Story of the Prophet ﷺ marriage to Zaynab b. Jaḥsh
the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Zayd b. Ḥārithah’s house looking for him. Zayd was called Zayd b. Muḥammad ˹at that time˺. Then when an hour had gone by, he said, "Where is Zayd?" He then came to his house looking for him but didn’t find him. Zaynab was standing next to him in regular housework attire (or nightwear) then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ then he avoided her. She said, "He’s not here, Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ˹please˺ come in." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ˹however,˺ refused to enter and she was surprised at the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He turned around and was saying something under his breath that almost could not be understood from him except, maybe, for, "Glory to the Perfection of Allah, the All Mighty, Glory to the Perfection of the changer of the hearts."
Zayd came ˹back˺ to his house and his wife informed him that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to the his house, and Zayd said, "Didn’t you ask him to come in?" She said, "He avoided to do that and refused ˹to come in˺." He said, "Did you hear anything?" She said, "I heard him saying something as he turned around but I couldn’t understand him ˹fully but˺ I heard him say, 'Glory to the Perfection of Allah, the All Mighty, Glory to the Perfection of the changer of the hearts.'”
Then Zayd came to see the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "It’s reached me that you came to my house but you didn’t come in, Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Perhaps you have a liking for Zaynab and I shall part from her." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Hold on to your wife." However, Zayd did not have a way to ˹approach˺ her after that day. He would come to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to inform him ˹of this˺ but he ˹would˺ say, "Hold on to your wife." Then Zayd parted from her and left her, and she completed her ʿIddah.
˹Soon after˺ while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sitting speaking to ʿĀʾishah, he was ˹suddenly˺ overcome by unconsciousness. Then when ˹the episode˺ had lifted, he smiled saying, "Who will go and tell Zaynab that Allah has married me to her from ˹above˺ the sky?", and then he recited, “...and when you say to the one Allah had favored upon and you had favored upon, hold on to your wife…” (Aḥzāb 33:37) the whole story. Then ʿĀʾishah said, "Then I started to wonder about what has reached us about her beauty. On top of that, she is the greatest runner of affairs and the best of them. Allah married her from ˹above˺ the sky, and I said, she boasts to us about this." Then ʿĀʾishah said, "Then Salmá, the servant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, insisted, then she told her about it, and she gave her clarifications for it."
جاءَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ بَيْتَ زَيْدِ بْنِ حارِثَةَ يَطْلُبُهُ، وكانَ زَيْدٌ إنَّما يُقالُ لَهُ: زَيْدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ فَرُبَّما فَقْدَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ السّاعَةَ فَيَقُولُ: «أيْنَ زَيْدٌ؟» فَجاءَ مَنزِلَهُ يَطْلُبُهُ فَلَمْ يَجِدْهُ فَتَقُومُ إلَيْهِ زَيْنَبُ فَتَقُولُ لَهُ: هُنا يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَوَلّى فَيُولِّي يُهَمْهِمُ بِشَيْءٍ لا يَكادُ يُفْهَمُ عَنْهُ إلّا سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ العَظِيمِ سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ مُصَرِّفِ القُلُوبِ، فَجاءَ زَيْدٌ إلى مَنزِلِهِ فَأخْبَرَتْهُ امْرَأتُهُ أنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ أتى مَنزِلَهُ، فَقالَ زَيْدٌ: ألا قُلْتِ لَهُ: يَدْخُلُ، قالَتْ: قَدْ عَرَضْتُ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِ وأبى قالَ: فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: شَيْئًا قالَتْ: سَمِعْتُهُ حِينَ ولّى تَكَلَّمَ بِكَلامٍ لا أفْهَمُهُ وسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: «سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ العَظِيمِ سُبْحانَ اللَّهِ مُصَرِّفِ القُلُوبِ»
قالَ: فَخَرَجَ زَيْدٌ حَتّى أتى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَقالَ: يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ بَلَغَنِي أنَّكَ جِئْتَ مَنزِلِي فَهَلّا دَخَلْتَ بِأبِي أنْتَ وأُمِّي يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّ زَيْنَبَ أعْجَبَتْكَ فَأُفارِقُها، فَيَقُولُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «أمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ» فَما اسْتَطاعَ زَيْدٌ إلَيْها سَبِيلًا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، ويَأْتِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَيُخْبِرُهُ فَيَقُولُ: «أمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجُكَ» فَيَقُولُ: يا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إذًا أُفارِقُها، فَيَقُولُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «احْبِسْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ» فَفارَقَها زَيْدٌ واعْتَزَلَها وحَلَّتْ
قالَ: فَبَيْنَما رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ جالِسٌ يَتَحَدَّثُ مَعَ عائِشَةَ إذْ أخَذَتْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ غَيْمَةٌ، ثُمَّ سُرِّيَ عَنْهُ وهُوَ يَتَبَسَّمُ وهُوَ يَقُولُ: «مَن يَذْهَبُ إلى زَيْنَبَ يُبَشِّرُها أنَّ اللَّهَ ﷻ زَوَّجَنِيها مِنَ السَّماءِ» وتَلا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: ﴿وإذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِي أنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وأنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ﴾ [الأحزاب ٣٧] القِصَّةَ كُلَّها قالَتْ عائِشَةُ: «فَأخَذَنِي ما قَرُبَ وما بَعُدَ لِما كانَ بَلَغَنِي مِن جَمالِها وأُخْرى هِيَ أعْظَمُ الأُمُورِ وأشْرَفُها ما صَنَعَ اللَّهُ لَها زَوَّجَها اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّماءِ» وقالَتْ عائِشَةُ: «هِيَ تَفْخَرُ عَلَيْنا بِهَذا» قالَتْ عائِشَةُ: «فَخَرَجَتْ سَلْمى خادِمُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ تَشْتَدُّ، فَحَدَّثَتْها بِذَلِكَ فَأعْطَتْها أوْضاحًا لَها»