Khadijah bint Khuwailid
A lady who experienced
wealth and hardship, a mother whose children gained dignity of their own, a
wife whose consoling words calmed the Prophet (saws) and an example for the
world for generations to come: this was Khadijah bint Khawailid, may Allah be pleased with
her.
She was the first
person to accept Islam as her religion and her way of life. She was earned the
honor of being greeted with Salam by Allah(swt) and the Angel Jibril.
Khadijah was the first wife of the Prophet. At the time of the marriage, the Prophet
was twenty-five years old, while Khadijah was forty years old. They lived
happily together for more than 24 yrs, and Khadijah bore several children.
Their first child, a son whom they named Qasim, died when he was only two years
old. However, Muhammad(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) and Khadijah also had four daughters who survived:
Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Fatima. Then Abdullah was born but he also
died in his infancy.
When Prophet was visited by the Angel Jibreel. At first,
when he heard the voice and saw the angel, he was shocked and terrified.The
angel asked him to recite/read: “Iqra.” i.e the 1st – 5 verses of
surah ‘Alaq or surah Iqra”. This became first revelation of Quran. Then, the
angel disappeared Muhammad(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) was left
alone, shaking and quivering at this most astonishing experience. Upon seeing
her husband in this shaken-up state, Khadijah was surprised and comforted him
to the best of her ability. Khadija soothed him more by saying that Allah would
never disgrace him or humiliate him: he was good to the orphans, always helped
others and always epitomized perfection of character and honesty. These simple
words gave Muhammad(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) immeasurable calmness , strength and contentment.
Khadijah took her
husband to her cousin, Waraqa, and he explained that Muhammad(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) was visited by the same angel that visited
the other prophets with revelation. He told Muhammad(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) that he would be driven out by his own
people and he would be a Prophet.
Khadija, may Allah be
pleased with her, continued supporting her husband, the Seal of the Prophets as
he continued receiving revelation. She spent her wealth in the cause of Islam
and when the Makkans carried out a total political and economic boycott of the
Muslims, she endured likewise. Khadijah , a woman who grew up in the lap of
lavishness, bore the hardships of sacrifice because she knew the Hereafter was
more important than this life. Unfortunately the boycott left Khadijah
extremely weak and she soon passed away.
Even after her death,
the Prophet would send food to Khadija’s
friends and always remembered her regularly. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with
her, would proclaim her natural feminine jealousy to the Prophet (saw) whenever
he spoke of Khadija. She asked him why he remembered her so much when now, Allah
had blessed him with a younger, better wife. The Prophet got disappointed by this question. How could he not remember the woman who was
there for him when the whole world was against him? How could he not appreciate
the sacrifices of this noble woman of Quraish who gave up her content life for
a life of sacrifice and utmost patience? And how could he disregard the pure
beauty and faith of the woman who even Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and the
angel Jibreel had said salaam to? No, he could not and would not forget his
Khadijah, his first love, and neither should we. Her example as one of the four
best women of the world shines brilliantly for us.
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