—may Allah be pleased with him—said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent us out with a detachment and said, “If you come upon so-and-so and so-and-so, burn them with fire.” When we were about to depart he added, “I had ordered you to burn so-and-so and so-and-so, but no one may punish with fire except Allah. If you capture them, then kill them.”

Ibn Isḥāq (1) relates that Abū al-ʿĀṣ remained in Mecca, still an unbeliever, while Zaynab stayed with her father in Madinah. Shortly before the Conquest, Abū al-ʿĀṣ set out on a trading caravan for Quraysh. On his return from Syria he was intercepted by a Muslim patrol who seized all the goods he carried; he, however, escaped and, under cover of night, reached his wife Zaynab and sought her protection, which she granted.

At daybreak the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out to lead the dawn prayer. After he had pronounced the opening takbīr—and the congregation with him—Zaynab cried out from the women’s quarter: “People, I have given protection to Abū al-ʿĀṣ ibn al-Rabīʿ!”

When the Prophet ﷺ finished the prayer and pronounced the salām, he turned to the people and said, “People, did you hear what I have just heard?” They replied, “Yes.” He said, “By Him in whose hand is Muhammad’s soul, I knew nothing of this matter until I heard what you heard. The protection granted by the least of the Muslims is binding upon them all.”

He then went in to his daughter Zaynab and said, “My dear child, honour him as your guest, but let him not come near you, for you are not lawful for him.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent word urging the people to return the property that had been taken from him, and they returned every last item, nothing missing. Abū al-ʿĀṣ collected it, went back to Mecca, and restored to each man what was his. Then he said, “People of Quraysh, is there anyone whose wealth with me has not been returned?” They answered, “No. May Allah reward you with good; we have found you loyal and generous.” He said, “I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. By Allah, nothing kept me from Islam while I was with him except the fear that you would think I only wanted to keep your wealth. Now that Allah has returned it to you and I have discharged it, I accept Islam.” He then set out and came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Ibn Isḥāq (3) reports that Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn told him, on the authority of ʿIkrimah from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ restored Zaynab to him on the basis of the first marriage; no new contract was made.” This ḥadīth has also been transmitted by Imām Aḥmad (4), Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah through the narration of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq (5).

Al-Tirmidhī remarked, “There is nothing objectionable in its chain of transmission, yet we do not know how to interpret this report; it may stem from the memory of Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn.” Al-Suhaylī (6) said, “To the best of my knowledge, no jurist has adopted this view.”

In another wording: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned her to him after six years.”