Remaining Events Relevant to the Marriage of Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra)

At the time of her marriage, Zainab bint Jaḥash(ra) was thirty-five years of age1 and in light of the circumstances of Arabia at the time, this was middle-age. Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra) was a very righteous, pious and affluent lady. Despite the fact that from among all the wives of the Holy Prophet(sa), Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra) was contested and rivaled by Zainab(ra) alone, Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra) still highly praised the inherent virtue and purity of Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra),2 and would often say:

“I have not seen a more pious lady than Zainab(ra). She was very righteous and truthful, she was very kind towards relatives, she would give a great amount of charity and alms, and worked tirelessly for goodness and to attain divine nearness. The only thing was that she was a bit heated in temper, but immediately thereafter, she would feel remorse herself.”3

The degree to which she would give charity and alms was such that Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra) relates:

“On one occasion, the Holy Prophet(sa) said to us:

‘The one from among you who has the longest hands, shall be the first to pass away after my demise and join me.’4 Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra) states that, ‘We inferred this to mean physical hands, and would often measure our hands with one another. However, when the Holy Prophet(sa) passed away and Zainab bint Jaḥash(ra) was the first to leave this world, it was then that the secret revealed itself to us that the word ‘hand’ referred to charity and alms, not a physical hand.’”

As it was apprehended, upon the marriage of Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra) the hypocrites of Madīnah raised many allegations and openly taunted that ‘Muḥammad[sa] had married the divorcee of his son and had made his own daughter-in-law permissible for himself.’5 However, since the very purpose of this marriage was to erase this ignorant Arabian custom, these objections were also inevitable.

At this instance, it is also necessary to mention that Ibni Sa‘d, Ṭabarī, etc. have recorded an absolutely false narration in relation to the marriage of Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra). Since this narration furnishes an opportunity to raise an objection against the pristine character of the Holy Prophet(sa), various Christian historians have adorned their books with this narration in a most unpleasant manner. The story goes that when the Holy Prophet(sa) married Zainab bint Jaḥash(ra) to Zaid(ra), one day the Holy Prophet(sa) came to his home in search of him. At the time Zaid(ra), was not at home. Standing outside at the front door, when the Holy Prophet(sa) called for Zaid(ra), Zainab(ra) responded from inside saying that he was not at home, and recognizing the voice of the Holy Prophet(sa) she dashed out immediately and submitted, “O Messenger of Allāh! May my mother and father be sacrificed for you, please come in.” The Holy Prophet(sa), however, refused and set back, but since Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra) had suddenly stood up flustered, she happened to stand up without a shawl on her body and the door of her home was open. As a result, the Holy Prophet(sa) happened to catch sight of her, and God-forbid, fell for her beauty and returned humming the words, , meaning, “Holy is Allāh, Who is the Possessor of all Greatness, Holy is Allāh, Who turns the hearts of people however He so wills.” When Zaid(ra) returned, Zainab(ra) related the story of the visit made by the Holy Prophet(sa). When Zaid further inquired as to what the Holy Prophet(sa) had said, Zainab(ra) repeated these words of the Holy Prophet(sa) and also said, “I submitted to the Holy Prophet(sa) that if he desired he should come in, but he refused and returned.” Upon hearing this, Zaid(ra) presented himself before the Holy Prophet(sa) and said, “O Messenger of Allāh! Perhaps you desire Zainab for yourself. If it is your wish I shall divorce her and you can marry her.” The Holy Prophet(sa) responded, “O Zaid! Fear God and do not divorce Zainab.” However, Zaid(ra) divorced Zainab(ra) anyway. This is the narration as it is related by Ibni Sa‘d, Ṭabarī and others on this occasion. Although this narration can be elaborated in a manner which no longer leaves room for any objection, the truth is that this tale is absolutely fictitious and false from start to finish. It is proven to be fabricated both in terms of Riwāyat and Dirāyat. As far as Riwāyat is concerned, it is enough to state that this narration is primarily related by Wāqidī and ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Āmir Aslamā; who are both looked upon by scholars as being absolutely weak and unreliable.6 In fact, Wāqidī is so notorious for his falsehood and lies that from among all the Muslim narrators, he is perhaps second to none in this respect.7 In contrast, however, the narration which we have mentioned wherein Zaid(ra) presented himself before the Holy Prophet(sa) and complained about the harsh treatment of Zainab(ra), to which the Holy Prophet(sa) responded, “Fear God and do not give a divorce,” is a narration of Bukhārī.8 Friend and foe alike accept that after the Holy Qur’ān, Bukhārī is the most authentic record of Islāmic history, to which no critic has ever had the courage to raise a finger. Therefore, in light of principles of Riwāyat, the value and worth of both these narrations is evident. Similarly, if one contemplates in terms of rationality, there seems to be no doubt in the narration of Ibni Sa‘d, etc. as being false. It is accepted that Zainab(ra) was the paternal-cousin of the Holy Prophet(sa), to the extent that it was he who acted as her guardian and married her to Zaid bin Ḥārithah(ra). Similarly, no one can deny that until this time, the Muslim women did not observe Pardah, rather, the initial injunctions relevant to Pardah were revealed after the marriage of Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra) and the Holy Prophet(sa). In this case, to presume that prior to this the Holy Prophet(sa) had not seen Zainab(ra) and it was only then that he coincidentally happened to catch sight of her, and then fell for her, possesses no more value than a clear and blatant lie. Indeed, prior to that time, the Holy Prophet(sa) probably would have seen Zainab(ra) thousands of times and the beauty and flaws of her body were apparent to him. Although there is no difference in seeing her with or without a shawl, when their relation was so close, the tradition of Pardah was not prevalent and there was constant interaction, it is most probable that the Holy Prophet(sa) would have had the opportunity to see her many times without a shawl. Furthermore, the fact that Zainab(ra) invited the Holy Prophet(sa) inside, proves that she was at least wearing enough clothing to be able to present herself before the Holy Prophet(sa). Hence, irrespective of the angle from which this tale is analysed, it proves to be absolutely false and forged, which possesses no truth whatsoever. Along with these arguments, if the impeccably pure and holy life of the Holy Prophet(sa) is taken into consideration, which was evident from his every movement, nothing at all remains of this absurd and ridiculous tale. It is for this very reason that research scholars have categorically declared this tale to be fabricated and false. For example, ‘Allāmah Ibni Ḥajar in his Fatḥul-Bārī, ‘Allāmah Ibni Kathīr in his commentary, and ‘Allāmah Zarqānī in his Sharḥ Mawāhib have explicitly stated that this narration is absolutely false, and have considered it to be a disgrace of the truth to even allude to it. So too is the case with other research scholars as well. This is not limited to research scholars alone, rather, every such individual who has not been blinded by prejudice, would give precedence to the viewpoint we have presented before our readers on the foundation of the Holy Qur’ān and authentic Aḥādīth, in comparison to this meaningless and loathsome tale, which has been forged and related by certain hypocrites. The Muslim historians, whose only task was to gather all kinds of narrations, included this tale in their works without any investigation, and then blinded by religious prejudice, non-Muslim historians have made this tale the highlight of their books.

In the context of this fabricated tale, it should especially be remembered that this time was an era in the Islāmic history when the hypocrites of Madīnah were at full force. A full-fledged conspiracy to defame Islām and the founder of Islām was being hatched under the leadership of ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy bin Sulūl. It was their custom to concoct false and fabricated tales and propagate them in secret; or if the actual case was something else, they would twist it, add a hundred lies to it and begin to publicise it covertly. As such, in Sūrah Al-Aḥzāb of the Holy Qur’ān, where the marriage of Ḥaḍrat Zainab(ra) has been alluded to, the hypocrites of Madīnah have especially been mentioned in parallel as well. Referring to their acts of mischief, Allāh the Exalted states:

“If the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and those who propagate false seditious news in Madīnah, desist not from their schemes, then O Messenger! We shall give you permission to take action against them, and then these people shall not continue to reside in Madīnah, except for a little while.”9

In this verse, the false nature of this tale has clearly been mentioned in principle. Then, as it shall be mentioned ahead, it was around this time when the terrible incident of slandering Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra) transpired. ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy and his wretched followers propagated this lie so widely, and disseminated such a twisted version of it that the Muslims began to lose their peace of mind. Certain Muslims, who were of weaker dispositions and unmindful, became victims of this propaganda as well. Hence, this era was especially a time of full force for the hypocrites, and their most desirable weapon was to spread false and filthy propaganda in order to slander the Holy Prophet(sa) and his relatives. These rumours were spread so cunningly that on certain occasions, due to not having in depth knowledge of affairs, the Holy Prophet(sa) and his most prominent Companions could not even find the opportunity to rebut these allegations, and their poison would continue to spread. In these instances, latter Muslims who were not in the habit of thorough investigation and deep thought, would consider this misinformation to be true and begin relating these accounts. It is in this manner that these narrations have found way into the collections of such Muslims who are the Wāqidī type, etc. As mentioned above, these narrations are absolutely nowhere to be found among the authentic Aḥādīth, nor have research scholars accepted them.

Whilst alluding to the tale of Zainab bint Jaḥash(ra), Sir William Muir, from whom a better mentality was expected, has not only accepted the fictitious and forged narration of Wāqidī, but has made a hurtful remark taunting that along with his advancing age, the carnal passions of the Holy Prophet(sa) grew as well, and Muir has attributed the expansion of his household to this very sentiment. In my capacity as a historian, I do not wish to enter into a religious debate, but upon witnessing the false portrayal of historical account, I cannot remain without raising a voice against such an unpleasant and unjust assertion either. Undoubtedly, it is a historical fact that the Holy Prophet(sa) married more than once and history also establishes that with the exception of Ḥaḍrat Khadījah(ra), all of these marriages took place in an era, which may be described as one of old age. However, without any historical evidence, rather, in contradiction to clear historical fact, to assert that the marriages of the Holy Prophet(sa) were, God-forbid, owed to carnal passions, is far from the greatness of a historian, and even further still from the greatness of a noble man. Mr. Muir was not oblivious to the fact that at the age of twenty-five, the Holy Prophet(sa) married a forty year elderly widow (Ḥaḍrat Khadījah(ra)), and then fulfilled this relationship until the age of fifty, with such integrity and loyalty that its like can be found nowhere else.10 After this, until the age of fifty-five, the Holy Prophet(sa) practically kept only one wife, and coincidentally this wife (Ḥaḍrat Saudah(ra)) also happened to be a widow, who was a lady well advanced in age.11 During this entire period, which is especially a period of carnal urge, the Holy Prophet(sa) never thought of additional marriages. Mr. Muir was also not at all unaware of the historical occurrence that when the people of Makkah could no longer bear the preaching efforts of the Holy Prophet(sa) and considered it to be destructive to their national religion, they sent a delegation to the Holy Prophet(sa) leaded by ‘Utbah bin Rabī‘ah. The delegation fervently pleaded to the Holy Prophet(sa) so that he would desist from his efforts. In addition to bribing him with wealth and power, they also begged that if he would be content upon marrying a worthy girl, and thus refrain from speaking ill of their religion and abstain from preaching this new faith, they were prepared to give him any girl he desired. At that time, the Holy Prophet(sa) was not very old, and his physical strength was also better than in his later life. However, the response that the Holy Prophet(sa) gave to the representative sent by the chieftains of Makkah is an open page of history, which does not need to be repeated here.12 This historical occurrence was also not hidden from the eyes of Mr. Muir that prior to his divine appointment - that is, until forty years - the people of Makkah considered the Holy Prophet(sa) to be a man of impeccable character.13 However, despite all these testimonies, for Mr. Muir to write that after the age of fifty-five, the Holy Prophet(sa) became indulged in sensuality and lust, despite the fact that his physical strengths naturally became weaker, and his engagements and responsibilities grew to such an extent that the busiest of people are put to shame, cannot be considered as being anything other than a prejudiced remark! Anyone is free to say as he wishes and others do not have the power to stop such a person’s tongue and pen, but an intelligent person should not make a statement which common sense rejects. If Mr. Muir and others like him had removed the veil of prejudice from their eyes, they would have come to know that the mere fact that all these marriages of the Holy Prophet(sa) took place in his old age proves that they were not motivated by carnal desires. Obviously, there were other motives hidden beneath the surface, especially when it is a historical fact that the Holy Prophet(sa) spent the days of his youth in such a state, that his own and others, all referred to him by the title of ‘Amīn.’ I derive a spiritual pleasure in studying the fact that the era in which these marriages of the Holy Prophet(sa) took place, was a time when the greatest burden of the responsibilities of prophethood was being shouldered by him and the Holy Prophet(sa) was becoming fully engrossed in the fulfillment of his countless and heavy responsibilities. In my view - and I would presume the same for every just and noble person - this very fact alone establishes that these marriages of the Holy Prophet(sa) were a part of his responsibilities of prophethood, for which he destroyed his own domestic peace in order to support the objectives of preaching and training. An evil person searches for an evil motive in the actions of others, and due to his own filthy state, is often at a loss to understand the pure intentions of others. However, a noble person knows and understands that often the same action is performed by a sinister man with evil intent, while a pious man can and does perform the same action with a good and pure intention. I would also like to mention that in Islām the purpose of marriage is not so that a man and woman can come together in order to satisfy their carnal desires. Although the union of man and woman is a genuine purpose of marriage so that human life can continue, there are also many other wholesome purposes as well. Hence, in identifying the motives behind the marriages of such a person whose every movement in life was a testimony to his selflessness and purity and twisting them towards ill-intent in the manner of wicked people cannot harm the person with regards to whom this opinion is voiced, but instead the inner state of the critic can well be understood. I shall say no more in response to this allegation. 14