Zaynab Bint Khuzaymah

She was Zaynab bint Khuzaymah ibn al-Haarith ibn `Abdullaah ibn `Amr ibn `Abdi Manaaf ibn Hilaal ibn `Amir ibn Sa'sa'ah ibn Mu'aawiyah ibn Hawaazin from Bani Hilaal from Quraysh. She, may Allah be pleased with her, is related to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as they meet in their great grandfather `Abdu Manaaf. Her mother was Hind bint `Awf ibn Al-Haarith. Zaynab's half-sister was the Mother of the Faithful, Maymoonah bint al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with her, who was the Prophet's last wife.

Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, was born in Makkah, thirteen years before Hijrah (A.H). She, may Allah be pleased with her, was married to `Ubaydah ibn Al-Haarith ibn `Abdul-Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him, who participated in the battle of Badr and was one of its martyrs. Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, carried out her duties in the battlefield in spite of her husband's death. She, may Allah be pleased with her, helped the wounded, nursed them and carried water to them.

Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy upon him, said that she married `Abdullaah ibn Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with him, who was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. But most scholars agree that she, may Allah be pleased with her, married `Ubaydullaah ibn Al-Haarith, may Allah be pleased with him, because the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, married her in Ramadhaan, in the third year of the Hijrah, just one month before the Battle of Uhud.

After the death of her husband, she, may Allah be pleased with her, felt helpless and lonely and she was in straitened circumstances. The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) proposed to her out of humanitarian reasons and his sense of obligation towards her dead husband who sacrificed his life for the sake of Islam. She, may Allah be pleased with her, gladly accepted the proposal and said to the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam): “I marry you myself.” He (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) consummated marriage with her and took her to his house. She, may Allah be pleased with her, felt very content with his respect and very honored with her new title, the Mother of the Faithful. She, may Allah be pleased with her, never bothered his wives and never overburdened herself with jealousy. She carried out her tasks towards her Muslim brothers. And she spent most of her time helping the poor and listening to tales of hardship amongst them, acting upon the verse (which means): {And keep your soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face ...} [Quran 18: 28]

She, may Allah be pleased with her, was the most benevolent lady whose heart overflowed with kindness and compassion for the poor. She, may Allah be pleased with her, fed them and gave them alms and hence, was known as “The Mother of the Poor.”

Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, did not remain long in the Prophet's house; she, may Allah be pleased with her, passed away in the fourth year of the Hijrah, having been in the Prophet's house eight months only. He (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) prayed over her and laid her to rest with his own noble hands in Al-Baqee`. She, may Allah be pleased with her, was the second wife to predecease the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) [the first to do so was Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her)].

She, may Allah be pleased with her, will always be remembered as the Mother of the Faithful and the Mother of the Poor, because she was liked by all for her goodness and charity and not for beauty. May Allah bless the Mother of the Faithful, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah.