Zaynab bint Maẓʿūn (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: زينب بنت مظعون) was the first wife of

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

Biography

She was the daughter of Maz'un ibn Habib of the Jumah clan of the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

;Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. hence she was a sister of

Uthman ibn Maz'un ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn () was one of the Companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Biography He was married to Khawla bint Hakim, who like himself was one of the earliest converts to Islam. According to Ibn Ishaq, he led a group of Musli ...

. She was dark-skinned, a trait that she passed on to her son Abd Allah. She married Umar before 605Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. and bore him three children: Hafsa, Abd Allah and Abd al-Rahman. Later Umar added two more wives to his household: Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal, who bore him two sons, and Qurayba bint Abi Umayya, a cousin from the powerful Makhzum clan, who was childless.Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Umar said that Quraysh men at that time "had the upper hand over their wives," and "did not pay attention to women".Bukhari 6:60:435.
/ref> Zaynab's attitude to Islam is unknown and the date of her eventual conversion is not recorded. Her brother Uthman was one of the earliest converts; and two other brothers, Abd Allah and Qudamah, were also converted "before Allah's Messenger entered the house of al-Arqam." Meanwhile, her husband Umar was hostile to Islam and he actively persecuted Muslim slaves. Umar became a Muslim in 616, but Umm Kulthum and Qurayba remained polytheists. Umar

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

in 622. The list of family members who accompanied him does not include any women. One tradition asserts that Zaynab had died by then; however, her son Abd Allah said that he had emigrated to Medina with both his parents. Zaynab's daughter Hafsa married Muhammad in 625. Umar noted that the women of Medina "had the upper hand over their men," and that the women of Mecca who emigrated to Medina started imitating their behaviour.Bukhari 7:62:119.
/ref> An altercation occurred when Umar had to make a decision, and his wife advised him. Umar shouted at her to mind her own business. The wife answered back, and he expressed displeasure. The wife responded: "How strange you are! You don't want to be argued with, whereas your daughter Hafsa argues with Allah's Messenger so much that he remains angry for a full day". However, the wife is not directly identified as Zaynab. In 628 Umar divorced Umm Kulthum and Qurayba because of a new instruction, that a Muslim could not remain married to a polytheist. He did not divorce Zaynab, so, if she was still alive, she must have become a Muslim. However, Zaynab probably died before 641, as four other women are listed as Umar's wives by that date.Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 5. Translated by Bewley, A. (2000). ''The Men of Madina Volume II'', p. 1. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.

References

{{reflist 6th-century births 7th-century deaths Umar Quraysh