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Ahl al-BaytPhase 2 · Seerah & Ahl al-BaytMajor figure

Zaynab bint Jahsh (RA)

زينب بنت جحش

d. 20 AH · wife (Umm al-Mu'minin)

The Prophet's cousin, whose marriage to him after her divorce from Zayd ibn Harithah was commanded in the Quran (33:37) to abolish the custom of treating adopted sons as real sons. Renowned for charity, she was the first of the wives to die after him.

Biography

Zaynab, daughter of the Prophet's aunt Umaymah bint Abd al-Muttalib, was married at the Prophet's instruction to his freed and adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah (33:36). The marriage failed, and Allah married her to the Prophet ﷺ (33:37) to establish that an adopted son's former wife is not unlawful; the verses of hijab (33:53) were revealed at her wedding feast (Sahih Bukhari). She used to say Allah married her from above the seven heavens (Sahih Bukhari).

The Prophet ﷺ said the first of his wives to join him would be 'the one with the longest hand', which turned out to mean the most charitable: Zaynab, who worked with her hands and gave in charity (Sahih Muslim). She died in 20 AH.

Sources & explanation

۞ Qur'an

33:36 33:37 33:53 33:6

Links open quran.com.

📜 Hadith verified on sunnah.com

  • Sahih al-Bukhari 7420 Sahih

    Zaynab bint Jahsh used to say to the other wives: your families married you off, but Allah married me to him from above the seven heavens.

  • Sahih Muslim 2452 Sahih

    'The first of you to join me will be the one with the longest hand' — it was Zaynab, because she worked with her hands and gave in charity.

💬 Explanation Unverified

Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's perspective

Methodological note (not a direct quote): Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza's widely known approach is to build narratives primarily on the Quran and Sahih Hadith, to set aside Israiliyat (Judeo-Christian lore absorbed into later tafsir) and weak or fabricated narrations, and to avoid sectarian framing. Applied to this node: The Quran (33:36-37) is decisive; weak or orientalist narratives about the marriage's motive are rejected in favour of the Quranic reason.

Related videos Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza

Further references

  • Quran 33:36-37
  • Sahih Bukhari (hijab verse at her wedding)
  • Sahih Muslim ('longest hand')

Connections

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