Microsoft Word Marriage Guide doc

Source: 
www.al-islamforall@org
 
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He often took her along with him on major campaigns, and she offered him valuable 
advice on several occasions (for example, it was she who suggested he make the sacrifice at 
Hudaybiyyah when the Muslims were refused access to Makkah). The famous ayat that 
mention the equality of male and female believers were revealed following her inquiry as to 
why it was the Qur'an rarely specified women believers. (See 33:35.) 
The Prophet's only 'cousin-marriage' was to the strong-willed Zaynab bint Jahsh, who 
despite her age of 39 is said by the historians to have been very beautiful. She had 
previously been brought up under the Prophet's supervision, and had eventually married his 
freed slave and adopted son Zayd. Although the marriage did not finally succeed, this was 
an example of people from very different social backgrounds becoming equal in Islam (It is 
important to notice how the Prophet (P.B.U.H) had quite deliberately not recommended 
cousin-marriage as his sunnah. Although he did eventually marry this cousin, Zaynab was his 
seventh wife-a long way from being first choice.) 
We do not know how old Zaynab was when she married Zayd, but the Prophet may 
have arranged this marriage because he feared that she would never marry. It is possible 
that she had resisted marriage for so long because she had hoped to be married to her 
cousin, the Prophet (P.B.U.H), and may have been disappointed when she only married Zayd 
instead. 
Following her divorce, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) was pressed to marry her himself, to 
resolve the situation. At this stage, he did not see how he could marry her, for he had 
regarded Zayd as his own son; but then Allah revealed a verse to confirm that an adopted 
son could never be considered in the same category as a blood relation, and the Prophet 
(P.B.U.H) was able to take Zaynab into his household. 
It was on this particular wedding night that he became distressed when inconsiderate 
guests tactlessly stayed too long; the 'verse of the Hijab' was revealed that enabled him to 
put up a curtain or veil, to separate his private quarters from public life, and gain a little 
privacy. Juwayriyyah was the daughter of al-Harith, the chief of the Mustaliq tribe. The 
tribe attacked the Muslims, but were defeated, and Juwayriyyah was among the booty. She 
was allocated initially to al-Thabit Ibn Qays. As the daughter of a chief, she did not wish to 
be the property of an ordinary soldier, and requested release on payment of ransom. 
When Juwayriyyah was brought to A'ishah, A'ishah said that her heart sank when she 
saw her, because she was so pretty. 'By Allah, I had scarcely seen her in the doorway of my 
room before I disliked her!' She recalled later: 'I knew he would see her as I did.' 
Sure enough, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) asked to marry her, and Juwayriyyah accepted 
Islam; thus the enemy tribe became an ally. But A'ishah is said to have always nurtured a 
certain jealousy towards her. 
The Prophet's marriage to Umm Habibah was very different. She was the daughter of 
Abu Sufyan, and hence the sister of the future caliph Mu'awiyah, and the widow of the 
Prophet's cousin Ubaydullah Ibn Jahsh, Zaynab's brother. Her mother Safiyyah bint Abu'l-As 
was the sister of the father of the Blessed Prophet's dear friend and son in-law Uthman. 
Ubaydullah had migrated to Abyssinia with her, but there had apostasized and reverted to 
Christianity. When he died, the Negus of Abyssinia was distressed for her, and contacted the 
Prophet, who agreed to marry her himself. The wedding was performed by proxy. There was 
also a tradition that the people of Madinah requested the Prophet (P.B.U.H) to marry her for 
she was a staunch Muslim, one of the earliest converts. They wished to spare her returning 
to the care of her then unbelieving father Abu Sufyan. 
Little is known about Raihanah of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir. She was a prisoner-
of-war seen by the Prophet, who offered to marry her if she accepted Islam. Some traditions 
claim that she never gave up her Jewish faith, and the Prophet (P.B.U.H) kept her as a 
maidservant. One day she did accept Islam, but by that time the verse limiting the number 
of wives had been revealed, and so he did not marry her. On the other hand, the historian 
Ibn Sa'd claims that he did marry her after liberating her. Ibn Ishaq states that she died ten 
years before the Prophet (P.B.U.H), so one can only say about her life story that Allah knows 
best. 
The Muslim Marriage Guide: Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood

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