son was truly a "son". Therefore, for a man to marry his adopted son's wife - even if she was divorced - was considered incestuous. As a result, he "hid in his heart" the idea that he might marry her. This internal conflict is mentioned in the Qur'an : After this verse was announced, Muhammad proceeded to reject the existing Arabian norms. Thereafter the legal status of adoption was not recognised under Islam. Zayd reverted to being known by his original name of "Zayd ibn Harithah" instead of "Zayd ibn Muhammad". In Pre-Islamic Era the Arabs used to consider an adopted person similarly to a blood relative as far as rights including right to inheritance and sanctities are concerned. After marriage the sponsored children lost their inheritance rights and were known as the children of biological parents. The sponsored children after attaining puberty could not live with the sponsor family. The sponsored children were funded after puberty. The purpose was to reduce enmity of biological children towards sponsored children and to prevent mingling of a male sponsor with an adult sponsored female. Critics of Muhammad have pointed to this surah as an example of a self-serving revelation that reflected Muhammad’s desires rather than the will of God. Some Muslim historians have understood the discrepancy between Muhammad's private thoughts and his expressed words to refer, not to a desire to marry Zaynab, but only to a prophetic foreknowledge that the marriage was going to happen. Medinese Hypocrites, a term that refers to those who convert to Islam while working against it, spread many rumours against the marriage. The wedding Muhammad married Zaynab as soon as her waiting-period from her divorce was complete, on 27 March 627. He went into her house when she did not expect him and without knocking. She asked him: "Is it going to be like this, without any witnesses or trustee (wali) for our union?" Muhammad replied: "Allah is the witness and Gabriel is the trustee." Muhammad gave Zaynab a dower of 400 dirhams. Later he held a wedding banquet for her and slaughtered a sheep. Anas ibn Malik said there were over seventy guests, and that none of Muhammad's other wives was given such a large banquet. As soon as the men had departed, Muhammad announced a new ayat of the Quran. Life in Medina Aisha believed that Muhammad's favourite wives, after herself, were Zaynab and