Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid (May Allah be pleased with her)
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) told her,
"Khadeejah, here is (Angel) Gabriel. He commanded me to say
salam to you and to give you the glad of tiding of a home of pearl in Paradise in which there will be no toil or hardship." She replied, "Allah is the Giver of
salam (peace). Peace be upon Gabriel and peace and mercy of Allah be upon you."
Khadeejah has had a previous marriage before she married the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W).
But now, she was free, conducting the affairs of her life and shouldering her huge responsibilities all by herself. She was a wealthy woman who had wide commercial holdings. This is in addition to her being beautiful, very famous and pure-mannered, a quality that won her the accolade: 'The pure woman'.
All these qualities and qualifications made her attractive to many Qurayshi men who wished to marry her.
But it seemed that her first marriage experience made her refuse to agree to any of the proposals. Her preoccupation with her business and other obligations might also have been another reason for her refusal of these proposals. She remained unmarried until she got older and approached the age of forty.
The popularity of the name of the Trustworthy (Muhammad) (S.A.W) who was a model of good conduct reached her. What she heard from her servant, Maysarah regarding Muhammad's excellent manners in buying and selling and how he made big profits when he accompanied them on their last business trip to Syria created in her a great interest in him. This led her to send someone to him to indirectly express her interest in marrying him.
The marriage took place between her and Muhammad (S.A.W) and both were delighted because of the same conducts they shared and their hearts also shared the same feeling.
In the course of the years in which they lived together as husband and wife, the marriage was blessed with pleasant children.
The first of them was al-Qasim, with whose he formed his famous acronym. They were then blessed with 'Abdullah, at-Tayyib, who was otherwise known as at Tahir. But for some Divine Wisdom all of them died in their infancy. And that was before he was commissioned as a Prophet.
After he was commissioned as a Prophet, he was blessed with girls successively in the following order: Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom and Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with all of them).
The greatness of Khadeejah vividly showed in its best and perfect form at the time her husband was commissioned as a Prophet and after that until she died amid the tears of her daughters and the sorrow of their great father and the noble Messenger over his Companion, the life partner and the solid support.
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) was made to love seclusion and staying away from people and their materialistic world for the purpose of reflection and meditation over the sovereignty (of the heavens and the earth). This seclusion led to the elevation of his soul and the purity of his feeling. He became prepared to receive the Great News and the huge responsibility.
The Prophet (S.A.W) used to visit the cave of ‘Hira’ on the Mountain of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah)? He would take with him his food and drink that his wife, Khadeejah had prepared for him. He would spend some days and nights there, particularly during the month of Ramadan, in seclusion.
The Prophet (S.A.W) returned home one day, after the revelation has been sent down to him for the first time. He returned home to convey the following divine words to Khadeejah:
(Read! In the Name of your Lord Who has created [all that exists]. He has created man from a clot [a piece of thick coagulated blood]. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught [the writing] by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not)
(Qur'an 96: 1-5)
It is here that the first signs of her greatness manifested.
Yes! She unhesitantly believed in him and accepted Islam immediately. This is the consensus of the historians and writers of the life history of the Prophet (S.A.W).
There is however a question:
"Was her acceptance of Islam and her faith done just to follow her husband so that their relationship could continue or was it done for noble and sublime reasons that transcended this materialistic and sentimental meaning?"
The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) returned home to his wife, Khadeejah while his heart was trembling and saying, "Cover me, cover me." She covered him until he was no more terrified.8 He told Khadeejah, after having informed her of his experience in the cave of Hira, "I fear that something might happen to me."
But his wife's response to this expression of fright was, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, serve your guests generously, help the poor and the destitute and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."
This statement is undoubtedly a sign of awareness, wisdom, maturity and a deep understanding of the situation. It is also an expression of support.
“A'ishah (R.A) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) was sitting down with Khadeejah. He then saw a person between the heaven and the earth and he told Khadeejah of what he saw. She asked him to move closer. When he moved closer she asked her if he still saw the person and he answered in the affirmative. She then told him to put his head under her garment and asked him if he still saw
him. He answered in the negative. She then told him, "Relax, this is an angel, had he been a devil he would not have been ashamed (of looking at you while you are under the cover of a woman's garment).”
With decisive word and action did Khadeejah calmed the Prophet (S.A.W) and strengthened him. The great love she had for him transformed into what is greater: belief in Allah and His Messenger (S.A.W).
One day, the Prophet (S.A.W) returned home after Jibreel (Angel) had taught him how to pray. He informed her of this and she said, "Just teach me how he taught you." And he taught her. She then performed ablution as he did and she prayed along with him, and then said, "I testify that you are really the Messenger of Allah."
Ibn Hajar said in his Book, al-isbah: "This is the most correct narration I came about concerning her Islam.
Ibn Ishaq said: "Khadeejah was the first person to believe in Allah and His Messenger and believe in all that he brought. Allah comforted His Messenger by that. The Prophet never heard any unpleasant thing from her whenever she talked to him.
And the journey continued ...
The ship of faith continued weathering the storms and waves of the age of ignorance and its darkness, while its great captain Muhammad was directing the passengers with wisdom, patience and reliance on Allah. Whenever he sensed tiredness in himself or sensed an aggression in the violent winds he turned his eyes to the heaven and then sought support from his Companion and life partner. And what he got was a compassionate smile and a truthful, assuring and reinforcing word. He then became strengthened in his mission to carry out the command of Allah and His order.
This great aspect of Khadeejah was adequately rewarded by the Lord of Majesty. Angel Gabriel (Angel) was sent to the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) to give him a good tiding of a home of pearls in Paradise, where there would be no hardship or tiredness.
Here is another aspect of greatness in the life of Khadeejah.
She had invested all her wealth in the cause of Allah. She generously and unlimitedly spent without making any mention of what she had spent, especially during the years of sanction in the alleys of Abu Talib.
She spared the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) the trouble of labour. All his occupation was calling unto the way of Allah. Allah reminded him of this favour when He (S.W.T) says:
(And He found you poor and made you rich [self-sufficient with self contentment]?)
(Qur'an 93: 8)
She also showed kindness to the weak and poor Muslims. She was very generous to them and was really and deservedly entitled to be called 'Mother of the faithful'. She was the first mother of the faithful in every sense.
She enjoyed so an envious status that ‘A'ishah was strongly jealous of her because the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) frequently spoke of her and nostalgically remembered her days with him and missed her.
‘A'ishah (R.A) said: "The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) rarely went out of the house without mentioning Khadeejah and praising her. One day, he spoke of her and I grew very jealous and I told him, ‘Was she not an old lady whom Allah has replaced for you with a better woman?’ He got angry and said, ‘No, by Allah! Allah did not replace her with any better woman. For, she believed in me when people disbelieved, she consoled me with her wealth when people denied me their money and Allah blessed me with children from her while I was denied children by other women.’ ‘A'ishah then said, ‘And I said in my mind, ‘Never shall I speak unfavourably of her again’.'"
Khadeejah (R.A) came out of the alleys of Abu Talib physically weakened. She became sick and her beloved husband and daughters cared for her, consoled her and alleviated her suffering to the best of their ability. But as Allah would have it, no remedy or cure was able to heal her, and she finally surrendered her soul and left for the Highest Company.
Her death was one of the saddest experiences of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W).
Khawlah bint Hakeem asked the Prophet, "Messenger of Allah! It seems you have been afflicted by want since the death of Khadeejah." The Prophet (S.A.W) replied, "Yes, she was the mother of the household and the caretaker for the family."
The saying of the Prophet (S.A.W) was the result of the inevitable gap her death created in the household, in the real sense of the word. This is because; seeing the daughters would remind of the absent mother, and the atmosphere of sorrow and distress would remind of the big heart that was flourishing with love and faith.
Sources:
https://www.aminullah.org/2021/03/khadeejah-bint-khuwaylid-may-allah-be.html
URL:
https://www.aminullah.org/