Married From Above the Seven Heavens

The Arabs treated an adopted son exactly like a son by birth, so that his former wife was forbidden to the adoptive father forever. The Qur'an ended legal adoption: adopted children were to be called by their own fathers' names (33:5). And Allah made known to the Prophet ﷺ that, after Zayd divorced Zaynab, she would become his own wife, so that the believers would know such marriages were lawful. Knowing how people would talk, he kept this to himself, and the Qur'an addressed him: ﴿وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَاهُ﴾ (“you hid within yourself what Allah would bring to light, and you feared the people, when Allah has more right to be feared.”) Then it declared: ﴿فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ زَيْدٌ مِّنْهَا وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا﴾ (“when Zayd had ended his union with her, We married her to you”) (33:37).

When her waiting period was over, the Prophet ﷺ sent Zayd himself to carry the proposal. Zaynab replied that she would do nothing until she had sought her Lord's guidance, and went to her place of prayer. Then the verse was revealed (Sahih Muslim 1428). The wedding feast was the most generous he gave for any of his wives, with bread and meat for all who came (Sahih al-Bukhari 5168); and on that occasion, when some guests lingered too long in the house, the verse of the screen (hijab) was revealed: ﴿فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ﴾ (“ask them from behind a screen”) (33:53; Sahih al-Bukhari 4791).

Zaynab never forgot the honour. She would say to the other wives, "Your families married you off, but Allah married me from above the seven heavens" (Sahih al-Bukhari 7420).