Khadijah bint Khuwaylid or Khadijah al-Kubra (565 AD – 623 AD) was the first wife of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Khadijah al-Kubra, was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za'idah, belonged to the clan of Banu Hashim of the tribe of Banu Asad. She became the first person to convert to Islam.
Contents
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• 1 Biography
o 1.1 Early life
• 2 Employing Muhammad
o 2.1 Marriage to Muhammad
o 2.2 Became the first Muslim among females
o 2.3 Death — 619 or 623
• 3 Legacy
o 3.1 Sunni view
o 3.2 Shi'a view
• 4 Relatives
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 External links
Biography
Early life
Khuwaylid ibn Asad (Khadijah's father), who died around 585 A.D., was a merchant, a successful businessman whose vast wealth and business talents were inherited by Khadijah and whom the latter succeeded in faring with the family's vast wealth. It is said that when Banu Quraish's trade caravans gathered to embark upon their lengthy and arduous journey either to Syria during the summer or to Yemen during the winter, Khadijah's caravan equaled the caravans of all other traders of Quraish put together. Fatimah bint Za'idah (Khadijah's mother), died around 575 A.D., was of Banu `Amir ibn Luayy ibn Ghalib, also a distant relative of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
Although the society in which Khadijah was born was a terribly male chauvinistic one, Khadijah earned two titles: Ameerat-Quraish (Princess of Quraish) and al-Tahira (the Pure One), due to her impeccable personality and virtuous character, not to mention her honorable descent. She used to feed and clothe the poor, assist her relatives financially, and even provide for the marriage of those of her kin who could not otherwise have had means to marry.
By 585 A.D., Khadijah was left an orphan. Regardless of having married twice, and twice losing her husband to the ravaging wars with which Arabia was afflicted, she had no mind to marry a third time though she was sought for marriage by many honorable and highly respected men of the Arabian peninsula throughout which she was quite famous due to her business dealings. She simply hated the thought of being widowed for a third time. [1]
Her first husband was Abu Halah Hind ibn Zarah who belonged to Banu `Adiyy, and the second was Ateeq ibn `Aaith. Both men belonged to Banu Makhzum. By her first husband, she gave birth to a son who was named after his father Hind and who came to be one of the greatest Sahaba. He participated in both battles, Battle of Badr and Battle of Uhud, and he is also famous for describing the Prophet's physique; he was martyred during the Battle of the Jamal in which he fought on the side of Ali ibn Abi Talib. All biography accounts describe Hind as an outspoken orator, a man of righteousness and generosity, and one who took extreme caution while quoting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Besides him, Khadijah gave birth to Abu Halah’s two other sons: Tahir and Halah (who is not very well known to historians despite the fact that his father is nicknamed after him).
Who were Khadijah's children by her second husband? This is another controversy that revolves around the other daughters or step-daughters of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. These daughters, chronologically arranged, are: Zainab, Ruqayya, and Ummu Kulthoom. Some historians say that these were Khadijah's daughters by her second husband; whereas others insist they were her daughters by the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
One particular quality in Khadijah was quite interesting, probably more unique than any of her other qualities mentioned above: she, unlike her people, never believed in nor worshipped idols.
Employing Muhammad
Since Khadijah did not travel with her trade caravans, she had always had to rely on someone else to act as her agent to trade on her behalf and to receive an agreed upon commission in return. In 595 A.D., Khadijah needed an agent to trade in her merchandise going to Syria, and it was then that a number of agents whom she knew before and trusted, as well as some of her own relatives, particularly Abu Talib, suggested to her to employ her distant cousin Muhammad ibn Abdullah who, by then, had earned the honoring titles of Al-Sadiq (the truthful) and Al-Amin (the trustworthy).
Muhammad did not have any practical business experience, but he had twice accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on his trade trips and keenly observed how he traded, bartered, bought and sold and conducted business; after all, the people of Quraish were famous for their involvement in trade more than in any other profession. It was not uncommon to hire an agent who did not have a prior experience; so, Khadijah decided to give Muhammad a chance. He was only 25 years old. Khadijah sent Muhammad word through Khazimah ibn Hakim, one of her relatives, offering him twice as much commission as she usually offered her agents to trade on her behalf. She also gave him one of her servants, Maysarah, who was young, brilliant, and talented, to assist him and be his bookkeeper. She also trusted Maysarah's account regarding her new employee's conduct, an account which was most glaring, indeed one which encouraged her to abandon her insistence never to marry again.
The profits Khadijah reaped from that trip were twice as much as she had anticipated. Maysarah was more fascinated by Muhammad than by anything related to the trip. The trip's measure of success encouraged Khadijah to employ Muhammad again on the winter trip to Yemen. Yemen, at that time, was being ruled by an Ethiopian regent. This time Khadijah offered Muhammad three times the usual commission. Unfortunately, historians do not tell us much about this second trip except that it was equally profitable to both employer and employee. Some historians do not mention this trip at all.
Marriage to Muhammad
With the passage of time, her admiration for Muhammad developed into a deeper affection. Khadijah was by then convinced that she had finally found a man who was worthy of her, so much so that she initiated the marriage proposal herself. Muhammad sat to detail all the business transactions in which he became involved on her behalf, but the wealthy and beautiful lady of Quraish was thinking more about her distant cousin than about those transactions. She simply fell in love with Muhammad just as the daughter of the Arabian prophet Shu`ayb had fallen in love with then fugitive prophet Moses.
Muhammad was of medium stature, inclined to slimness, with a large head, broad shoulders and the rest of his body perfectly proportioned. His hair and beard were thick and black, not altogether straight but slightly curled. His hair reached midway between the lobes of his ears and shoulders, and his beard was of a length to match. He had a noble breadth of forehead and the ovals of his large eyes were wide, with exceptionally long lashes and extensive brows, slightly arched but not joined. His eyes were said to have been black, but other accounts say they were brown, or light brown. His nose was aquiline and his mouth was finely shaped. Although he let his beard grow, he never allowed the hair of his moustache to protrude over his upper lip. His skin was white but tanned by the sun. And there was a light on his face, a glow, the same light that had shone from his father, but it was more, much more powerful, and it was especially apparent on his broad forehead and in his eyes which were remarkably luminous.
By the time Muhammad was gone, Khadijah sought the advice of a friend named Nufaysa bint Umayyah. The latter offered to approach him on her behalf and, if possible, arrange a marriage between them. Nufaysa came to Muhammad and asked him why he had not married yet. "I have no means to marry," he answered. "But if you were given the means," she said, "and if you were bidden to an alliance where there is beauty and wealth and nobility and abundance, would you not then consent?" "Who is she?!" he excitedly inquired. "Khadijah," said Nufaysa. "And how could such a marriage be mine?!" he asked. "Leave that to me!" was her answer. "For my part," he said, "I am willing."
Then Khadijah offered herself in marriage to Muhammad, and they agreed that he should speak to his uncles and she would speak to her uncle, `Amr ibn Asad, since her father had died. It was Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, despite being relatively young, whom the Hashemites delegated to represent them on this marriage occasion, since he was most closely related to them through the clan of Asad; his sister Saffiyah bint ‘Abd al-Muttalib had just married Khadijah's brother `Awwam. It was Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, who delivered the marriage sermon saying,
All praise is due to Allah Who has made us the progeny of Ibrahim and Who made us the custodians of His House and the servants of its sacred precincts, making for us a House sought for pilgrimage and a shrine of security, and He also gave us authority over the people. This nephew of mine Muhammad cannot be compared with any other man: if you compare his wealth with that of others, you will not find him a man of wealth, for wealth is a vanishing shadow and a fickle thing. Muhammad is a man whose lineage you all know, and he has sought Khadijah bint Khuwaylid for marriage, offering her such-and-such of the dower of my own wealth.
Became the first Muslim among females
When her husband received his first revelation from the Angel Gabriel, she was the first person — among both male and females — to convert to Islam. According to some sources, it was Khadijah's parental cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who informed Muhammad of his prophet hood soon after his vision of the angel. [2]
Khadijah did not hesitate to embrace Islam at all, knowing that her husband could not have put forth any false claim. Yahya ibn `Afeef is quoted saying that he once came, during the period of Jahiliyyah (before the advent of Islam), to Mecca to be hosted by al-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib, one of the Prophet's uncles mentioned above. "When the sun started rising," says he, "I saw a man who came out of a place not far from us, faced the Ka`ba and started performing his prayers. He hardly started before being joined by a young boy who stood on his right side, then by a woman who stood behind them. When he bowed down, the young boy and the woman bowed, and when he stood up straight, they, too, did likewise. When he prostrated, they, too, prostrated." Then he expressed his amazement at that, saying to al-Abbas: "This is quite strange, O Abbas!" "Is it, really?" retorted al-Abbas. "Do you know who he is?" al-Abbas asked his guest who answered in the negative. "He is Muhammad ibn Abdullah, my nephew. Do you know who the young boy is?" asked he again. "No, indeed," answered the guest. "He is Ali son of Abu Talib. Do you know who the woman is?" The answer came again in the negative, to which al-Abbas said, "She is Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, my nephew's wife." This incident is included in the books of both Imam Ahmad and al-Tirmithi, each detailing it in his own Sahih. And she bore patiently in the face of persecution to which her revered husband and his small band of believers were exposed at the hands of the polytheists and aristocrats of Quraish, sacrificing her vast wealth to promote Islam, seeking Allah's Pleasure.
She remained at his side and supported him throughout his mission to spread Islam.
Death — 619 or 623
Muhammad took no other wife until after her death, though the reasons for this are often disputed. Some say it was due to his dependence on her influence and wealth, and others say it was out of his love for her.
The year of her death is known as the Year of Sorrow, because of the devastation that it caused him and it was also the same year in which his uncle and guardian Abu Talib died. She was either 58 or 65 years old. [1] Her body was buried in Mecca. [
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