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Abu-l Aas belonged to the
Abd ash-Shams clan of the Quraysh. He
was in the prime of his youth, handsome
and very impressive looking. He was the
epitome of Arab chivalry and was endowed
with all the characteristics of pride,
manliness and generosity. He took great
pride in the traditions of his
ancestors.
Abu-l Aas inherited
the Quraysh love for trade. The Quraysh
of course were known to be masters of
the two annual trading expeditions, the
winter expedition to the south, to
Yemen, and the summer expedition to the
north, to Syria. These two expeditions
are mentioned in the Quran in the
chapter named after the Quraysh.
The caravans of Abu-l
Ads always plied between Makkah and
Syria. Each caravan was made up of two
hundred men and a hundred camels. People
would entrust their wealth and their
goods to him to trade on their behalf
because of his skill as a merchant, his
honesty and his trustworthiness.
The maternal aunt of
Abu-l Aas was Khadijah bint Khuwaylid,
the wife of Muhammad ibn Abdullah. She
treated him like a mother would her own
son, with love and affection. Muhammad
too was extremely fond of him.
The years went by
quickly in the household of Muhammad and
Khadijah. Zanaib, their eldest daughter,
soon grew up and blossomed forth like a
lovely flower. She was much sought after
in marriage by the sons of respectable
Makkan nobles. And why not? She was one
of the most distinguished Makkan girls
in lineage and social standing. She was
blessed with the most honorable father
and mother. And she had the finest
morals and behavior.
Which one of these
scions of Makkan nobility would win her
hand? Abu-l Aas ibn Rabi'ah was the one
who did.
Abu-l Aas and Zaynab
were only married a few years when the
Divine light of Islam radiated over
Makkah. Muhammad, the father of Zaynab,
was now the Prophet of God, sent to
convey the religion of guidance and
truth. He was commanded to convey the
message of Islam first to his family and
nearest relatives. The first women to
believe in him and accept Islam were his
wife Khadijah and his daughters Zaynab,
Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah.
Fatimah was very young at the time.
Zaynab's husband
however did not like leaving the
religion of his forefathers and he
refused to adopt the religion which his
wife now followed although he was
completely devoted to her and loved her
dearly with a pure and sincere love.
Before long, the
confrontation between the Prophet, peace
be upon him, and the Quraysh developed
and grew bitter. The Quraysh felt that
it was intolerable for their sons to
remain married to Muhammad's daughters.
They also considered that it would be an
embarrassing and difficult situation for
Muhammad if his daughters were to be
returned to his household. So they went
to Abu-l Aas and said:
"Divorce your
wife, Abu-l Aas, and send her back to
her father's house. We shall then marry
you to any of the most charming and
noble women of the Quraysh you
desire."
"No, by
God," said Abu-l Aas firmly.
"I shall not divorce my wife and I
do not wish to have in her place any
woman in all the world."
Muhammad's other two
daughters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were
divorced by their husbands and returned
to his home. The Prophet in fact was
delighted when they came back to him and
he had hoped that Abu-l Aas would also
return Zaynab to him except that at that
time he had no power to compel him to do
so. The law forbidding the marriage of a
Muslim woman to a nonbelieving man was
not yet in force.
The Prophet, peace be
on him, migrated to Madinah and his
mission became stronger. The Quraysh
felt even more threatened by him ,red
went out to confront him at Badr. Abu-l
Aas was compelled to go along with the
Quraysh army. He did not really have d
desire to fight the Muslims nor did he
feel any inclination to join them. But
his position among the Quraysh- one of
honor and trust - impelled him to go
along with their campaign against
Muhammad. The battle of Badr ended in d
terrible defeat for the Quraysh and the
forces of shirk. Some were killed, some
were taken prisoner and some managed to
escape. Among those, who were taken
prisoner was Abu-l Aas, the husband of
Zaynab.
The Prophet fixed
amounts for the ransom of the prisoners
of war varying from one thousand to four
thousand dirhams, according to the
wealth and social standing of the
prisoner. Quraysh messengers went to and
fro between Makkah and Madinah bearing
the ransom money to free their relatives
held in Madinah. Zaynab sent her
messenger to Madinah bearing the ransom
demand to free her husband. The ransom
amount included a necklace which her
mother, Khadijah, had given to her
before she died. When the Prophet saw
the necklace, his face at once became
covered with a veil of sadness and he
felt a surge of tenderness for his
daughter. He turned to his companions
and said:
"Zaynab has sent
this amount to ransom Abu-l Aas. If you
see fit to set free her prisoner and
return her possession to her, then do
so."
"Yes," his
companions agreed. "We shall do
whatever we can to soothe your eyes and
make you happy."
The Prophet set one
condition on Abu-l Aas before he freed
him, that he should send his daughter
Zaynab to him without delay.
As soon as he reached
Makkah, Abu-l Aas began making
arrangements to carry out his promise.
He ordered his wife to prepare herself
for the journey and told her that her
father's messengers were waiting for her
just outside Makkah. He prepared
provisions and a mount for her and
instructed his brother, Amr ibn
ar-Rabi'ah, to accompany her and hand
her over personally to the Prophet's
emissaries.
Amr slung his bow over
his shoulders, took up his quiver of
arrows, placed Zaynab in her hawdaj and
left Makkah with her in the broad light
of day, in full view of the Quraysh.
The Quraysh were
furious. They pursued Zaynab and Amr
until they caught up with them. Zaynab
was scared. Amr stood poised with his
bow and arrow and shouted:
"By God, if any
man come near to her, I would plunge
this arrow in his neck". Amr was
known to be an excellent marksman.
Abu Sufyan ibn Hath,
who had by this time joined the Quraysh
group, went up to Amr and said:
"Son of my brother, put away your
arrow and let me talk to you."
This Amr did and Abu
Sufyan went on: "What you have done
is not prudent. You left with Zaynab in
full view of the people. All the Arabs
know the disasters we suffered at Badr
at the hands of her father, Muhammad. If
you leave with his daughter in the open
as you have done, the tribes would
accuse us of cowardice and they would
say that we have been humiliated. Return
with her and ask her to stay in her
husband's house for a few days so that
people could say that we brought her
back. Thereafter you can take her away
quietly and secretly from us and take
her to her father. We have no need to
detain her."
Amr agreed to this and
Zaynab returned to Makkah. A few days
later, in the middle of the night Amr
took Zaynab and handed her over to the
Prophet's emissaries just as his brother
had instructed.
After the departure of
his wife, Abu-l Aas stayed on in Makkah
for several years. Then, shortly before
the conquest of Makkah, he left for
Syria on a trading mission. On the
return journey from Syria his caravan
consisted of some one hundred camels and
one hundred and seventy men.
As the caravan
approached Madinah, a detachment of
Muslims took them by surprise. They
impounded the camels and took the men as
captives to the Prophet. Abu-l Aas
however managed to escape. During the
night which was pitch black, Abu-l Aas
entered Madinah fearful and alert. He
searched around until he came to
Zaynab's house. He asked her for
protection and she gave it to him.
At dawn, the Prophet,
peace be on him, came out to the masjid
to perform the Dawn Prayer. He stood
erect in the mihrab and said "Allahu
Akbar" to begin the Prayer. The
Muslims behind him did the same. At that
point Zaynab shouted from the women's
section of the masjid:
"O people! I am
Zaynab the daughter of Muhammad. I have
given protection to Abu-l Aas. Do give
him your protection also."
When the Prayer was
finished, the Prophet turned to the
congregation and said: "Have you
heard what I heard?" "Yes,
Messenger of Allah," they replied.
"By Him in Whose
hand is my soul, I knew nothing of this
until I heard what you heard. He is
asking protection from the
Muslims."
Back at home the
Prophet said to his daughter:
"Prepare a place of rest for Abu-l
Aas and let him know that you are not
lawful for him." He then summoned
the men of the expeditionary force which
had taken the camels and the men of the
caravan and said to them:
"You have taken
the possessions of this man. If you are
kind to him and return his property, we
would be pleased. If however you do not
agree then the goods is booty sanctioned
by God which you have a right to."
"We would
certainly return his possessions to him,
Messenger of God," they replied and
when Abu-l Aas came to collect his
goods, they said to him:
"You belong to
the Quraysh nobility. You are the nephew
of the Messenger of God and his
son-in-law. Would you accept Islam? We
would hand over all this wealth to you.
You would then have for your own
enjoyment whatever wealth and
possessions the Makkans entrusted to
you, and stay with us here in Madinah."
"What an evil
thing you are asking me do, to enter a
new religion while committing an act of
treachery!" Abu-I Aas retorted.
Abu-l Aas returned to
Makkah with the caravan and handed over
all the wealth and goods to their
rightful owners. Then he asked:
"O people of
Quraysh! Is there any money left with me
belonging to any one of you which he has
not taken?"
"No," came
the reply. "And may God bless you
with goodness. We have indeed found you
noble and trustworthy."
Then Abu-I Aas
announced: "Since I have now handed
over to you what is rightfully yours, I
now declare that there is no god but
Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allah. By God, the only thing that
prevented me from declaring my
acceptance of Islam while I was with
Muhammad in Madinah was my fear that you
would think that I did so only to
appropriate your wealth. Now that I have
discharged my trust in this matter, I
now declare that I am a Muslim..."
Abu-l Aas then left
for Madinah where the Prophet received
him hospitably and returned his wife to
him. The Prophet used to say about him:
"He spoke to me and was truthful to
me. He made promises to me and remained
faithful to his word."
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