Zainab bint Muhammad
| Zainab bint Muhammad | |
|---|---|
| Born | 598 AD Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia |
| Died | May/June 629 (aged 31) Medina, Hejaz, Arabia |
| Spouse(s) | Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi' |
| Children | Ali, Umamah bint Zainab |
| Parents |
|
Zainab bint Muhammad (Arabic: زينب بنت محمد) (598—629 AD) is regarded by Sunni historians as the eldest daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad by his first wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid. The Shia historians however, believe that she and her two sisters (Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad and Ruqayyah bint Muhammad) were orphaned nieces of Khadija (daughters of Halah bint Khuwailid) who were adopted by Muhammad after his marriage to Khadija.
She married her maternal cousin, Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi', before August 610, and Khadija gave her a wedding present of an onyx necklace. They had two children, Ali, who died in childhood, and Umama.
Zainab became a Muslim soon after Muhammad first declared himself a prophet. The Quraysh pressured Abu al-As to divorce Zainab, saying they would give him any woman he liked in exchange, but Abu al-As said that he did not want any other woman, a stance for which Muhammad commended him. Muhammad had no jurisdiction over Mecca and therefore could not force them to separate, so they continued to live together despite Abu al-As's refusal to convert to Islam. Zainab remained in Mecca when the other Muslims emigrated to Medina.
Abu al-As was one of the polytheists who was captured at the Battle of Badr. Zainab sent the money for his ransom, including the onyx necklace. When Muhammad saw the necklace, he refused to accept any cash ransom for his son-in-law. He sent Abu al-As home, and Abu al-As promised to send Zainab to Medina.I
Zainab accepted this instruction. About a month after the battle, Zainab's adopted brother, Zayd, arrived in Mecca to escort her to Medina. She entered a hawdaj and her brother-in-law, Kinana, led the camel to Zayd in broad daylight. The Quraysh perceived this as an unnecessary flaunting of Muhammad's triumph at Badr. A group of them pursued Zainab and overtook her at Dhu Tuwa. A man named Habbar ibn Al-Aswad threatened her with his lance and pushed her. She fell out of the hawdaj onto a rock. Kinana showed the arrows in his quiver and threatened to kill anyone who came any closer. Then Abu Sufyan arrived, telling Kinana to put away his bow so that they could discuss it rationally. He said that they had no intention of keeping a woman from her father in revenge for Badr, but that it was wrong of Kinana to humiliate the Quraysh further by parading her removal in public; he must do it quietly, when the "chatter" had died down. Kinana took Zainab home again. There she suffered a miscarriage, losing a great deal of blood, which she attributed to having been assaulted by Habbar.
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Wikipedia