Khadija Bint Khuwaylid

 

 

      Khadija (Ra), was the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad (Saw), and she was from a noble family. Her father Khuwaylid had been one of the most honoured leaders of their tribe until, he was killed in a battle. Her husband had also passed away leaving her as an extremely wealthy woman.

        When Muhammad (Saw) was a young man she entrusted him (Saw) with some of her wealth, and she asked him (Saw) to trade with it in Syria on her behalf. He (Saw) was already known for his (Saw) truthfulness, honesty and trustworthiness. He (Saw) soon returned from Syria after making a considerable profit for Khadija (Ra). After hearing his account of the journey, she decided he would make the best out of husbands, even though the most important nobles of the Quraysh had proposed to her she refused them all, and proposed to Muhammad (Saw). After the Prophets uncle Abu Talib, had given the proposed marriage his blessing, Muhammad (Saw) and Khadija (Ra) got married.  At the time of the Prophets (Saw) marriage, the Prophet (Saw) was twenty-five years old, and Khadija (Ra) was forty years old.       

        

       For the next fifteen years they lived happily and Khadija (Ra)

 gave birth to six children. First child was a son whom they called Qasim, which passed away when he was only two years old.
She then gave birth to another boy called Tayyib or Tahir, but he to passed away in his infancy. However Khadija (Ra) and Muhammad (saw) also had four girls who survived: Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Fatima.

  No one (except Allah of course) knows more about a man than his wife. The more Khadija knew about him the more she loved and respected him (Saw). Everyone in Makka called him 'Al-Amin' which means 'the trustworthy one' in Arabic, and she more than anyone knew how fitting this name was for him.

    Each year Muhammad (Saw) would spend the month of Ramadan in seclusion and reflection in a cave on the mountain of Hira (Which is on the outskirts of Makka). Khadija would always make sure he (Saw) was provided with food and water. Towards the end of one Ramadan, when he (Saw) was forty and Khadija was fifty-five, Muhammad (Saw) appeared at their house all of a sudden in the middle of the night, trembling with fear saying,

   'Cover me up! cover me up!'

  Khadija (Ra) was quite alarmed to see him (Saw) in such a bad state. She quickly wrapped a blanket around his (Saw) shoulders.

 When he (Saw) had finally calmed down, she asked him (Saw) to describe what had happened. He (Saw) told her that while he (Saw) was sleeping a being he (Saw) had never seen  He (Saw) did not know then that it was the Angel Jibril had just appeared and had said to him (Saw),

     'Read!'
 
  'But I cannot read' he (Saw) had replied, for he (Saw) was unlettered and could not read nor write.

  'Read!' the Angel had repeated, clasping Muhammad (Saw) close to his chest.

   'I cannot read' he (Saw) had repeated.

    'Read!' the Angle had repeated, firmly embracing him (Saw) yet again.'

    'What shall I read?' he (Saw) had asked in desperation, and the Angle had replied:

              'Read, in the name of your lord who created,

                              Created man from a clot,

               Read, and your lord is the Most Gracious,

                              

                              Who taught with pen,                                          

                     

                  Taught man what he did not know.'

 

                                                                          (Qur'an: 96:1-5)

 

    The Prophet Muhammad (Saw) didn't fully realize it at that time, but this was the beginning of the revelation of the Qur'an, in the first meeting with the Angle Jibril the Prophet (Saw) was pretty frightened, for he (Saw) did not know what was happening and he (Saw) did not know what the Angle Jibril was. The Prophet (Saw)

  woke up and had ran out of the cave to only have seen the Angle Jibril in front of him, and whenever the Prophet (Saw) turned the Angle Jibril was there, with his amazingly big but beautiful form.

   'Oh Muhammad, you are the messenger of Allah and I am the Angle Jibril' and he then disappeared from Muhammad's sight.

   After the Angle Jibril had disappeared the Prophet (Saw) ran down the hill as fast as he (Saw) could, not sure if he (Saw) was going mad and had imagined it or if he (Saw) was possessed by a Jinn. As Khadija (Ra) listened to Muhammad (Saw), She did not share any of her fears with him (Saw). She realised that something amazing  had happened to her husband, she was certain that he (Saw) was not mad nor possessed by a Jinn.

   'Do not worry, for by him who dominion over Khadija's soul, I hope that you are the Prophet of this nation. Allah would never humiliate you, for you are good to your relatives, you support the weak, you feed the guest and answer the call of those who are in distress.' she (Ra) said.

   When Muhammad (Saw) was a little better and relaxed a bit more, Khadija took him (Saw) to her cousin Waraqa Ibn Nawfal, for he was a man of knowledge, she was sure he could explain the meaning of what had happened at the mountain Hira. Waraqa had studied both books of the Jews and the Christians and had learned an amazingly great deal from many of the wisest people. He knew that there would be another Prophet for Moses (As) and Jesus (As), had said that there would be another, and he also knew many signs that would confirm the identity of the prophet when he appeared.

    Waraqa listened closely and when they were finished their story he exclaimed, 'This is the being who brought the revelations of Allah to Moses (As). I wish I was young and could be alive when your people will drive you out.' for he was old and blind.

   'Will they drive me out?' asked Muhammad (Saw).

 'Yes,' he replied, 'no one has come with what you have been given without being treated with enmity, and if I were to live until the day when you are turned out, then I will support you with all my might. Let me just feel your back.'

    So he felt the Prophets (Saw) back, between his (Saw) shoulder blades, and found what he knew was a sign. A small round bump in the skin, about the size of a pigeons egg.

    'This is the seal of the prophet hood!' he exclaimed

 'Now I know for sure that you are the Prophet whose coming was foretold in the Torah and the Injil! You are indeed the Prophet of Allah, and the being that appeared on the mountain was indeed the Angle Jibril!'

  Khadija (Ra) was amazed to find that her understanding of what had happened on the mountain had been confirmed. soon after the shocking incident, Muhammad (Saw) was commanded by Allah, through the Angle Jibril, to call people to worship Allah alone, Khadija (Ra) did not hesitate in expressing in public of what she knew was the truth for some time,

  'I bear witness that there is no god except Allah,' she had said 'And I bear witness that Muhammad (Saw) is the messenger of Allah.'

   The years that had followed were difficult years. The Quraysh tried and tried there best to prevent the prophet (Saw) from spreading the message of Allah. Khadija (Ra) was a source of comfort to the Prophet (Saw) in the time of hardship. All of her wealth was spent for the sake of Allah, such as helping to spread the message, helping to free slaves who had embraced Islam, and helping to feed and shelter the Muslim community which soon grew in number and strength. The Quraysh where annoyed and angry, and would try to discourage them by torturing the Muslims but without success. The problem became so bad that the Prophet (Saw) told some of his (Saw) followers to go to Abyssinia where their ruler, the Negus who was a sincere Christian gave them shelter and protection. But eventually there came a time when, as Waraqa had foretold, Muhammad (Saw) and his followers were driven out of the city of Makka and were forced to camp out in a small ravine in the mountains not far from the city. This had happened long after Waraqa had died.

    The Muslims were exposed to the bitterly cold nights of winter while there houses lay in Makka empty, they had very little food and shelter. No one would buy nor sell with all the Muslims, neither let their sons and daughters marry a Muslim. But those who secretly felt sorry for the Muslims would send what food they could to them when ever the chance came, sometimes they would send food by loading it all onto a camel or horse and sending it off galloping in the direction of the camp. For three years the Muslims lived in hardship, but although they suffered from hunger, thirst, exposure to heat and coldness, this was a time when the Muslims hearts were most purified and also filled with light of knowledge and wisdom of Islam. The Muslims knew they were in the right and were following the truth, so nothing else could have mattered. They also didn't care about what the Quraysh did to them, for Allah and his Messenger (Saw) were enough for them.

    It was during this time that the Muslims that had gone to Abyssinia returned, but to only find the incident even worse than when they had left it. So they had returned to Abyssinia their numbers swelled by those whom Muhammad (Saw) had told to accompany them.

    Finally the Muslims were allowed to re-enter the city, but the three years of hardship had taken there toll. The Prophet Muhammad's (Saw)  uncle Abu Talib who was eighty years old had passed away, and then a few months later during the month of Ramadan, Khadija (Rh) had also passed away, when she was sixty-five.

   The Prophet Muhammad (Saw) had mourned Khadija's death deeply. They had shared twenty-five years of marriage together and she had also given birth to six of his (Saw) children. She had been the first to publicly accept Muhammad (Saw) as the Messenger of Allah, and she had never ever stopped doing her best to help him (Saw). The Prophet Muhammad (Saw) had never stopped loving Khadija (Ra), and although he married several more wives in later years and loved them all, it is clear that Khadija (Ra) always had a special place in his (Saw) heart. Indeed Aisha (Ra) heard the Prophet (Saw) talk about Khadija (Ra), or saw him sending food to Khadija's (Ra) old friends and relatives she could not help feeling jealous of her, because of the love the Prophet (Saw) still had for her. Once Aisha (Ra) asked him (Saw) if Khadija (Ra) had been the only woman worthy of his love. The Prophet (Saw) had replied,

    'She believed in me when no one else did, she accepted Islam when people rejected me, and she helped and comforted me when there was no one else to lend me a helping hand.'

  This is all I have for know it took me a few days to write this, sorry for any delays!