Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) going to Makkah to bring Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her)

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, his daughter Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) set out from Makkah with Kinanah, or Ibn Kinanah. The Quraysh pursued her, and Habbar bin al-Aswad caught up with her. He kept jabbing her camel with his spear until he threw her to the ground, because of which she miscarried and bled heavily. Then she was carried (in her injured state), and Banu Hashim and Banu Umayyah quarrelled over her. Banu Umayyah said: "We have more right to her," since she was married to their cousin Abu al-As. So she stayed with Hind bint Utbah bin Rabi'ah, and Hind would say to her (mockingly): "All this has happened because of your father." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him): "Will you not go and bring Zaynab?" He said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Take this ring of mine," and gave it to him. Zayd set off and left his camel (outside the town). He kept acting with great care until he met a shepherd. Zayd asked: "Whose goats do you graze?" He said: "Abu al-As's." He asked: "And whose goats are these?" He said: "Zaynab bint Muhammad's." Zayd walked with him some distance and then said to him: "Would you let me give you something to deliver to her, without mentioning it to anyone?" He said: "Yes." So Zayd gave him the ring. The shepherd entered the house with the goats and handed her the ring. She recognised it at once and asked: "Who gave you this?" He said: "A man." She asked: "Where did you leave him?" He told her the place. The lady remained silent until, when night came, she went to Zayd at the place he had described. When she came to him, Zayd said: "Mount (the camel)." She said: "No; rather, you ride in front of me (so that modesty is preserved)." So Zayd mounted and she rode behind him until she reached Madinah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "She is the best of my daughters; she was made to suffer because of me." When this reached Ali bin al-Husayn (Imam Zayn al-Abidin), he came to Urwah and said: "What is this that has reached me about you, which you narrate and by which the due of Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) seems to be lessened?" Urwah said: "By Allah! I would not love to have all that lies between the East and the West if in return I were to say anything about Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) that detracts from her rank. However, if it has displeased you, I will never narrate this again in your presence."
This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, but they did not record it.

Imam Abu Bakr explained at the end of this narration that the true meaning of the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "Afdal banati" (the best of my daughters), is that she is "one of the best of my daughters", because it is clear from sahih and established narrations that Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) is the leader of all the women of this Ummah, and also the leader of all the women of Paradise except Maryam bint Imran.
Imam al-Hakim says: Imam Abu Bakr has done full justice in explaining this word, and we will add nothing to it, for he is the foremost Imam. However, beneath this word lies another aspect: Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) was older than Sayyidah Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), so it is possible that by "afdal" the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) meant the eldest and first of his children.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Abi Bakr bin Hazm that he said: Sayyidah Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), passed away in the year 8 AH.