and dispatched Zayd ibn Hārithah together with a man from the Anṣār.

He told them, “Stay in the valley of Yajij (1) until Zaynab passes by you; then accompany her.”

This took place one month after Badr. When Abū al-ʿĀṣ reached Mecca he instructed her to join her father, so she prepared herself for the journey. Her husband’s brother Kinānah—who, I should note, was also her maternal cousin—led up a camel on which she mounted. In broad daylight he took his bow and quiver, and the Meccans went out in pursuit. At Dhū Tuwa Kinānah made the camel kneel and scattered his arrows before him, and Habbār ibn al-Aswad terrified her with his spear.

Kinānah cried, “By Allah, if anyone comes near me I will shoot an arrow into him!”

Abū Sufyān replied, “Put down your arrows, man, so that we may speak with you.”

Kinānah stood down, and Abū Sufyān approached him, saying,

“You have not acted wisely. You are taking this woman out publicly before everyone even though you know the calamity and disaster Muhammad has brought upon us. People will think this is a humiliation that has befallen us. By my life, we have no wish to keep her from her father. Take her back; then, when the hubbub has quieted and the people have talked about how we returned her, slip her away in secret and send her to her father.”

Kinānah agreed. After a few nights he set out again with her, delivered her to Zayd and his companion, and they brought her safely to Madinah.

Some time before the Conquest, Abū al-ʿĀṣ travelled to Syria on business, taking with him his own property and a large amount belonging to Quraysh. On his return a Muslim patrol intercepted him, seized everything he carried, and he escaped them only by flight. The patrol brought the captured goods to Madinah, while he travelled by night until he reached Zaynab and sought her protection, which she granted.

While the Prophet ﷺ and the people were performing the dawn prayer, Zaynab called out from the women’s section:

“People! I have granted protection to Abū al-ʿĀṣ ibn al-Rabīʿ!”

The Prophet ﷺ then sent word to the detachment that had taken his property, saying, “This man is one of us, as you know. You have seized his wealth. If you choose to act graciously and return it, we would like that; but if you refuse, it is booty granted by Allah and you are entitled to it.”

They replied, “Rather, we will return it.” So they gave it back in full. Abū al-ʿĀṣ then went to Mecca, repaid every owner what was rightfully his, and said, “People of Quraysh, have I…"