Umm al-Muminin Zaynab bint Jahsh

Umm al-Muminin Zaynab bint Jahsh (أم المؤمنين زينب بنت جحش, "Mother of the Believers Zaynab bint Jahsh") is a biographical monograph by Khalid al-Hamudi dedicated to the life, virtues, and religious significance of Zaynab bint Jahsh (d. 20 AH / 641 CE), a cousin and wife of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ al-Fikr al-Sami fi Tarikh…+1.

Subject and Historical Context

The work documents the biography of Zaynab bint Jahsh ibn Ri'ab al-Asadiyya, whose mother was Umaymah bint Abd al-Muttalib, the paternal aunt of the Prophet ﷺ al-Rasf lima Ruwiya an al…+1. Her original name was Barrah before the Prophet ﷺ renamed her Zaynab, and she was given the agnomen (kunya) Umm al-Hakam al-Rasf lima Ruwiya an al…+1. She was among the early emigrants to Medina Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf …+1.

She was initially married to the Prophet's freedman Zayd ibn Harithah al-Rasf lima Ruwiya an al…+1. Following their divorce, her marriage to the Prophet ﷺ was divinely contracted by Quranic revelation in Surah al-Ahzab ( فَلَمَّا قَضَى زَيْدٌ مِنْهَا وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا ), an event that legally dismantled the pre-Islamic practice of treating adopted sons as biological offspring regarding marriage prohibitions and inheritance al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sah…+1. Reports place this marriage in either 3 AH or 5 AH, with other accounts giving 4 AH Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf …+1. Zaynab took pride in this distinction among the Prophet's wives, stating that while their families had arranged their marriages, God had married her to the Prophet ﷺ from above the heavens without a guardian or witness Imta al-Asma bima lil-Nab…+1. The verse of the veil (ayat al-hijab) was also revealed on the occasion of her wedding feast Imta al-Asma bima lil-Nab…+1.

Virtues and Demise

The narrative highlights Zaynab's asceticism, frequent fasting and night prayers, and dedication to charity Qiladat al-Nahr fi Wafaya…+1. She was skilled in manual crafts, tanning and beading leather, and distributing all of her earnings to orphans, widows, and the poor, earning her the title Umm al-Masakin ("Mother of the Poor") al-Fikr al-Sami fi Tarikh…+1. Aisha praised her religious commitment, honesty, family ties, and extraordinary generosity al-Fikr al-Sami fi Tarikh…+1. The Prophet ﷺ prophesied to his wives that the quickest among them to join him in the afterlife would be the one with the "longest hand," which they later realized referred to Zaynab's unmatched charitable giving Qiladat al-Nahr fi Wafaya…+1.

Zaynab died in 20 AH at the age of fifty-three (according to another report, fifty) during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab, who led her funeral prayer al-Rasf lima Ruwiya an al…+1. She was the first of the Prophet's wives to die after him, and the first woman over whose bier a covered wooden canopy (na'sh) was constructed—introduced by Asma bint Umays based on a practice she had observed in Abyssinia—before her burial in al-Baqi' al-Rasf lima Ruwiya an al…+1.