The Life of Muhammad

by M. Husayn Haykal

  The Story of Zaynab, Daughter of Jahsh

  As for the story of Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh, the chroniclers, Orientalists, and missionaries have mixed it with such products of vivid imagination that they have made of it a story of love and passion. Critical history, on the other hand, concludes that it is one of the truly great facets of Muhammad’s personality. It proves beyond question that Muhammad was the perfect example of faith and conviction, for it is an instantiation of the principle that the faith of man is complete only when he truly loves for his brother that which he loves for himself. Muhammad had made himself always the exemplar of his own legislation, especially of such laws as were intended to replace the tradition and customs of pre-Islamic Arabia. He was the examplar of the new system which God revealed through him as a mercy and guidance to mankind. For a repudiation of the whole story of Zaynab as reported by these chroniclers or Orientalists and missionaries, it is sufficient to realize that the said woman was the daughter of Umaymah and grand-daughter of ‘Abd al Muttalib the uncle of the Prophet of God-may God’s peace and blessing be upon him. It is sufficient to remember that this woman was brought up in sight of Muhammad and under his care, and on this account was regarded by him as a daughter or a young sister; that he knew too well whether she was beautiful or not before she ever married Zayd ; that he saw her and followed her growth from childhood to maturity and youth; and that it was he who asked her hand for Zayd, his adopted son. Once the reader knows these historical data, then all the fictitious elements and tales spun about him, namely, that he passed by her house in the absence of her husband and was struck by her beauty; that he opened the door of her house and, as the breezes played with the curtains of her room, he saw her stretched in her nightgown like a real “Madame Recamier,” that his heart was so struck by her beauty that he instantly forgot Sawdah, ‘A’ishah, Hafsah, Zaynab, daughter of Khuzaymah and Umm Salamah, his wives-not to mention the memory of Khadijah of whom ‘A’ishah used to say that she had never felt jealous of any woman except Khadijah on account of the memory he kept of her-all these tales must dissolve. If any grain of them was true, Muhammad would have taken her in marriage himself at first, rather than give her in marriage to Zayd. This historical relationship between Zaynab and Muhammad rules out as utterly fictitious and groundless all the stories which have been attributed to Zaynab’s attractiveness.

  History, however, has more yet to tell. It proves that Muhammad asked for the hand of his own cousin Zaynab for his adopted son Zayd. Her brother, ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh, refused to let his sister, the Hashimi and Qurayshi noble girl that she was, and the first cousin of the Prophet in addition, become the wife of a slave whom Khadijah had bought and whom Muhammad had set free. Such a union was regarded by him as well as by the Arabs in general as a thing of great shame. For the daughters of the aristocracy to marry their slaves, even though their slaves had become free, was plainly unthinkable. But Muhammad sought to wipe out these racial and class distinctions between men. He sought to educate the whole world to the truth that no Arab is superior to any non-Arab unless it be in virtue and piety. For it was God who said,

  “Highest in God’s view is the most virtuous.” [Qur’an, 49:13]

  Muhammad did not choose to force this noble principle upon a woman outside his own tribe and clan. Let it then be Zaynab, he thought, his very cousin, that will carry the first burden of this flagrant violation of Arabian custom. Let her be the destroyer of these pagan traditions. Let her cause herself, and therewith the whole tribe and religion of Muhammad, to endure all the criticisms that such an act would engender. And let Zayd, his awn adopted son, be the person of lesser lineage to marry the noble Makkan aristocrat. On the other hand, Arab custom and tradition demanded that the adopted son inherit from his adopted father, like the latter’s legitimate children. And since this custom too was the object of Muhammad’s attack, his choice of Zayd as the spearpoint of the first reform, would actually make of him-if he were prepared to give up the inheritance to which Arabian custom gave him title-the spearhead of another Islamic legislation prohibiting inheritance to any but the blood heirs and relatives of the deceased. Thus, Muhammad insisted that Zaynab agree to marry Zayd and that her brother ‘Abdullah ibn Jahsh accept Zayd as a brother-in-law. Indeed, this furnished the occasion for the revelation that “No believer, whether man or woman, has freedom to choose otherwise than as God and His Prophet have resolved in any given case. To do so is to disobey God and His Prophet, to err and fall into manifest misguidance.”[Qur’an, 33:36]

  Once the foregoing verse was revealed, neither ‘Abdullah nor his sister Zaynab had any alternative but to acquiesce in the Prophet’s order. The Prophet helped Zayd furnish a dowry for his bride-to-be and the marriage took place. After the wedding, the husband found in his wife a woman very hard to manage and to live with. Her pride continued to know no bounds. Indeed, she continued to deride Zayd, to boast of her lineage in his presence and to look down on him because of his having once been a slave. Zayd complained about her to the Prophet more than once and even consulted with him in the matter of divorcing her. All along, the Prophet would counsel him in these terms

  “Hold fast to your wife and fear God.” Zayd’s home life, however, did not improve and, unable to bear her false pride any longer, Zayd divorced her.

  Adoption in Islam

  The All-Wise Legislator willed to undo the Arab practice of adopting children and passing onto them the adopter’s genealogy and name, his investment of them with all the rights of the legitimate son including that of inheritance and the prohibition of marriage on grounds of consanguinity. The divine Legislator willed to give the adopted son only the right of a client and co-religionist. In this sense, the verse was revealed that: “God did not make your adopted son a. your own sons. To declare them so is your empty claim. God’s word is righteous and constitutes the true guidance.”[Qur’an, 33:4] It follows from this revelation that the adopter may marry the ex-wife of his adopted son and viceversa. But how is such provision to be implemented? Who, among the Arabs, could implement this legislation and thereby openly repudiate the ancient traditions? Even Muhammad himself, despite his tremendous willpower and profound understanding of the wisdom implicit in the divine command, found himself disinclined to implement this judgment by marrying Zaynab after Zayd had divorced her. Indeed, the criticisms of the commonplace and the vituperations with which he was indicted in the public eye for breaking down such well established custom did, for a time, influence Muhammad’s judgment and affected his decision. It was at this stage that the following divine criticism was addressed to Muhammad: “Would you hide, O Muhammad, within yourself that which God was going to bring to light anyway? Would you fear the gossip of the people? Isn’t God more worthy of being feared?” [Qur’an, 33:37] The truth is, however, that Muhammad was the exemplar of obedience to God; his life was the implementation of that which he was entrusted to convey to mankind. The outcome, therefore, was that Muhammad would not give any weight at all to the gossip of the people if he were to marry the ex-wife of his adopted son, since the fear of social condemnation is nothing comparable to that of condemnation by God, of disobedience to divine commandment. Thus, Muhammad married Zaynab in order to provide a good example of what the All-Wise Legislator was seeking to establish by way of rights and privileges for adoption. In this regard, God said: “After a term of married life with her husband, We permitted you to marry her so that it may hence be legitimate and morally blameless for a believer to marry the wife of his adopted son provided that wife has already been divorced. That is God’s commandment which must be fulfilled.” [Qur’an, 33:37]

  Return to the Orientalists’ Views

  Such is the evidence critical history furnishes in the case of Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh, and of her marriage to Muhammad. She was his first cousin whom he knew well long before Zayd ever married her. It was he who asked for her hand on Zayd’s behalf. Muhammad often saw Zaynab even after her marriage to Zayd, for the veil was not then
known. It was also the custom, on account of Zaynab’s blood relation to Muhammad and Zayd’s relation as adopted son, that the couple would refer to the Prophet any complaint each may have against the other. As Zayd was not happy in his marriage with her, it was natural that both of them would seek advice and judgment in their domestic disputes. All these provisions of the divine law have been revealed, and they have been instanced in the case of Zayd and Zaynab’s marriage and divorce, and of Zaynab’s later marriage to Muhammad. These provisions had one purpose, namely the raising of the manumitted slave to the full status of freedom, and the repudiation of all the rights of masters, protectors, and adoptive parents in clear and unequivocal terms. There is hence no ground for these fictitious stories woven by Orientalists and missionaries and repeated by Muir, Irving, Sprenger, Weil, Dermenghem, Lammens and other biographers of Muhammad. Their so-called scholarship is a scandalous piece of missionarizing. It is a masquerade of science. Their traditional antagonism to Islam, going back to the Crusades, has simply taken possession of their conscience, dictating and determining all that they write on the subject. It is this fundamental prejudice which vitiates their writing. Their “history” is a crime against history itself, for they choose to see, to note, and to report only the most scurrilous and fictitious reports to satisfy this end. Even if, though impossible, their claims were true, we would still refute them with the simple argument that the great stand above the law; that Moses, Jesus, Jonah, and others before Muhammad have likewise risen above the laws of nature as well as of society, some in their birth, others in their lives. None of this has affected their greatness. Muhammad, moreover, legislated for man and society by means of his Lord’s revelation. He executed those laws equally by his Lord’s command. His life constitutes the highest ideal, the perfect example, and the concrete instance of his Lord’s command. Would those missionaries have Muhammad divorce his wives in order not to exceed the limit of four prescribed by lslamic law after Muhammad? Wouldn’t they then subject him to more severe criticism? But Muhammad’s treatment of his wives was just and noble. We have seen in the above-mentioned tradition of ‘Umar ibn al Khattab some evidence thereto, and we shall see more yet in the sequel. Evidently, Muhammad not only honored woman more than did any other man, but he raised her to the status which truly belongs to her-an accomplishment of which Muhammad alone has so far been capable.

  Chapter 18

  The Campaigns of al Khandaq and Banu Qurayzah

  Muhammad’s Caution and Arab Instinct

  After the forced evacuation of Banu al Nadir from Madinah, and the events of the “second Badr,” the campaigns of Ghatafan and Dawmat al Jandal, it was high time the Muslims felt a measure of security within their city. Hence, they applied themselves to the task of organizing their own internal affairs. Their constant preoccupation with security and war had largely prevented their engagement in agriculture or commerce. Nonetheless, their state of privation and need was largely ameliorated by the booty they acquired through these campaigns. Though Muhammad felt relatively secure, he was always cautious lest the enemy strike without notice. He therefore had to maintain eyes, ears, and channels of communication throughout the Arabian Peninsula in order to learn of all the news of the tribes so that the Muslims might have time to prepare for defense in case of emergency. It is easy for us to appreciate the need for all these precautions after hearing of the treacherous attacks of Quraysh and other tribes against the Muslims. The Arabian Peninsula of those days was covered with autonomous little republics, each of which extended over the territory inhabited or used by its various clans, and depended for its security on an intricate system of intertribal customs, pacts, and traditions, which we do not usually expect to find in the organizations of states in modern times. Since Muhammad himself was an Arab and understood the will to retaliate innate in Arab character, he took extreme care to guard the Muslim community from all sides. Quraysh, the Jews of Banu Qaynuqa‘ and Banu al Nadir, the tribes of Ghatafan and Hudhayl as well as those living in the vicinity of al Sham, were all lying in wait for Muhammad and his companions. Each one of these groups awaited the opportunity to avenge itself on this man who had divided the Arabs in their religion, and, though emigrating from Makkah devoid of power or ally, had acquired, within the last five years by virtue of his great faith, such prestige and power as to make him a real threat to the strongest cities and tribes of Arabia.

  Jewish Enmity

  The Jews were perhaps the most cognizant of Muhammad’s teachings and the most apprehensive of the success of his message. They knew too well what consequences to them would be implied in the victory of Islam. In Arabia, having distinguished themselves through their monotheistic teachings, they competed with the Christians and were hoping soon to wrest all power from them throughout Arabia. They were right in their expectation inasmuch as the Semitic soul was by nature more inclined toward monotheism than to Christian trinitarianism. As if to spoil that promise and dash those hopes, Muhammad, the pure Arab and pure Semite, was calling men to the monotheistic truth with strong and emphatic words which penetrate to the nethermost depths of consciousness. His revelation overwhelmed and intoxicated the soul. It caused man to transcend himself. Furthermore, Muhammad achieved such political and worldly power that he had forced the evacuation of Banu Qaynuqa‘ from Madinah, and the Banu al Nadir from their lands. Would they then leave him alone and return to their previous abodes in al Sham and in the promised land of Jerusalem, or would they confront him here in Arabia by rallying the Arab tribes to seek revenge from him?

  Jewish Preference of Paganism to Islam

  It was the latter idea that finally gripped Banu al Nadir. In pursuit of it, their leaders Huyayy ibn Akhtab, Sallam ibn Abu al Huqayq, Kinanah ibn al Huqayq, together with Hawdhah ibn Qays and Abu ‘Ammar, both of the tribe of Banu Wail, went to Makkah for consultation with the Quraysh leaders. When Huyayy was asked about his tribe, he told the Quraysh that he had left them between Khaybar and Madinah awaiting the arrival of the Makkans that they might join them in battle against Muhammad and his companions. When the Makkans inquired about Banu Qurayzah, he answered that they had remained within Madinah in order to plot against Muhammad and to spring against his men from behind once the Makkans launched their attack. The Quraysh hesitated. They knew only too well that in the last analysis, there was no difference between them and Muhammad except in this matter of his new faith; and even in it, they were not quite certain that Muhammad was entirely wrong since his worldly power had been on the increase every day. The Quraysh therefore asked the Jews to tell them, since they were the first People of the Book and held the keys of knowledge in the matters in which the Quraysh disagreed with Muhammad, whether or not Muhammad’s religion was better than Makkan religion. The Jews answered by giving preference to Makkan religion over Islam and to Makkan rights over Muhammad’s. It was to this that the Qur’an referred when it said, “Would you consider those who were given part of the scripture, that they believe in evil and injustice and commend to the unbelievers their own unbelief as guidance superior to the true faith of those who believed? Such men are accursed of God. And whosoever God curses, will never prevail. Nor will anyone ever come to his rescue.” [Qur’an, 4:51-52] This attitude of the Jews toward Quraysh and their favoring of the latter’s paganism over the monotheism of Muhammad was the subject of a severe rebuke by Dr. Israel Wolfenson, who wrote in his The Jews in Arabia: “It was the duty of the Jews not to allow themselves to get involved in such a scandalous mistake. They should have never declared to the leaders of Quraysh that the worship of idols was better than Islamic monotheism even if this were to imply frustration of their requests. The Jews, who have for centuries raised the banner of monotheism in the world among the pagan nations, who have remained true to the monotheistic traditions of the fathers, and who have suffered throughout history the greatest misfortunes, murders, and persecutions for the sake of their faith in the One God should, in loyalty to this tradition, have sacrificed every interest-n
ay their very lives-to bring about the downfall of paganism. Furthermore, by allying themselves with the pagans they were in fact fighting themselves and contradicting the teachings of the Torah which commands them to avoid, repudiate-indeed to fight-the pagans.”

  The Jews’ Rallying of the Arab Tribes

  This brazen self-contradiction, this favoring of paganism over monotheism and the encouragement of pagan forces to rise against the monotheistic forces-all this was not enough for Huyayy ibn Akhtab and the Jewish leaders who accompanied him on his trip to Makkah. After securing a definite date from the Makkans for the attack against Muhammad, the same leaders went to the Ghatafan clan of Qays Ghaylan, to the tribes of Banu Murrah, Banu Fazarah, Ashja‘, Sulaym, Banu Sa’d, Asad, and all those who had fought with the Muslims to instigate a general mobilization on the side of Quraysh for a revengeful war on Muhammad. In order to placate these tribes, the Jews commended and praised their pagan practices and prophesied that victory would certainly belong to paganism. All these parties which the Jews had rallied against Muhammad marched against Madinah. The Quraysh sent an expeditionary force of four thousand infantrymen, a cavalry of three hundred, and a camel corps of one thousand five hundred. This huge army was led by Abu Sufyan in person. The flag of Makkah and, hence, the leadership of battle was assigned to ‘Uthman ibn Talhah, whose father had been killed carrying that same flag in the Battle of Uhud. The Banu Fazarah tribe sent a large number of infantrymen and a camel corps of one thousand under the leadership of ‘Uyaynah ibn Hisn ibn Hudhayfah. The tribes of Ashja‘ and Murrah supplied four hundred soldiers each, under the leadership of al Harith ibn ‘Awf and Mis’ar ibn Rukhaylah respectively. Sulaym, the tribe which engages; the Muslims at the battle of the well of Ma’unah, sent seven hundred soldiers. To this tremendous number, the tribes of Banu Sa’d and Banu Asad added more soldiers and more cavalry until the total number reached ten thousand or more. This whole army moved in the direction of Madinah under the general leadership of Abu Sufyan. After they had reached the outskirts of Madinah and encamped, the leadership of the army as a whole really revolved among the leaders of the various tribes.