In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
*A Concise Summary of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah)*
Written by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azmi,
May Allah preserve him.
The Expedition of Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Al-'Is.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) dispatched Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) at the head of one hundred and seventy riders.
This took place in Jumada al-Ula, in the sixth year of the Hijrah.
The objective was to intercept a Qurayshi caravan returning from the Levant,
Led by Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him),
The husband of Zaynab, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
He was still a polytheist at the time.
They overtook the caravan and seized it along with its contents,
Capturing several individuals who were traveling with it,
Among whom was Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him).
They brought them as captives to Medina.
Thereupon, Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' sent word
To Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), in Medina—
For she had already migrated to Medina—
Seeking her protection.
And she granted him protection.
Indeed, Al-Hakim
And Al-Tahawi in *Sharh Mushkil al-Athar* narrated,
With a good chain of transmission,
On the authority of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:
Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
Was sent a message by Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi', asking: "Obtain a guarantee of protection for me from your father."
"Obtain a guarantee of protection for me from your father."
So she went out, peeked her head out from the door of her apartment,
While the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was leading the people in the Dawn prayer,
And proclaimed:
"O people!
I am Zaynab, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
And I have granted protection to Abu al-'As!"
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished the prayer,
He said:
"O people!
By Allah, I had no knowledge of this until you heard what you heard.
Lo! Indeed, the lowest-ranking of the Muslims may grant protection that is binding upon them all."
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then requested the members of the expeditionary force
To return the property they had seized as spoils from the caravan of Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him),
Without compelling them to do so.
So they returned to him everything they had taken from the caravan,
To the extent that a man would bring back a bucket,
Another a old water-skin or a leather flask,
Down to a camel hobble—
Until they had returned all of his wealth to him,
With nothing at all missing from it.
The Return of Abu al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him) to Mecca and His Acceptance of Islam.
Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him) then returned to Mecca
And handed over to every owner of property among the Quraysh his due wealth,
As well as the goods entrusted to him.
He then said:
"O people of Quraysh!
Is there any wealth belonging to any of you remaining with me that he has not taken?"
They replied, "No.
May Allah reward you with good!
We have found you to be faithful and honorable."
He (may Allah be pleased with him) then said:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
And that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.
By Allah, nothing prevented me from accepting Islam while I was with him
Except the fear that you would think I only intended to consume your wealth.
Now that Allah has delivered it back to you and I am free of it,
I embrace Islam."
He (may Allah be pleased with him) then set out
Until he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Imam Al-Dhahabi said:
"He embraced Islam five months before the Treaty of Al-Hudaybiyyah."
Did the Prophet (peace be upon him) reunite Zaynab with Abu al-'As under a new marriage contract?
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reunited Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her)
With Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him)
Under their original marriage contract,
Without requiring new testimony or a new dowry,
Because the verse prohibiting Muslim women from marrying disbelievers
Had not yet been revealed at that time.
Imam Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah narrated,
With a good chain of transmission,
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned his daughter Zaynab
To Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with them both)
After six years, under their original marriage contract,
Without renewing the marriage contract."
Imam Al-Sindi said:
"If it is asked:
'His hadith states that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned her to him after six years,
Whereas the waiting period ('iddah) does not typically last for such a duration,'
We answer:
Her acceptance of Islam while he remained upon disbelief did not dissolve the original marriage
Until after the revelation of the verse in Surah Al-Mumtahanah,
Which occurred after the Truce of Al-Hudaybiyyah.
Thus, her marriage was suspended
Pending the completion of the waiting period starting from the time of the revelation.
The conversion of Abu al-'As to Islam took place
Shortly after Al-Hudaybiyyah,
Such that it was plausible that her waiting period had not yet expired according to custom.
Therefore, her return to him under the original marriage contract was likely due to that reason."
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"Taking the waiting period into consideration is not established in any of the hadiths,
Nor did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ever ask a woman
Whether her waiting period had ended or not.
There is no doubt that Islam itself constituted a separation between spouses;
However, it was not a revocable separation, but rather an irrevocable one.
Thus, the waiting period has no effect on maintaining the validity of the marriage;
Its only effect is to prevent her from marrying someone else.
For if Islam had immediately finalized the separation between them,
He would not have had a greater right to her during the waiting period.
Rather, what his ruling (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) indicated
Is that the marriage is placed on hold:
If he accepts Islam before her waiting period expires, she remains his wife;
And if her waiting period expires, she is free to marry whomever she wishes,
Or if she prefers, she may wait for him.
Then, if he accepts Islam, she remains his wife without any need to renew the marriage contract.
We do not know of anyone who ever renewed a marriage contract solely because of accepting Islam.
Rather, what actually occurred was one of two things:
Either their permanent separation and her marrying another man,
Or her remaining married to him,
Even if her conversion or his conversion was delayed."
Musa ibn 'Uqbah was of the view
That the incident of Abu al-'As ibn al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him) and his capture
Took place after the Truce of Al-Hudaybiyyah,
And that those who intercepted his caravan
Were Abu Basir, Abu Jandal, and their companions during the time of the Truce of Al-Hudaybiyyah,
And that this was not done by command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
Because they were stationed separately from him along the seacoast,
And no caravan belonging to the Quraysh passed by them except that they intercepted it.
This was also the view of Al-Zuhri,
In contrast to the view held by Al-Waqidi,
Ibn Sa'd in his *Tabaqat*,
And other scholars of the military expeditions (*maghazi*),
Who held that the expedition of Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him)
Was the one that intercepted his caravan.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim deemed this view to be the correct one.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"The view of Musa ibn 'Uqbah is more correct,
For Abu al-'As only accepted Islam during the period of the truce,
And the Quraysh only dispatched their caravans freely to the Levant during the period of the truce.
Furthermore, Al-Zuhri's context in reporting the story
Makes it clearly evident that it took place during the period of the truce."
Yearning for you knows no bounds;
May Allah send blessings upon you whenever the call to prayer is raised,
And whenever lips move
With righteous praise.