Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (سيرة 2/131)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

—the first of the freedmen to believe in him, for he stood among the foremost pioneers, and he was counted among the celebrated archers. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ established a bond of brotherhood between him and Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. He lived for fifty-five years. He is the only Companion whose name Allah explicitly mentions in the Quran: “You were hiding in your heart what Allah was going to make public; yet you feared people, whereas Allah has a greater right that you fear Him. So when Zayd had finished with her, We married her to you” (33:37)—referring to Zaynab bint Jahsh. The Muslims had long called him “Zayd, the Prophet’s son,” until the revelation came: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men” (33:40); “He has not turned your adopted sons into your own sons” (33:4); and: “Call them after their fathers—that is more just in Allah’s sight. If you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in faith and your clients. You will not be blamed for mistakes made unintentionally, but only for what your hearts deliberately intend” (33:5).

Zayd transmitted hadith to his son Usāmah and to his brother Jiblah.

Scholars disagreed about his exact age. Al-Wāqidī relates—from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Usāmah ibn Zayd, from his father—that there were ten years between the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, the Prophet being the elder. In that report Zayd is described as short, very dark-skinned, and flat-nosed.

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd comments: “That is how he is portrayed in this chain, yet another report says that he was light-complexioned while his son was dark. Because of this the Prophet ﷺ admired the judgment of the physiognomist Mujazziz al-Mudlijī, who, on seeing their footprints, said: ‘These feet are of the same stock.’ ”

I (the author) add: According to that second report, his age would have been around fifty years or so.

Abū Isḥāq al-Sabyāʿī notes that a cavalry raid from Tihāmah captured Zayd ibn Ḥārithah. He eventually came to Khadījah, who purchased him and then presented him to the Prophet ﷺ. Another version states that she bought him for seven hundred dirhams.

وأول من آمن به من الموالي؛ فإنه من كبار السابقين الأولين وكان من الرماة المذكورين. آخى رسول الله ﷺ بينه وبين حمزة بن عبد المطلب، وعاش خمسا وخمسين سنة، وهو الذي سمى الله في كتابه في قوله: ﴿تَخْشَاهُ فَلَمَّا قَضَى زَيْدٌ مِنْهَا وَطَرًا﴾ يعني من زينب بنت جحش: ﴿زَوَّجْنَاكَهَا﴾ [الأحزاب: ٣٧] ، وكان المسلمون يدعونه زيد ابن النبي ﷺ حتى نزلت: ﴿مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٤٠] ، وقال -تعالى: ﴿وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَاءَكُمْ أَبْنَاءَكُمْ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٤] ، وقال: ﴿ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آبَاءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ﴾ [الأحزاب: ٥] . روى عن زيد ابنه أسامة وأخوه جبلة. واختلف في سنه، فروى الواقدي أن محمد بن الحسن بن أسامة بن زيد حدثه، عن أبيه، قال: كان بين رسول الله ﷺ وبين زيد بن حارثة عشر سنين؛ رسول الله أكبر منه، وكان قصيرًا شديد الأدمة أفطس. قال محمد بن سعد: كذا صفته في هذه الرواية، وجاءت من وجه آخر أنه كان أبيض وكان ابنه أسود. ولذلك أعجب النبي ﷺ بقول مجزز المدلجي القائف: "إن هذه الأقدام بعضها من بعض". قلت: وعلى هذه الرواية أيضا يكون عمره خمسين سنة أو نحوها. وقال أبو إسحاق السبيعي: إن زيد بن حارثة أغارت عليه خيل من تهامة، فوقع إلى خديجة فاشترته، ثم وهبته للنبي ﷺ. ويروى أنها اشترته بسبع مائه درهم.