Story of Zainab

 *Story of Zainab*

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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This righteous lady *(Zainab bint Khuzaymah)* died during the caliphate of 'Umar Faruq at the age of fifty-three. When she realized she was about to meet her Maker, she told the people around her that she already prepared 2 shrouds, one for herself. If 'Umar Faruq sent, one is for her, one should be used and the other given away in charity. She was such a modest lady that a curtain was drawn in front of her dead body, even though it was wrapped in a shroud.

Allahu Akbar!!!

When Zaynab (ra) passed away, 'A'ishah (ra) recalled an occasion when the Prophet (pbuh), said that among the Mother of the Believers, she would meet him first who had the longest arms. Zaynab was short compared to the others and naturally her arms were also shorter. All the ladies took this statement literally and started measuring their arms. It was only upon the death of Zaynab that they realized what this meant. It really meant that the person with the longest arms was the most generous or liberal person, who only thought of how she could benefit others. There was an implicit prophesy in this statement, which became clear when Zaynab passed away. It meant she would meet him in Paradise before the others. And she passed away before any of the other wives of the Prophet (pbuh). 'A'ishah says Zaynab worked with her own hands, and what she thus earned she spent on works of charity. She said she was a God-fearing, straight-forward lady who practiced abstinence. All her actions were aimed at pleasing Allah. Sometimes she could lose her temper, but then she was quick to repent and ask for forgiveness. She was very pure at heart and never carried resentments and grudges.

*Lessons:*

Dangers of holding grudge.

Holding a grudge is one of the spiritual diseases; it harms society, starting with the one who is holding a grudge in the first place and then the narrow circle.

For this reason, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) regarded it as haram for a Muslim to be estranged from another Muslim for more than three days. 📚(Bukhari, al-Adab 57, 58, 62; Muslim, al-Birr 23)

The reason for limiting estrangement to a maximum of three days is to prevent people from holding grudge longer than necessary, to prevent reconciliation and forgiveness from becoming difficult.

As a matter of fact,

When we look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who was sent to us an example in every issue, we clearly see that he did not nurture hatred in his life.

For example,

The Prophet’s preferring forgiveness even though he was capable of punishing the people of Mecca who did not give up persecuting him.

My People!

A believer should not allow the seeds of grudge to sprout in his heart; he should forgive or seek forgiveness.

Surprisingly,

We want to be amongst those who Allah (swt) will grant forgiveness, yet, we don't want to forgive our spouse, our neighbors, our friends or our relatives.

Servants of Allah!

Allah (swt) states that He loves those who forgive and encourage people to be forgiving.

Evidences:

▪️“But whoever pardons and seeks reconciliation, then their reward is with Allah.” 📚(Surah ash-Shura, 42/40);

▪️“Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love to be forgiven by Allah?" 📚(Surah an-Nur, 24/22)