Zaynab bint Jahsh

Married by the Command of Allah

Zaynab bint Jahsh was a cousin of the Prophet ﷺ. He first gave her in marriage to his freedman and adopted son Zayd ibn Haritha; when that marriage ended in divorce, Allah Himself gave her to the Prophet ﷺ in marriage — to abolish the pagan notion that an adopted son was a true son — as revealed in Surah al-Ahzab. 1 The Noble Qur'an · pp. Surah al-Ahzab 33:37 — Allah gives Zaynab to the Prophet in marriage after Zayd divorced her, ending the custom regarding adopted sons. Before she answered the proposal she would not decide until she had prayed two rak’ahs and sought her Lord’s guidance, and she was ever after proud that, while the other wives were given in marriage by their guardians, Allah had given her in marriage from above the seven heavens. 2 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 251–252 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Zaynab prays before consenting; her pride that Allah Himself gave her in marriage.

The Longest Hand

Zaynab worked with her own hands — tanning and sewing — and gave all her earnings in charity. The Prophet ﷺ once said the wife who would join him first after his death would be “the one with the longest hand,” and the wives measured their arms; but when Zaynab died first, they understood he had meant the most generous in giving. 3 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 252–253 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Zaynab works with her hands and gives in charity; the meaning of 'the longest hand'.

Virtues in the Hadith

The Prophet ﷺ foretold which of his wives would follow him soonest:

أَسْرَعُكُنَّ لَحَاقًا بِي أَطْوَلُكُنَّ يَدًا

”The one of you with the longest hand will be the quickest to join me” — and it was Zaynab, for she was the most generous in charity.

Sahih Muslim 2452 · Book 44 (Merits of the Companions), Hadith 146 · narrated by Aisha

Death & Legacy

True to the Prophet’s ﷺ word, Zaynab was the first of his wives to die after him, in 20 AH, aged about fifty; Umar ibn al-Khattab led her funeral prayer. 4 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 253 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Zaynab the first of the wives to die, in 20 AH; Umar leads her janazah.