Umm al-Muminin Zaynab bint Khuzayma
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Umm al-Muminin Zaynab bint Khuzayma (أم المؤمنين زينب بنت خزيمة) is a biographical treatise by Khalid al-Hamudi chronicling the life, virtues, and standing of the Prophet Muhammad's wife Zaynab bint Khuzayma, traditionally known as Umm al-Masakin ("Mother of the Poor").
Content and Structure
The book is structured into themed biographical sections tracing Zaynab bint Khuzayma's lineage, upbringing, marriage, and death:
- Lineage and Upbringing: The author gives her full lineage as Zaynab bint Khuzayma ibn Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn Abd Manaf ibn Hilal ibn Amir ibn Sa'sa'a al-Hilaliyya, identifying her as a Hilalite woman of Mecca. It depicts her youth in Mecca, her upbringing in a noble household amidst pre-Islamic society, and her witnessing major communal events such as the rebuilding of the Ka'ba and the Prophet's early role in resolving tribal disputes over the Black Stone.
- Early Marriages and Islam: The work reviews conflicting historical reports regarding her marriages prior to the Prophet. While some historians state she was married to Abdullah ibn Jahsh, the author favors the account that she was married first to al-Tufayl ibn al-Harith and subsequently to his brother Ubayda ibn al-Harith. It recounts her early conversion to Islam, enduring the three-year economic and social boycott of the Muslims in the ravine (Shi'b), and her subsequent migration (hijra) to Medina.
- Widowhood and Marriage to the Prophet: The narrative covers the Battle of Badr, where her husband Ubayda fought in the initial duel against the Qurayshite champions, sustained mortal wounds, and subsequently died in Medina. Following the completion of her waiting period (ʿiddah), the Prophet proposed to her, and she entrusted her affair to him, joining his household after his marriage to Hafsa bint Umar.
- Charity and Epithet: The treatise highlights the origin of her title Umm al-Masakin, describing how she earned it from early youth and maintained it in Medina by dedicating her personal provisions and household resources to feeding the poor, destitutes, and travelers.
- Death: The work concludes with her death at approximately thirty years of age, only a few months after her marriage to the Prophet. The Prophet led her funeral prayer, and she was interred in the cemetery of al-Baqi', where two of her relatives descended into her grave.
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