Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi

A Husband Who Would Not Forsake His Wife

Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi was a Qurayshi merchant of Banu Abd Shams, nephew of Khadija, who had married the Prophet’s ﷺ eldest daughter Zaynab before the call to Islam. When the Quraysh pressed him to divorce her in the wake of his father-in-law’s mission, he refused, saying he would prefer no other woman to her. 1 Seerat-e-Mustafa · Vol 1 · pp. 264–265 — Idris Kandhlawi — Abu al-As's marriage to Zaynab; he refuses to divorce her under Quraysh pressure.

Badr and the Necklace

He fought at Badr on the side of the Quraysh and was captured. Zaynab sent her wedding necklace — a gift from Khadija — as his ransom. On seeing it the Prophet ﷺ wept, and asked the Companions to return both the necklace and the captive, on condition that Abu al-As send Zaynab on to Madinah; he honoured this. 2 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 238–239 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Zaynab sends her necklace to ransom Abu al-As; the Prophet weeps and returns the necklace.

The Long Way to Islam

Years later, a Muslim party seized his caravan returning from Syria; he slipped into Madinah and to Zaynab’s quarters, where she publicly granted him protection at the Fajr prayer. The Prophet ﷺ upheld her grant, and the Companions returned every penny of his goods. Abu al-As bore the goods back to their Makkan owners, then embraced Islam openly and returned to Madinah — and the Prophet ﷺ reinstated Zaynab into her marriage. 3 Seerat-e-Mustafa · Vol 1 · pp. 266–267 — Idris Kandhlawi — Zaynab grants Abu al-As protection at Fajr; he returns the goods to Makkah, embraces Islam, and the marriage is restored.