Through Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi), Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) relates: I saw in a dream my husband Ubaydullah bin Jahsh in the worst and most hideous form. I was alarmed and said: By Allah, his state has changed. Then, when morning came, he said to me: O Umm Habibah, I have reflected on the religions and found no religion better than Christianity. I followed it before, then I entered the religion of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and now I am returning to Christianity. I said to him: By Allah, there is no good in it for you. I also told him the dream I had seen, but he paid it no heed and gave himself over to drinking wine until he died in that state. Then I saw in a dream as if someone was coming and saying to me: "O Mother of the Believers." I was alarmed, and I interpreted it to mean that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would marry me. Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: My waiting period ('iddah) had only just ended when I came to know that the Negus's messenger was at my door asking permission to enter. It was a slave-girl of his called "Abrahah", who looked after the king's clothes and perfume. She came in to me and said: The king says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has written to him to marry you to him. I said: May Allah give you glad tidings of good. She said: The king says that you should appoint someone as your agent to conduct your marriage. So I sent for Khalid bin Sa'id bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) and appointed him my agent, and in joy at this good news I gave Abrahah a silver bracelet, my two anklets, and the silver rings that were on the toes of my feet. When evening came, the Negus summoned Ja'far bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other Muslims who were there, and the Negus delivered a sermon: 'Al-hamdu lillahil-malikil-quddusis-salamil-mu'minil-muhayminil-azizil-jabbar' (All praise is for Allah, the King, the Most Holy, the Source of Peace, the Giver of Security, the Guardian, the Almighty, the Compeller). I praise Allah as He deserves to be praised, and I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger, and that he is the one of whom Isa son of Maryam (peace be upon him) gave glad tidings. To proceed: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has written to me to marry him to Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan. I have accepted this call of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I have fixed her dowry (mahr) at four hundred dinars. Then he poured out the dinars before the people. After that Khalid bin Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke and said: 'Al-hamdu lillahi ahmaduhu wa asta'inuhu wa astansiruh' (All praise is for Allah; I praise Him, seek His help and seek His support), and I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His servant and Messenger, whom Allah sent with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions, even though the polytheists dislike it. To proceed: I have accepted this call of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and have married Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan to him. May Allah Almighty bless it for His Messenger. He handed the dinars to Khalid bin Sa'id, and he received them. Then, when the people intended to rise, the Negus said: Sit down, for it is the practice (sunnah) of the prophets (peace be upon them) that when they marry, food is served on the occasion. So he called for food, and they all ate, then they departed. Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: When that wealth reached me, I sent for Abrahah, who had given me the glad tidings, and said to her: What I gave you that day, I gave when I had no wealth; now here are fifty mithqals (of gold), take them and meet your needs. She brought out a small box containing everything I had given her, returned it all to me and said: The king has strictly instructed me not to take anything from you. I am the one who looks after his clothes and perfume, and I have followed the religion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and have submitted to Allah in Islam. The king has ordered all his wives to send you whatever perfumes they have. So the next day she came to me with aloeswood ('ud), wars, ambergris and a large quantity of civet (zabad, a perfume). I took all of it with me when I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would see that perfume on me and would not object. Then Abrahah said: My need from you is that you convey my greetings of peace to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and tell him that I have followed his religion. She kept treating me with great kindness, and it was she who prepared my belongings; whenever she came to me she would say: Do not forget my need (the greeting). Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: When we reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I told him (peace and blessings be upon him) all the details of the marriage proposal and of Abrahah's kindness, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled. I conveyed her greeting to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And upon her be peace and the mercy of Allah."

Ja'far bin Muhammad bin Ali narrates from his father that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Amr bin Umayyah al-Damri to the Negus so that he might convey a marriage proposal on behalf of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to Sayyidah Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with her). At that time she had been married to Ubaydullah bin Jahsh. So the Negus married her (to him) and, from his own resources, paid her dowry of four hundred dinars on behalf of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Jarir says: We think that when Abd al-Malik bin Marwan fixed the dowry of women at four hundred dinars, it was in following this very event.

It is narrated from Abu Salamah bin Abd al-Rahman that he asked Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): How much dowry did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) give his wives? She replied: His dowry (peace and blessings be upon him) for his wives was twelve uqiyyahs and a nashsh. Then she asked: Do you know what a nashsh is? I said: No. She said: It means half an uqiyyah; so the total comes to five hundred dirhams. This was the dowry that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave his wives. This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, and practice is upon it. As for the Negus fixing Sayyidah Umm Habibah's dowry at four hundred dinars, that was a display of generosity to the utmost degree, in the manner and magnanimity of kings, through which he assisted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this matter.

It is narrated from Imam al-Zuhri that he said: The Negus prepared the bridal provisions of Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her) and sent her to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with Shurahbil bin Hasanah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Abd al-Wahid bin Abi Awn that when news reached Abu Sufyan bin Harb of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) marrying his daughter, he said (by way of praise and acknowledgement): "He is a noble stallion whose nose is not struck (that is, he is not one to be faulted or turned away)."

It is narrated from Awf bin al-Harith that he said: I heard Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) say: Sayyidah Umm Habibah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), called me at the time of her death and said: "There used to occur between us the matters that occur between co-wives (natural jealousy and friction); may Allah Almighty forgive all of it and overlook it, and I have absolved you of all of it." At this Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "You have made me happy; may Allah make you happy." Then she sent the same message to Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) as well. She died in the year 44 AH, during the governorship of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Mus'ab bin Abdullah al-Zubayri that he said: Sayyidah Zaynab bint Jahsh bin Ri'ab was (from the tribe of Asad), and her mother was Umaymah bint Abd al-Muttalib bin Hashim (the paternal aunt of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)). Sayyidah Zaynab was first married to Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him); then they separated, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married her. It was about her that this verse was revealed: "Then when Zayd had fulfilled his purpose with her, We married her to you." [Surah al-Ahzab: 37] She would say with pride before the other wives: "Your families married you off, whereas Allah Almighty married me to His Messenger." And Hamnah bint Jahsh was the sister of Sayyidah Zaynab; she was married to Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), and she suffered from istihadah (irregular bleeding).

Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi) said: Zaynab bint Jahsh bin Ri'ab was the sister of Abd al-Rahman bin Jahsh.

Umar bin Uthman al-Jahshi narrates from his father that he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, and Sayyidah Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) was among those who had emigrated with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). She was a beautiful woman. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) proposed to her on behalf of Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him), and she said: O Messenger of Allah, I am not pleased with him for myself, while I am a noble widow of Quraysh. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been pleased with him for you." So Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) married her.

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Yahya bin Habban that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the house of Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him), who in those days was called "Zayd bin Muhammad". Often he (peace and blessings be upon him) would miss him and ask: "Where is Zayd?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) reached his house looking for him, but he was not there. Sayyidah Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) got up and came forward in her household clothes, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his gaze away from her. She said: "O Messenger of Allah, he is not here." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned back, murmuring something of which nothing could be made out except: 'Subhan Allahil-Azim, subhan Allahi musarrifil-qulub' (Glory be to Allah, the Magnificent; glory be to Allah, the Turner of hearts). When Zayd came home, his wife told him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had come. Zayd asked: "Why did you not ask him to come in?" She said: "I did offer, but he declined." Zayd asked: "Did you hear him say anything?" She said: "As he was going back, he was saying something I could not understand, but I heard him saying: 'Subhan Allahil-Azim, subhan Allahi musarrifil-qulub' (Glory be to Allah, the Magnificent; glory be to Allah, the Turner of hearts)." So Zayd came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have learned that you came to my house. May my father and mother be sacrificed for you! Why did you not come in? Perhaps Zaynab has pleased you, so shall I divorce her?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep your wife to yourself." After that, living together with her became impossible for Zayd. He came again, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) again said: "Keep your wife to yourself." Zayd said: "O Messenger of Allah, shall I separate from her?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) again said: "Keep your wife to yourself." In the end Zayd divorced her, and she completed her waiting period. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting with me in conversation when the state of revelation came over him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then, when that state lifted, he (peace and blessings be upon him) was smiling and saying: "Who will go to Zaynab and give her the glad tidings that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has married her to me from the heaven?" And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this whole verse: "And when you said to the one on whom Allah had bestowed favour and on whom you had bestowed favour." [Surah al-Ahzab: 37] Sayyidah Aishah says: Because of the talk of her beauty, and because of the great honour Allah had granted her in marrying her from the heaven, an intense feeling of jealousy came over me. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: She used to take pride over us in this. Then Salma, the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), hurried out and gave Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) this news, upon which she, in her joy, gave her some of her silver ornaments as a reward.