Unfamiliar Vocabulary
dūnaki: with a kasra on the kāf, addressed to a woman. It is a verbal noun transferred from the adverbial particle and means, “Take her.”
“the daughter of my brother”: The girl was the daughter of Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, while Zayd belonged to the Kalb tribe; by “brother” he meant the brotherhood of Islam that the Prophet ﷺ established among the Emigrants when they arrived in Madinah.
khalqī: with an open khāʾ and a silent lām, referring to outward attributes.
khuluqī: with a ḍamma on both the khāʾ and the lām, referring to inward moral qualities.
mawlānā: meaning “our freedman.” The word mawlā may be applied to a master—then it denotes a superior—or to a freed slave—then it denotes an inferior.
Comprehensive Meaning
When the Prophet ﷺ had completed the “Compensatory ʿUmrah” in the seventh year and was leaving Mecca, the daughter of Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib followed them, crying out, “Uncle! Uncle!” Her cousin ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) reached for her, took her by the hand, and said to his wife Fāṭimah, “Take your cousin,” whereupon she lifted the child up.
Three men then disputed over who was most entitled to her custody:
- ʿAlī,
- his brother Jaʿfar,
- and Zayd ibn Ḥārithah al-Kalbī, the freedman of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Each presented his claim:
ʿAlī said, “She is my uncle’s daughter, so I have the strongest right to her.”
Jaʿfar said, “She is my uncle’s daughter, and her maternal aunt is my wife.”
Zayd said, “She is the daughter of my brother with whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ established a bond of brotherhood that entailed mutual inheritance and support, so I am more entitled to her.”
The Prophet ﷺ passed a judgement that gladdened their hearts and set them at ease.
He placed the girl with her maternal aunt, for the aunt is like the mother in affection and compassion, and the aunt was the wife of Jaʿfar.
He then said to ʿAlī, “You are of me and I am of you”—an honour and distinction more than sufficient.
He said to Jaʿfar, “You resemble me in outward form and inward character,” meaning you are like me both in visible traits and in praiseworthy inner qualities—such as forbearance, generosity, and kindness—glad tidings indeed, for the ruling of custody was granted because of his wife’s position as the child’s aunt, not for his own sake.
And he said to Zayd, “You are our brother and our mawlā. The mawlā of a people is one of them.” Thus each of them was pleased and delighted with this great favour.