Towards the Eternal Heaven
Beautiful Woman
Zainab bint Jahsy Radhiyallahu ‘anha
The marriage of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam to Zainab bint Jahsh was based on the commandment of Allah as an answer to the pagan tradition. Zainab bint Jahsh was the wife of the Prophet and her own relatives. Zainab was the daughter and aunt of the Prophet, Umaimah bint Abdul Muttalib. He loved Zainab very much.
Nasab and its Growth Period
Zainab's full name is Zainab bint Jahsy bin Ri’ab bin Ya’mar bin Sharah bin Murrah bin Kabir bin Gham bin Dauran bin Asad bin Khuzaimah. Before marrying the Prophet, his name was Barrah, then changed by the Prophet to Zainab after marrying him. The mother of Zainab was Umaimah bint Abdul-Muthalib bin Hashim bin Abdi Manaf bin Qushai.
Zaynab was born in Mecca twenty years before the Prophethood. His father was Jahsy bin Ri’ab. He was a benevolent and good-natured leader of the Quraysh. The beautiful Zainab grew up in a respectable family, so it is no wonder the Quraysh called her a beautiful woman of the Quraysh.
Zainab is one of the first women to embrace Islam. Allah has enlightened the hearts of his father and family to embrace Islam. He moved to Medina with his family. She was still a girl, even though she was married.
His marriage was to Zaid bin Harithah
There are several verses of the Qur’an that instruct Zainab and Zaid to have a marriage.
Zainab was of honorable origin, while Zaid bin Harithah was a slave of the Prophet whom he loved so much, that the Muslims called him a favorite of the Prophet. Zaid came from an Arab family whose parents were both Christian. When he was a child, he separated from his parents because he was kidnapped, then he was bought by Hakam bin Hizam for his aunt, Khadijah bint Khuwailid, then presented to the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam.
Zayd's father, Harithah, son of Sharahil, searched for him until he heard that Zayd was in the house of the Prophet. When the Prophet told Zaid to choose between staying with him or going back to his parents and uncle, Zaid said, “I do not want them both, nor do I want anyone else you have chosen for me. You to me are both father and uncle.” After that, the Prophet announced the release of Zaid and his appointment as a child. When Islam came, Zaid was the first to embrace Islam among slaves. He was always near the Prophet, especially after he left Mecca, so he loved him very much, even he had said about Zayd,
“The person I love is the one who has God and I have given you favors. (CHR. Ahmed)
Allah has blessed Zayd with his Islam, and the Prophet has given him the favor of his freedom.
When the Prophet migrated to Medina, he joined Zaid with Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib. In many wars, Zaid was always with the Prophet, and he was not infrequently appointed to command the army. About Zaid, Aisyah once said, “Rasulullah did not send Zaid to the battlefield unless he always made him as the commander of the army, Had he lived, he would have made him his successor.”
There are still many accounts that describe the position of Zaid on the side of the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam.. Arriving in Medina he invited Zainab bint Jahsh to Zaid bin Harithah. At first Zainab hated Zaid and opposed marrying him, as did her brother. In their opinion, how could a beautiful and honorable girl marry a slave? The Prophet exhorted them both and explained Zayd's position in his heart, until a verse came down to them:
“And it is not proper for a believing man (for a believing woman) when Allah and His Messenger have established a decree, there will be for them a choice (another) about their affairs. And whoso disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed gone astray (Q.L. Al - Ahzab 33:36)
Eventually Zainab married Zayd as an execution by the command of God, though Zainab did not like Zayd. Through marriage the Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam wanted to show that there is no difference between men except in their piety and their good deeds. The marriage also aims to eliminate the tradition of jahiliah who like to boast and descent. However, Zainab still could not accept the marriage because there were far differences between the two of them. In front of Zaid, Zainab always prides herself on hurting Zaid. Zayd went to the Prophet to complain about Zainab's treatment of him. The Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam told him to be patient, and Zaid followed his advice. However, he went back to the Prophet and declared that he could no longer live with Zainab.
The basic principle behind the Prophet's marriage to Zainab bint Jahsh was to abolish the tradition of child rapture that occurred in the days of Jahiliah. That is, the Messenger of Allah wants to explain that the adopted child is not the same as the biological child, as Zaid bin Harithah who before descending the verse of the Qur’an has been appointed as a child by him. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala said,
“Call them (the adopted sons) with (to use) the names of their fathers,’ that is fairer with God, and if you do not know their fathers, so (call them as) brethren of your religion and maula-maulamu.” (QS. Al - Ahzab 33:5)
Therefore, a person has no right to acknowledge blood relations and to ask for the rights of inheritance and adoptive parents (not birth). That is why the Prophet married Zainab after her divorce from Zaid, who was considered by many to be the son of Muhammad. Allah has sent down the revelation that Zayd divorced his wife and was married by the Prophet. At first Rasulullab did not pay attention to the order, even asking Zaid to defend his wife.
God gives another warning in the verse:
“And (remember), when you said to the man whom Allah has bestowed blessings upon him and you (also) have given favors to him, ‘Hold your wife and fear Allah, ‘while you hide in your heart what God will reveal, and you fear man, it is God who has more right to fear you. So when Zayd had ended the need for his wife (divorced her), We controlled you with him so that there would be no objection for believers to (married) the wives of their adopted children, when the adopted children have completed the needs of his wife. And is the decree of God it must happen.“ (QS. Al - Ahzab 33:37)
The above verse is God's command that Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam marry Zainab in order to correct the erroneous understanding of the position of the adopted son.
Become Ummul-Mukminin
The Prophet Shallallahu Alaihi Wassalam sent someone to inform Zainab of the commandment of Allah. How glad Zainab was to hear the news, and the wedding was soon to be held and attended by the people of Medina.
Zainab entered the house of the Messenger of Allah on the basis of Allah's revelation. She was the only wife of the Prophet who came from and her close relatives. The Prophet did not need to ask permission to enter Zainab's house while to other wives he always asked permission. Such a custom turned out to cause jealousy in the heart of the other Apostle's wife. The hypocrites who were unhappy with the development of Islam exaggerated the slander that the Prophet had married the wife of his own son. Therefore, the verse that says, “Muhammad is not the father of a man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the concluding prophet…. “ (Qs. Al-Hazab: 40)
Zainab said to the Prophet, “I am your wife the greatest right over you, I am the best messenger among them, and I am also the closest of them. Allah has married me to you by order of the heavens, and Jibril has brought the commandment. I'm your aunt's son. You have no kinship with them as you do with me.” Zainab loved the Prophet very much and felt her life very happy. However, he was very jealous of the other Apostle's wife, so that the Prophet never slept with him for two or three months as punishment for his words that hurt Shafiyyah bint Huyay bin Akhtab the Jewish woman.
Zainab was skilled in hand, tanning the skin and selling it, also doing embroidery, and the result was infused in the way of Allah.
Died
Zainab bint Jahsh was the wife of the Prophet who first died after him, in the twentieth year of the hijrah, during the caliphate of Umar ibn Khattab, at the age of 53, and was buried in Baqi. A story goes that Zainab said, “I have prepared my shroud, but Umar will send for me the shroud, so be merciful with one. If you can give alms to all my rights, do it from the other side.” As for his life, Zainab spent much alms in the way of Allah.
About Zainab, Aisha said, “May God love Zainab. He has equaled me a lot in the heart of the Messenger of Allah. I've never seen a woman better in her religion than Zainab. He is very much afraid of Allah, his most honest words, most like to connect the cord of friendship, most almsgiving, much to sacrifice himself in working to be able to give alms, and always close to God. Besides Saudah, he who has a hard habit.”
May Allah give him glory (Sayyidah Zainab Bint Jahsh) in the Hereafter and be placed with righteous servants. Amens.