.
Abul‘Aas was the son of Hazrat Khadijah’s (ra) sister Haallah. He was a successful trader and was known for his honesty in the Arab society. Khadijah (ra) was very fond of him and looked upon him as her own son.
Zainab (ra) had accepted Islam but Haallah and her son Abul‘Aas had not become Muslims at that early stage. The people of Makkah were against this marriage. They tried their utmost to persuade Abul‘Aas to divorce his wife and choose any of their daughters instead. In reply Abul‘Aas said, ‘I will not bear separation from my wife. Neither do I desire any other woman from amongst your daughters.’
The Holy Prophet (sas) and Hazrat Khadijah (ra) appreciated his faithfulness to Zainab (ra). The attachment between Abul‘Aas and his wife was mutual, for when the family of the Holy Prophet (sas) migrated to Madinah; Zainab (ra) remained behind at Makkah with her husband. Hazrat Khadijah (ra) died in the year 619 AD while her daughter Zainab (ra) was still living in Makkah.
It so happened that Abul‘Aas took part in the Battle of Badr and fought against the Muslims. The Makkans were defeated and Abul‘Aas was taken prisoner along with many other Makkans. The Quraish sent men with money and other valuables to ransom their prisoners. Hazrat Zainab (ra) also sent some articles by way of ransom for her husband. These articles included a necklace, which Hazrat Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, had given to her daughter as part of her dowry.
The Holy Prophet (sas) saw this necklace. It reminded him of his beloved wife Khadijah (ra) and he was overwhelmed with emotion. He said to his Companions, ‘I have no authority to give you any decision in this matter, however I know that this necklace is cherished by Zainab as a last memento of her deceased mother. I therefore suggest that she should not be deprived of it and it may be returned to her.’ The Companions agreed readily. As a condition of his freedom, however, the Holy Prophet (sas) said to Abul‘Aas to send Zainab (ra) to Madinah as soon as possible. Abul‘Aas promised to do so.
Soon after he returned to Makkah, Abul‘Aas sent his wife Zainab (ra) to Madinah, along with his brother Kinaanah. She was pregnant at that time. When the Quraish came to know about her departure from Makkah, they sent some people in pursuit, determined to stop her going to her father. One of them was called Habbaar bin Aswad. Habbaar saw her mounted on a camel. He stepped forward and struck the camel with a spear. The camel went out of control. Zainab (ra) fell down. She was frightened. The shock was so great that she had a miscarriage.
Kinaanah managed to make the camel sit down. He took his bow and arrows and was ready to shoot the attackers when Abu Sufyaan appeared on the scene. He said to Kinaanah, ‘Don’t start shooting. Listen! We have suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Muhammad (sas) at Badr recently. If Zainab goes to her father now, it would be regarded as weakness of the people of Makkah. She should return to Makkah now. Let the dust settle. Then she could go secretly to her father in Madinah.’ Kinaanah agreed to this.
Accordingly Zainab (ra) went back to Makkah and after a few days she managed to get out of Makkah secretly and Kinaanah handed her over to Zaid (ra), whom the Holy Prophet (sas) had sent to bring her. They reached Madinah safely.
Three or four years later Abul‘Aas was made prisoner again, and brought to Madinah. He was returning with a Makkan caravan from Syria. The people of Makkah were hostile to Muslims. Even their caravans used to incite the people to attack Muslims.
When the caravan reached at a place called Ees, a small party of the Muslims, patrolling the area, overpowered it and took the people of the caravan to Madinah. During the night Abul‘Aas approached his wife and asked her guarantee of protection.
In the morning when Muslims assembled in the mosque for Fajr Prayer, Zainab (ra) called out aloud from her apartment and announced that she had given guarantee of protection to her husband Abul‘Aas.
After the Prayer, the Holy Prophet (sas) addressed the worshippers and said, ‘You have heard what my daughter had said. I call Allah to witness that I knew nothing of her guarantee until this moment. I suggest that we should honour her pledge’. They all agreed. Abul‘Aas was set free and all his property was returned.
After reaching Makkah, he returned all the articles and valuables; people had deposited with him because of his honesty, and cleared all his debts. After managing all his affairs at Makkah, Abul‘Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, announced his acceptance of Islam and shortly afterwards returned to Madinah and joined his wife. His domestic life, however, did not last very long. Hazrat Zainab, may God be pleased with her, died in 8 AH from the illness caused by the enemy’s attack during her journey from Makkah to Madinah. She was about thirty years old at the time of her death.
Both Ruqayyah (ra) and Umm-e-Kulsoom (ra) were engaged to ‘Utbah and ‘Utaibah respectively. They were the sons of Abu Lahb, an uncle of the Holy Prophet (sas).
When God chose the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas) for conveying His message to the whole of mankind, the people of Makkah, apart from a few, turned against him. Abu Lahb and his wife Umm-e-Jameel opposed him tooth and nail. They did not want their sons to marry the daughters of the Holy Prophet (sas). The people of Makkah also approached Abu Lahb and his wife and demanded that ‘Utbah and ‘Utaibah should leave their fiancées. The engagements were thus broken. The Holy Prophet (sas) and his wife Hazrat Khadijah (ra) then looked for some other matches for their daughters. Hazrat ‘Uthmaan (ra) was a young man at that time. The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave her daughter Ruqayyah (ra) in marriage to him. They lived happily but in 2 AH, Hazrat Ruqayyah (ra) died. A year after her death, the Holy Prophet (sas) gave his third daughter Umm-e-Kulsoom (ra), in marriage to Hazrat ‘Uthmaan (ra). She too died in 9 AH when she was only twenty- eight years old.
Faatimah (ra) was the youngest of the daughters of the Holy Prophet (sas). She was only fifteen when her mother Hazrat Khadijah (ra) died. About three years after the migration from Makkah to Madinah the Holy Prophet (sas) gave her hand to Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) in marriage. The Holy Prophet (sas) performed the nikah ceremony and the haq mahr was fixed at four hundred dirhams.
Hazrat ‘Ali (ra) and Hazrat Faatimah (ra) had five children. Three of them were boys, Hasan (ra), Husain (ra) and Mohsin (ra) and two were daughters, Zainab (ra) and Umme Kulsoom (ra). Mohsin (ra) died when he was quite young. All those who claim to be the progeny of the Holy Prophet (sas) are the descendants of Hasan (ra) and Husain (ra).
Hazrat Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, died six months after the demise of the Holy Prophet (sas). She was approximately thirty years old at the time of her death.