Zanab bint Jahsh
From this marriage onwards things become uncomfortable for the prophet. Zaynab was the wife of his adopted son Zayd. And marriage to a daughter-in-law is prohibited. That was also the case in Mecca. Zaynab was not only Muhammad’s daughter-in-law but also his cousin, his aunt’s daughter. These types of marriages are permitted even though they lead to genetic problems in small communities.
Zaynab was a leather worker and converted to Islam around the time Muhammad fled to Medina. She then married Zayd, Khadija’s former slave. Zayd had been kidnapped in an attack near the city of Maan and sold into slavery. Khadija presented it as a gift to Mohammed at their wedding. While visiting Mecca, one of the pilgrims recognised the slave and informed his father that he was staying in Mecca. Zayd’s father offered a ransom for the return of his son, who, however, decided to stay with Muhammad. Mohammed declared on the steps of the Kaaba that Zayd could stay and from now on was his son with all the rights that that entailed. Zayd was given the name Zayd ibn Muhammad.
One bad day Muhammad visited the house of Zayd and Zaynab. Zayd was not at home Zaynab was not dressed for the occasion and Muhammad saw her in her undergarments. He is said to have said: ‘Glory to Allah who opens our hearts to us’. In short, the prophet was in love. The story has characteristics of the Biblical story of David who saw his neighbour Bathsheba naked in the bath on the roof of her house. David also had to have her. This came to pass. And Muhammad also got his way.
Zayd is said to have been willing to divorce his wife and offered her to Muhammad. In this narrative, Muhammad is not to blame, which may also be the intention of history. But there was an obstacle: Muhammad could not legally marry her, so Allah had to help him out with a verse (on demand). The Qur’an says: ‘Allah has not made your adopted sons your sons. These are words from your mouth.’ In short, Allah cancelled the adoption retroactively at a time when everything fell into place. Zayd was given the name of his biological father again: Zayd ibn Harithah. And this is the reason that from now on adoption with all the rights that came with it are prohibited. And that is still true today largely because of the prophet’s libido.
After the mandatory three-month waiting period, Muhammad walked quietly into Zaynab’s house uninvited. To marry her. “Should it be this way, she said, without witnesses?” Muhammad replied that Allah and Gabriel were witnesses, that was enough. Formally it was not a valid marriage, yet Zaynab is said to have boasted that she was the only woman married by Allah. Zaynab was only 50 years old.