Before Islam
Zaynab bint Khuzayma’s title Umm al-Masakin (Mother of the Poor) predated her Islam — it was a recognition by her community of the extraordinary generosity with which she distributed her resources to the needy. In pre-Islamic Arabian society, where generosity was a paramount virtue, she was recognized as embodying it in an unusually high degree.
Marriage and Loss
Her first marriage was to al-Tufayl ibn al-Harith. She was then married to Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, one of the early Muslims and a first cousin of the Prophet, who was martyred at the Battle of Badr (2 AH / 624 CE) — among the earliest Muslim martyrs in armed conflict.
Following her widowhood, the Prophet proposed to her. She accepted and became one of the Mothers of the Believers — joining the household of the Prophet and carrying the title Umm al-Masakin into the new community.
Brief Marriage and Death
By most accounts, Zaynab died only eight to twelve months after her marriage to the Prophet — making her, along with Khadijah, one of only two of the Prophet’s wives to die during his lifetime. She was buried in Medina, and the Prophet prayed the funeral prayer over her.
The brevity of her marriage has meant that relatively little is recorded about her life as a Mother of the Believers. What persists is the epithet — a woman so associated with care for the poor that the name preceded and outlasted the marriage.
See also: Seerah Khadijah, Seerah Hafsa Bint Umar, Seerah Umm Habiba, Seerah Badr, Aisha Bint Abi Bakr