of Allah ﷺ said to Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, “Will you not set out and bring Zaynab?” He replied, “Indeed, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Then take my signet-ring and give it to her.”

Zayd departed and kept approaching the matter gently until he met a shepherd. He asked him, “Whose flock are you tending?” The shepherd answered, “They belong to Abū al-ʿĀṣ.” Zayd then asked, “And whose sheep are these?” He said, “They belong to Zaynab daughter of Muḥammad.” Zayd walked with him for a while and then said, “Shall I give you something for you to deliver to her, and you tell no one about it?” He replied, “Yes.” So Zayd handed him the ring. The shepherd went in, penned up his sheep, and gave her the ring. She recognised it and asked, “Who gave you this?” He said, “A man.” She asked, “Where did you leave him?” He answered, “At such-and-such a place.” She kept silent, and when night came she went out to him. He said to her, “Ride in front of me on the camel.” She replied, “No; you ride in front and I will ride behind you.” She then mounted behind him and travelled until she reached Medina.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say, “She is the best of my daughters; she suffered on my account.”

ʿUrwah said: This report reached ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, so he went to ʿUrwah and said, “I have heard that you narrate something in which you disparage Fāṭimah. What is this?” ʿUrwah replied, “By Allah, I would not wish to possess all that lies between East and West if it meant I belittled Fāṭimah of even a single right that is hers. Nonetheless, if you wish, I shall never relate that report again.”

Names of Those Who Witnessed Badr:

They were collected by the ḥāfiẓ Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid in an extensive work. He recorded those unanimously acknowledged and those about whom there is disagreement among the veterans of Badr, arranging the names alphabetically. Their total came to three hundred and thirty-odd men. The increase in number is due solely to differing opinions regarding certain individuals.