THE GREATEST LOVE STORIES OF ALL TIME..

CHAPTER 2:THE LOVE STORY OF ZAINAB AND ABU AL'ASS..

Zainab bint Muhammad (599- April, 630 AD) was the eldest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallalu alaihi Wassalam) by his first wife Khadijah (R.A). Zainab was the daughter of the Prophet (PBUH) and her cousin Abu El'Ass, was Khadeeja's (RA) nephew. He was one of the nobles of the Quraish, and the Prophet (SAW) loved him very much.

One day Abu El'Ass went to the Prophet (SAW) before he had received his mission of Prophethood and said:

"I want to marry your eldest daughter". So the Prophet replied: "I must ask her first". He (SAW) went to Zainab and asked her: "Your cousin came to me and he wishes to marry you, do you accept him as your husband?" Her face turned red with bashfulness and she smiled.

So Zainab bint Muhammad married Abu El'Ass, the beginning of a great love story. They had two children, Ali, who died in childhood, and Umama who was married to Ali (RA) after the death of Fatima(RA). When Umamah was a small child, the prophet  (PBUH) used to carry her on his shoulder while he prayed. He used to put her down to prostrate and then pick her up again as he rose. Prophet Muhammad (PUBH) once promised to give an onyx necklace to "her whom I love best." His wives expected him to give it to Aisha, but he presented it to Umamah. On a different occasion, he gave her a gold ring that had arrived from the Emperor of Abyssinia.

Then Muhammad (salallahu alaihi wassalam) became a Prophet while Abu El'Ass was away from Makkah. Abu El'Ass returned to find his wife a Muslim. When he first came back, his wife said "I have great news for you". He stood up and left her. Zainab was surprised and followed him as she said, "My father became a Prophet and I have become a Muslim". He replied, "Why didn't you tell me first?" Hence a big problem began between the two; a problem of religion and belief.

She told him, "I wasn't going to disbelieve in my father and his message, he is not a liar, and he is "The Honest and Trustworthy". I'm not the only believer; my mother and my sisters became Muslims, my cousin Ali ibn Abi Taleb became a Muslim, your cousin Othman ibn Affan became a Muslim, and your friend, Abu Bakr, became a Muslim".

He replied, "Well, as for me, I don't want people to say, 'he let down his people and his forefathers to please his wife'. And I am not accusing your father of anything". Then he said, "So will you excuse me and understand?" She replied, "Who will excuse and understand you if I don't? I will stay beside you and help you until you reach the truth." And she kept her word for 20 years.

The Quraysh pressured Abu al-As to divorce Zainab, saying they would give him any woman he liked in exchange, but Abu al-As said that he did not want any other woman so they continued to live together despite Abu al-As's refusal to convert to Islam. Zainab remained in Mecca when the other Muslims emigrated to Medina. Abu El'Ass remained an unbeliever, and then came the migration. Zainab went to her father and asked him for the permission to stay with her husband.

The Prophet (SAW) replied,

"Stay with your husband and children".

So Zainab stayed in Makkah, until the battle of Badr occurred. Abu El'Ass was to fight in the army of Quraish against the Muslims. For Zainab, it meant that her husband will be fighting her father, a time Zainab had always feared. She kept crying out:

"O Allah, I fear one day the sun may rise and my children become orphans or I lose my father".

Abu al-As ibn al-Rabiah was compelled to go along with the Quraish army. Abu al-As ibn al-Rabiah did not really have the desire to fight the Muslims nor did he feel any inclination to join them. But his position among the Quraish- one of honor and trust - impelled him to go along with their campaign against Rasulullah SAW. The battle of Badr ended in the terrible defeat for the Quraish and the forces of shirk. Some were killed, some were taken prisoner and some managed to escape. Among those, who were taken prisoner was Abu al-As ibn al-Rabiah, the husband of Saidatuna Zainab RA .