the Wives Of The Prophet Mu7ammad (salla ALLAH 3alayhi wa salam) - Khadijah bint Khuwaylid - part 1

by ala' Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:30 pm

as-salam 3alaykom wa ra7mat ALLAH wa barakatuh

Bismillah-ir-Ra7man-ir-Ra7eem

I’d like to start, in sha2 ALLAH, a series of stories about the wives of the Prophet Mu7ammad (salla ALLAH 3alayhi wa salam)

Today in sha2 ALLAH i’ll start with the story of the first wife of rasoul ALLAH (salla ALLAH 3alayhi wa salam), Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (rAa)

KHADIJAH-TUL-KUBRAH BINT KHUWAYLID (radhia ALLAH anha)

The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) (Kitab Al-Fada'il Al-Sahabah)

Muslim :: Book 31 : Hadith 5965

Abdullah b. Ja'far reported that he heard 'All say in Kulfa that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The best of the women of her time was Mary, daughter of 'Imran, and the best of the women of her time was Khadija, daughter of khuwailid. Abu Kuraib said that Wakil pointed towards the sky and the earth

Is it not a great honor that the first person to embrace Islam was a woman? She was the first to bear witness that there is no god except Allah and that her husband was the Messenger of Allah. Her husband was our beloved Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and she was called Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her)

1.1 Background

Khadijah Bint Khuwailid ibn Asad ibn `Abdul `Uzza (Kusai ibn Kilab), a Quraishite 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 noble and leading family. She was blessed with good qualities. She was famous for being a chaste and sensible woman with firm determination. During the pre-Islamic period, she was called At-Tahirah (The Pure).

Her father Khuwaylid had been one of the most honored leaders of their tribe until he was killed in battle. Her husband had also died, leaving her a very wealthy woman.

1.2 Marriage

As a wealthy merchant, Khadijah used to hire some people to speculate in her money. Hearing about Prophet Muhammad's honesty and noble character, she offered to hire him to be in charge of her business journey to the Levant (Bilad ash-Sham, describes traditinally the Eastern Mediterranian (which includes Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus and Egypt). Historically, the "trade on the Levant" between Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire was of great economic importance). She sent her servant Maysarah with him. He (peace be upon him) accepted her offer and soon Khadijah's profits doubled. Her servant Maysarah used to tell her about Prophet Muhammad's exemplary character. Admiring Prophet Muhammad's noble character, Khadijah proposed to him (peace be upon him) to get married to him. After the Prophet's uncle, Abu Talib, had given the proposed marriage his blessing the Prophet (peace be upon him) agreed. Khadijah called in her Uncle Amr ibn As`ad ibn `Abdul `Uzza who soon came and marriage was concluded. At that time Khadijah was forty years old while Muhammad (peace be upon him) was twenty five years old.

Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) was Prophet Muhammad’s first wife and his most beloved wife. He did not marry another woman in her lifetime
The Book Pertaining to the Merits of the Companions (Allah Be Pleased With Them) of the Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) (Kitab Al-Fada'il Al-Sahabah)

Muslim :: Book 31 : Hadith 5975

'A'isha reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) did not marry any other woman till her (Khadija's) death.

For the next fifteen years they lived happily together, and Khadijah bore several children. Their first child, a son whom they named Qasim, died when he was only two years old. Two more sons, called Tayyib and Tahir, were also born, but they too died in their infancy. However, Muhammad and Khadijah also had four daughters who survived: Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Fatima.

1.3. Professing Islam

No one except Allah of course, knows more about a man than his wife, both his good and his bad qualities, his strengths and his weaknesses. The more Khadijah came to know about her husband, the more she loved and respected him. Everyone in Makka called him 'al-Amin', which means 'the trustworthy one', and she, more than anyone else, knew how fitting this name was.

When Allah (the Almighty) sent Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the Message of Islam, Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) was the first person to believe in ALLAH and His Messenger. Of all men and women, Khadijah was the first to embrace Islam. She as well as Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to pray in secret till the period of public Calling to Islam.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) underwent much suffering and faced utter disbelief from the polytheists of Quraish and it was Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) who used to relieve his suffering and console him.

When ALLAH (the Almighty) sent the Archangel Gabriel with Revelation to Prophet 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 with your Kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."

After that Khadijah took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad, who converted to Christianity in the pre-Islamic period and who used to write in Arabic. He used to put the Gospel from Hebrew into Arabic as much as ALLAH willed him to write. He was an old man who lost his eyesight. 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. Should I live till you receive the Divine Message, I will support you strongly."(ref. Prophets. Bukhari:Book 4:Volume 55 :Hadith 605, narrated by ‘Aisha (rAa) )

In the years that followed, difficult years in which the leaders of the Quraish did everything in their power to stop the Prophet spreading his message, Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) was a constant source of help and comfort to Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the difficulties which he had to face. All her wealth was spent in the way of Allah, helping to spread the message of her husband, helping to free slaves who had embraced Islam, and helping to feed and shelter the community of Muslims that slowly but surely began to grow in numbers and strength.

to be continued... in sha2 ALLAH