Zainab bint Jahsh

Zaynab bint Jahsh (RA) (d. 20 AH) was one of the noble Mothers of the Believers, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ. She was the daughter of Umayma bint Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's paternal aunt, making her his cousin by blood. Her marriage to the Prophet ﷺ was decreed by Allah and mentioned in the Quran (Surah al-Ahzab, verse 37), making it unique among all the prophetic marriages in receiving direct Quranic endorsement. Before marrying the Prophet ﷺ, she had been married to Zayd ibn Harithah (RA), the Prophet's freed slave and adopted son. After their divorce, the Prophet ﷺ married her by Allah's command, simultaneously ending the pre-Islamic custom that treated adopted sons as biological children. Zaynab (RA) was known for her extraordinary generosity — Aisha (RA) described her as the one among the wives who rivalled her most closely in status with the Prophet ﷺ, and praised her piety and charity. She was devoted to fasting, prayer, and giving in charity, reportedly spending her money entirely on the poor such that Umar (RA) sent her an allowance and she distributed it all. She died in 20 AH during the caliphate of Umar (RA) and was among the first of the Prophet's wives to pass away after him. She narrated a number of hadith and is held in the highest esteem in Islamic tradition.