MUSLIM VILLA - QURAN ONLY

Salaams dear sister Rose :)  So sorry I couldn't be around for the last few days as I was so swamped with my daily chores.  Sometimes these chores simply proliferate and take away all my time.

Thanks for putting up this post sister.  Good question. 

Yes, it's true that Zainab's husband was not a Muslim at the time of marriage.  But one must know the complete story. 

Zainab, the Prophet's eldest daughter, was married to Abul-Aas ibn Rabi.    Abul ibn Rabi was also from the Qureysh tribe (Shams clan) and a cousin of Zainab from her mother's side (Khadijah's nephew).  Zainab was married very young, a short while before the Prophet (SAAW) got the Call.   At that time no one was a Muslim.  After the Prophet (SAAW) received the first revelation, Zainab along with her mother and 3 sisters embraced Islam immediately.  It suddenly turned into an era of confusion & hatred because of the enemity between the majority pagans and the small number of Muslim converts.    At such a time, many of the Prophet's close relatives were pagans and became his bitterest enemies.  Abu Lahab, who was the harshest enemy of the Prophet, was his own uncle and the brother of Abu Talib.   Abu Talib (the Prophet's uncle and guardian) also most likely did not embrace Islam but remained very fond of the Prophet.  Though Zainab's husband was said to be deeply in love with her, yet like the rest of his family, he did not share her love for Islam during the first few years.  However, he continued being tolerant toward her and her family.   Zainab's marriage came under great pressure.    Her husband converted to Islam after the Battle of Badr but Zainab quit her marriage and fled to Medinah, to her father, prior to her husband's conversion.  A lot happened involving deep social unrest between the early years of Islam and the Battle of Badr.   The complete story of Zainab's very difficult marriage to her cousin is recounted in the following link.

http://www.rasoulallah.net/v2/document.aspx?lang=en&doc=7985   

http://www.sandhaanu.net/print.php?a=1847

The other two sons-in-law of the Prophet (SAAW) were Usman bin Affan and Ali bin Abu Talib.  Usman, the 3rd righteous caliph, was one of the Prophet's closest friends who embraced Islam very early in Makkah.  He was married to two of the Prophet's daughters, Rukkaya and then to Umme Kulsoom after Rukkaya's death.   Ali as you would know was the Prophet's cousin, one of the first to accept Islam, the 4th righteous caliph and the husband of Fatima Zahra.   The Prophet (SAAW) had 4 daughters - Zainab, Rukkaya, Umme Kulsoom and Fatima Zahra. 

Some hadithists say that "one son-in-law" of the Prophet (S) was a "pagan" as if Zainab married this lad after the spread of Islam.  Instead of explaining the whole story, they simply select portions and make statements.  Thank for your clarification sister.

I'd also like to add that Zainab's story has 2 versions.  The one you mentioned above is the more accepted one.  The other one says that while she was escaping to Medinah, she was intercepted by some Makkans and someone threw a spear or knife at her which hit her slighty on some lower part of her body.  She bled a lot and travelled to Medinah in that condition.  And after arriving in Medinah she passed away after a couple of weeks or so.

Only Allah knows which version is correct.