The women in the life of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) - (6)

 

The women in the life of the Holy Prophet

(Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) - (6)

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was the one who granted women their due rights.  Here, we present a series on the women in the life of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).

 

The 1st part ran here, the 2nd here, the 3rd here, the 4th here, the 5th here and this is the 6th.

 

 

 

The daughters of the Prophet

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) had 4 daughters:  Hadhrat Zainab, Hadhrat Ruqayya, Hadhrat Umm Kulthoom and Hadhrat Fatima (May Allah be well pleased with them).

 

Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with him)

 

Her name was Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her).  She was the eldest daughter of the Prophet.  Her mother was Hadhrat Khadija (May Allah be well pleased with her).  Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her) was born 10 years before the declaration of Prophethood, when the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was 30 years of age.

 

She was married at a young age to her maternal cousin Hadhrat Abul A’as (May Allah be well pleased with him).

 

When the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) declared His Prophethood, Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with him) embraced Islam immediately.

 

In Makkah, people who had relations with Muslims were pressurized to break away from them.  Thus, Hadhrat Abul A’as was also asked to divorce Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with them).  However, he refused point blank.  He still treated her with kindness and concern.  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) always praised this attitude of Hadhrat Abul A’as (May Allah be well pleased with him).

 

In spite of all this, Hadhrat Abul A’as (May Allah be well pleased with him) had not yet embraced Islam.  Eventually the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) emigrated to Madina.  At that time, Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her) was with her in-laws.

 

In 2 Hijri, the Battle of Badr took place.  Hadhrat Abul A’as (May Allah be well pleased with him) fought on the side of the disbelievers and was captured by the Muslims.  When the Makkans sent ransoms for the prisoners, Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her) also sent a necklace made of Yemeni stones at the hands of her brother-in-law.  This necklace was given to her by her illustrious mother, Hadhrat Khadija (May Allah be well pleased with her) at the time of marriage.  When this necklace was presented to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), He was reminded of Hadhrat Khadija (May Allah be well pleased with her) and was moved to tears.

 

It was decided that the necklace be returned and the ransom of Hadhrat Abul A’as (May Allah be well pleased with him) was that he should go to Makkah and send Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her) to Madina.  As per his promise, Hadhrat Abul A’as sent Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with them) with his younger brother as an escort.  When the disbelievers learnt of this, they gave chase and surrounded them.  Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her) was mounted on a camel.  Habbaar bin Aswad struck her with a lance and she fell to the ground.  She was pregnant and suffered a miscarriage.  Her brother in law took offense at this and prepared to fight.  Abu Sufyan stepped forth to talk and it was decided that Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her) would be sent secretly.

 

In Muharram of 7 Hijri, Hadhrat Abul A’as (May Allah be well pleased with him) embraced Islam and emigrated to Madina.  Hadhrat Zainab (May Allah be well pleased with her) was reunited with her husband.  However, she passed away in 8 Hijri.  The reason is cited to be the miscarriage that she suffered in the aforementioned incident.

 

She was survived by a son – Hadhrat ‘Ali and a daughter Hadhrat Umaama (May Allah be well pleased with them).

 

Hadhrat Ruqayya (May Allah be well pleased with her)

 

Her name was Ruqayya (May Allah be well pleased with her).  She was the second daughter of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  She was born 7 years before the declaration of Prophethood. 

 

She was first married to her cousin ‘Utba bin Abu Lahab.  When Surah Lahab was revealed, ‘Utba divorced her as per the orders of his father.  She had not yet started living with him as of then.

 

After some days, Hadhrat ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan (May Allah be well pleased with him) embraced Islam.  He was a very honorable and affluent young man.  The Prophet selected him to be His son-in-law.  Their marriage was solemnized in Makkah itself.

 

When the Prophet permitted Muslims to emigrate to Abyssinia, Hadhrat ‘Uthman and Hadhrat Ruqayya (May Allah be well pleased with them) also emigrated.  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said on this:  After Ibrahim and Lut (May peace be upon them), ‘Uthman is the first person to emigrate for the sake of Allah Most High along with his wife.

 

After some time they returned to Makkah.  Here, the harassment of the disbelievers had further increased.  They again emigrated to Abyssinia.  Sometime later, Hadhrat ‘Uthman (May Allah be well pleased with him) heard that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is emigrating to Madina.  They returned and emigrated to Madina.

 

In 2 Hijri, Hadhrat Ruqayya (May Allah be well pleased with her) suffered an attack of smallpox.  This was the time when the Prophet was preparing to march out for Badr.  He ordered Hadhrat ‘Uthman (May Allah be well pleased with him) to stay with Hadhrat Ruqayya (May Allah be well pleased with her). 

 

The Prophet had not yet returned from Badr that Hadhrat Ruqayya (May Allah be well pleased with her) breathed her last at the age of 21 years.

 

Upon returning to Madina, the Prophet visited the grave of Hadhrat Ruqayya (May Allah be well pleased with her).  Hadhrat Fatima (May Allah be well pleased with her) also came to her grave.  She sat near the grave and cried.  The Prophet would wipe her tears with the ends of His cloak.

 

She had a son who was named Hadhrat ‘Abdullah (May Allah be well pleased with him). 

 

[To be continued...]