الرئيسية
The Prophet's Wives
Birth and Upbringing
KhadijahBint Khuwailid ibn Asad ibn `Abdul `Uzza (Kusai ibn Kilab), aQuraishite woman from the clan of Asad, was born in 68 before Hijra(The Prophet's immigration) i.e., 556 AC. She was brought up to a nobleand leading family. She was blessed with good qualities. She was famousfor being a chaste and sensible woman with firm determination. Duringthe pre-Islamic period, she was called At-Tahirah (The Pure).
Asa wealthy merchant, Khadijah used to hire some people to speculate inher money. Hearing about Prophet Muhammad's honesty and noblecharacter, she offered to hire him to be in charge of her businessjourney to the Levant and sent herservant Maysarah with him. He (peace be upon him) accepted her offerand soon Khadijah's profits doubled. Her servant Maysarah used to tellher about Prophet Muhammad's exemplary character. Admiring ProphetMuhammad's noble character, Khadijah proposed to him (peace be uponhim) to get married to him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) agreed.Khadijah called in her Uncle Amr ibn As`ad ibn `Abdul `Uzza who sooncame and marriage was concluded. At that time Khadijah was forty yearsold while Muhammad (peace be upon him) was twenty five years old.
Khadijah(may Allah be pleased with her) was Prophet Muhammad’s first wife andhis most beloved wife. He did not marry another woman in her lifetime.She bore him two sons and four daughters. She bore him Al-Qasim – partof the Prophet's nickname Abu Al-Qasim i.e. father of Al-Qasim-, Abdullah, Ruqayyah, Zaynab, Umm Kulthoum and Fatimah.
Professing Islam
WhenAllah (the Almighty) sent Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with theMessage of Islam, Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) was thefirst person to believe in Allah and His Messenger. Of all men andwomen, Khadijah was the first to embrace Islam. She as well as ProphetMuhammad (peace be upon him) used to pray in secret till the period ofpublic Calling to Islam.
ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) underwent much suffering and faced utter disbelief fromthe polytheists of Quraish and it was Khadijah (may Allah be pleasedwith her) who used to relieve his suffering and console him.
WhenAllah (the Almighty) sent the Archangel Gabriel with Revelation toProphet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he said to Muhammad: "Read in the Name of your Lord! Who created…" Muhammad then rushed to Khadijah with his heart beating severely with fear. He said: "Cover me! Cover me!" She covered him till his fear was over. Then he said: “O Khadijah, what is wrong with me? I am afraid something bad may happen to me.” Khadijah replied, "Never!By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations withyour Kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guestsgenerously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."
Afterthat Khadijah took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad, whoconverted to Christianity in the pre-Islamic period and who used towrite in Arabic. He used to put the Gospel from Hebrew into Arabic asmuch as Allah willed him to write. He was an old man who lost hiseyesight. Khadijah said to Waraqah, "O my cousin! Listen to the story of your fellow man." Waraqa asked, "O my fellowman! What have you seen?" Then Prophet Muhammad described what he had seen. Waraqah said, "This is the same one (Archangel Gabriel) who keeps the secrets, and whom Allah had sent to Moses."
Her place in the Prophet's Heart
Khadijah was a sensible, noble, pious, chaste, and generous woman. She was given glad tidings of entering Paradise. Allah (the Almighty) ordered His Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to give her glad tidings of having a palace in Paradise which is built from jewels with neither noise nor toil in it.
Of all Prophet Muhammad's wives, Khadijah had a special place in his heart. `Aishah said: "Idid not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet (peace be uponhim) as much as I did of Khadijah though I did not see her, but theProphet (peace be upon him) used to mention her very often, and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut its parts and send them tothe women friends of Khadijah. Once when I said to him, "(You treatKhadijah in such a way) as if there is no woman on earth exceptKhadijah," he would say, "Khadijah was such-and-such, and from her Ihad children."
`Aishah(may Allah be pleased with her) said that Allah's Messenger (peace beupon him) praised Khadijah every time he remembered her before he wouldleave the house. One day he (peace be upon him) praised Khadijah, then`Aishah felt so jealous and said:"Why do you remember an old woman, dead long ago, while Allah has givenyou a better one in her stead?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) gotvery angry and told her that Allah had not given him a better one inher stead as she (Khadijah) was the only person to believe in him whenall people disbelieved, the only person to believe him when all peoplebelied him, and the only one to bear him children when all his wivesdid not bear him children. Upon hearing this, A'ishah decided never tospeak bad of Khadijah again.
Death:Khadijah,the faithful supporter for Allah's Messenger in his pursuit ofpromulgating Islam, died three years before Hijra (the Prophet'simmigration from Meccato Madinah). She was sixty five years old then. Allah's Messengerinterred her in the grave with his own hands. Khadijah's death was abig disaster to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) which, however,he faced with patience and total surrender to the Will of Allah (theAlmighty).
Birth and Upbringing
KhadijahBint Khuwailid ibn Asad ibn `Abdul `Uzza (Kusai ibn Kilab), aQuraishite woman from the clan of Asad, was born in 68 before Hijra(The Prophet's immigration) i.e., 556 AC. She was brought up to a nobleand leading family. She was blessed with good qualities. She was famousfor being a chaste and sensible woman with firm determination. Duringthe pre-Islamic period, she was called At-Tahirah (The Pure).
Asa wealthy merchant, Khadijah used to hire some people to speculate inher money. Hearing about Prophet Muhammad's honesty and noblecharacter, she offered to hire him to be in charge of her businessjourney to the Levant and sent herservant Maysarah with him. He (peace be upon him) accepted her offerand soon Khadijah's profits doubled. Her servant Maysarah used to tellher about Prophet Muhammad's exemplary character. Admiring ProphetMuhammad's noble character, Khadijah proposed to him (peace be uponhim) to get married to him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) agreed.Khadijah called in her Uncle Amr ibn As`ad ibn `Abdul `Uzza who sooncame and marriage was concluded. At that time Khadijah was forty yearsold while Muhammad (peace be upon him) was twenty five years old.
Khadijah(may Allah be pleased with her) was Prophet Muhammad’s first wife andhis most beloved wife. He did not marry another woman in her lifetime.She bore him two sons and four daughters. She bore him Al-Qasim – partof the Prophet's nickname Abu Al-Qasim i.e. father of Al-Qasim-, Abdullah, Ruqayyah, Zaynab, Umm Kulthoum and Fatimah.
Professing Islam
WhenAllah (the Almighty) sent Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with theMessage of Islam, Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) was thefirst person to believe in Allah and His Messenger. Of all men andwomen, Khadijah was the first to embrace Islam. She as well as ProphetMuhammad (peace be upon him) used to pray in secret till the period ofpublic Calling to Islam.
ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) underwent much suffering and faced utter disbelief fromthe polytheists of Quraish and it was Khadijah (may Allah be pleasedwith her) who used to relieve his suffering and console him.
WhenAllah (the Almighty) sent the Archangel Gabriel with Revelation toProphet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he said to Muhammad: "Read in the Name of your Lord! Who created…" Muhammad then rushed to Khadijah with his heart beating severely with fear. He said: "Cover me! Cover me!" She covered him till his fear was over. Then he said: “O Khadijah, what is wrong with me? I am afraid something bad may happen to me.” Khadijah replied, "Never!By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations withyour Kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guestsgenerously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."
Afterthat Khadijah took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad, whoconverted to Christianity in the pre-Islamic period and who used towrite in Arabic. He used to put the Gospel from Hebrew into Arabic asmuch as Allah willed him to write. He was an old man who lost hiseyesight. Khadijah said to Waraqah, "O my cousin! Listen to the story of your fellow man." Waraqa asked, "O my fellowman! What have you seen?" Then Prophet Muhammad described what he had seen. Waraqah said, "This is the same one (Archangel Gabriel) who keeps the secrets, and whom Allah had sent to Moses."
Her place in the Prophet's Heart
Khadijah was a sensible, noble, pious, chaste, and generous woman. She was given glad tidings of entering Paradise. Allah (the Almighty) ordered His Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to give her glad tidings of having a palace in Paradise which is built from jewels with neither noise nor toil in it.
Of all Prophet Muhammad's wives, Khadijah had a special place in his heart. `Aishah said: "Idid not feel jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet (peace be uponhim) as much as I did of Khadijah though I did not see her, but theProphet (peace be upon him) used to mention her very often, and whenever he slaughtered a sheep, he would cut its parts and send them tothe women friends of Khadijah. Once when I said to him, "(You treatKhadijah in such a way) as if there is no woman on earth exceptKhadijah," he would say, "Khadijah was such-and-such, and from her Ihad children."
`Aishah(may Allah be pleased with her) said that Allah's Messenger (peace beupon him) praised Khadijah every time he remembered her before he wouldleave the house. One day he (peace be upon him) praised Khadijah, then`Aishah felt so jealous and said:"Why do you remember an old woman, dead long ago, while Allah has givenyou a better one in her stead?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) gotvery angry and told her that Allah had not given him a better one inher stead as she (Khadijah) was the only person to believe in him whenall people disbelieved, the only person to believe him when all peoplebelied him, and the only one to bear him children when all his wivesdid not bear him children. Upon hearing this, A'ishah decided never tospeak bad of Khadijah again.
Death:Khadijah,the faithful supporter for Allah's Messenger in his pursuit ofpromulgating Islam, died three years before Hijra (the Prophet'simmigration from Meccato Madinah). She was sixty five years old then. Allah's Messengerinterred her in the grave with his own hands. Khadijah's death was abig disaster to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) which, however,he faced with patience and total surrender to the Will of Allah (theAlmighty).