The Prophet (peace be upon him) adopted Zayd ibn Harithah as his son, when Zayd, a young boy who fell into slavery and ended with Muhammad in Makkah, refused to return home with his father preferring to stay with Muhammad (peace be upon him). This was long before Muhammad started to receive divine revelations as God’s last Prophet.
It was a gesture of nobility on Muhammad’s part, reassuring the father that his son would be well looked after. Explaining his preference, Zayd said to his father and his uncle that he saw from Muhammad enough to make him prefer staying with him to any other situation.
The relation between Muhammad and Zayd was very close. They loved each other like real father and son. Therefore, when Zayd was a young man, Muhammad chose for him a wife.
She was none other than Umm Ayman, who looked after Muhammad when he was a young orphan. She was an Abyssinian slave who stayed with Muhammad when he grew up. The Prophet continued to look after her until he died. She gave birth to Usamah ibn Zayd, who was one of the dearest people to the Prophet.
When Muhammad became a Prophet and started to receive divine revelations, Zayd was one of the first four people to adopt Islam. The other three were Khadijah, the Prophet’s wife, Abu Bakr, his closest friend, and Ali, his young cousin whom he had brought up. Reports differ as to who of the four was the first, but it is certain that Zayd was the first or the second man to believe in him.
Khadijah was certainly the first woman to do so, and Ali the first boy. They were all very close to Muhammad, and they knew him well.
They realized that a man who always adhered strictly to the truth in all situations could not invent a lie and attribute it to God.
Therefore, they all believed him when he said that he saw the angel who delivered to him the message that God had chosen him as His last messenger.
Zayd continued to be close to the Prophet throughout his life.
He supported him firmly when the Quraysh, his own tribe, stubbornly resisted his message.
When the Prophet immigrated to Madinah, Zayd also immigrated along with all Muslims there.
Around two years after this immigration, the Prophet chose a new wife for Zayd. She was none other than the Prophet’s own cousin, Zaynab bint Jahsh, a very pretty woman with a noble descent. Her father belonged to the Asad clan of the Quraysh, while her mother was Umamah bint Abd Al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s own paternal aunt.
Zaynab did not like this marriage when it was proposed. Nor did her family. Her brother Abdullah ibn Jahsh expressed his feelings in a very mild way to the Prophet, but he realized that the Prophet really wanted this marriage to take place.
The reason for their opposition was the fact that Zayd fell into slavery when he was young. The fact that he belonged to a wellknown Arabian tribe was not considered enough to change their feelings. However, they could not refuse the Prophet’s request.
Zaynab asked him: “Do you, Messenger of God, consider him a suitable husband for me?” He told her that he did. She then said that she was willing to marry him.
Thus, the marriage took place.
