4 of 4 · Early 8 AH · Madinah
Zaynab bint Muhammad رضي الله عنها
Umamah on His Shoulder
Zaynab and Abu al-'As had a daughter, Umamah, and the Prophet ﷺ loved her dearly. Abu Qatadah reported that he once led the people in prayer carrying Umamah on his shoulder: when he bowed he put her down, and when he stood he lifted her up again (Sahih al-Bukhari 516).
Zaynab did not live long after the reunion of her family. She died in Madinah early in the year 8 AH. Umm 'Atiyyah, who was among the women who washed her, reported that the Prophet ﷺ came to them and told them how to wash his daughter — three times, or five, or more if they saw fit, with water and lote leaves — and then gave them his own waist-wrap to shroud her in (Sahih al-Bukhari 1253; Sahih Muslim 939).
Years later, after Fatimah's death, 'Ali married Umamah, honouring Fatimah's wish. Through Zaynab, the Prophet's ﷺ love reached another generation.
The Prophet ﷺ made room for a little girl in his prayer and gave his own garment for her mother's shroud; love was part of his worship, not a distraction from it.
How might tenderness toward your family become part of your worship?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 516 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 543 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1253 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 939 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-KubraHistorical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
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