Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Khadijah was born 68 years before the Hijrah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
She was born approximately 15 years before the Year of the Elephant, the year the Prophet ﷺ was born.
Khadijah was well-regarded for her intelligence and wisdom and during the time of Jahiliyyah, she was known as At-Tahirah (The Pure).
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was a very wealthy businesswoman and she used to send people to do business for her, just like the Quraysh did with their caravans, travelling to Ash-Sham and Yemen and returning with great profits.
Khadijah’s Marriages Before the Prophet:
Marriage to Abu Halah bin Zurarah At-Taimi:
Khadijah first married Abu Halah bin Zurarah At-Taimi. However, during the time of Jahiliyyah, he passed away.
Children with Abu Halah bin Zurarah At-Taimi:
Khadijah had two sons with Abu Halah, and they were Hind and Halah bin Abu Halah.
Both sons accepted Islam and became companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Marriage to Atiq bin A’idh al-Makhzumi:
After Abu Halah passed away, Khadijah married Atiq bin A’idh, who was the leader of the tribe of Banu Makhzum.
Children with Atiq bin A’idh al-Makhzumi:
With Atiq, Khadijah had a daughter named Hind bint Atiq, who also embraced Islam and became a companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Death of Atiq bin A’idh al-Makhzumi and Aftermath:
After the death of Atiq, many men from the Quraysh sent marriage proposals to Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.
However, during this period, she decided to focus her attention on raising her children and pursuing business interests.
Disclaimer:
There are also reports that state Khadijah married Atiq bin A’idh before Abu Halah but Allah SWT knows best.
The Prophet Muhammad Sets out on a Business Trip for Khadijah:
Khadijah had knowledge about the noble characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Because of this, she sent a message to the Prophet requesting him to sell her goods in Ash-Sham.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ accepted Khadijah’s offer and set out on a journey to Ash-Sham with Khadijah’s slave, Maysarah.
As they approached Ash-Sham, the Prophet ﷺ decided to sit in the shade of a tree.
A Christian monk came out and asked Maysarah: Who is this man sitting under that tree? Maysarah replied: He is a man from the Quraysh.
The monk then informed Maysarah: No one had ever sat beneath that tree except a Prophet.
Marriage Proposal to the Prophet:
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ returned to Ash-Sham, Khadijah realised that he had doubled her profits in comparison to other people she used to send to conduct her business.
Khadijah’s slave, Maysarah, informed her of the good character and conduct that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had and mentioned the encounter they had with the Christian monk.
Upon hearing this, Khadijah sent a message to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ saying: O cousin! I have conceived a desire to marry you, due to your kinship, your nobility among your people, your trustworthiness, your good character and your truthfulness.
Marriage to the Prophet:
After Khadijah presented her proposal to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Prophet informed his uncles, who agreed to his marriage with her.
Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib then went to the house of Khuwaylid bin Asad (Khadijah’s father) and made the proposal of marriage to her.
The marriage took place and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ presented Khadijah with a dowry of twenty camels.
Khadijah was the first woman the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married and he did not marry any other woman until after her death.
At the time of their marriage, the Prophet was 25 years old and Khadijah was 40.
Hadith Regarding Khadijah bint Khuwaylid:
Abu Hurayrah reported a Hadith in which he said: Jibril came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah! Khadijah had come and brought you a vessel containing broth or food or a drink. When you see her, convey her salutations of peace from her Lord and from me and give her the glad tidings of a house in Jannah made from a hollowed out pearl, in which there is neither noise nor fatigue.
This Hadith was reported in Sahih Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ahmad.
Children of the Prophet and Khadijah bint Khuwaylid:
Sons:
Al-Qasim
Abdullah
Both Al-Qasim and Abdullah passed away before their father received the revelation of Prophethood
Daughters:
Ruqayyah
Zainab
Umm Kulthum
Fatimah
Uthman ibn Affan married Ruqayyah and then after she passed away, he married Umm Kulthum.
Fatimah married Ali ibn Abi Talib and she had two children with him, Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn.
Khadijah – The First to Believe:
After the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received revelation of his Prophethood by Angel Jibril, he returned to Khadijah.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said in fear: Wrap me up! Wrap me up!
The Prophet was then wrapped up and he informed Khadijah of what he had experienced.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: I was afraid for myself.
Khadijah replied: No! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and needy, serve your guests generously and assist those afflicted by calamity who deserve to be helped.
After hearing what had happened to her husband, Khadijah took the Prophet ﷺ to her cousin, Waraqah bin Nawfal, who was a very knowledgeable Christian.
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ explained the story, Waraqah said: By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Waraqah, An-Namus Al-Akbar (the bringer of revelation, meaning Angel Jibril), who used to come to Musa has come to him. I wish I was young and could live to the time when your people will force you out.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was shocked by this and asked: Will they force me out?
Waraqah replied: Anyone who has brought something similar to what you have brought (a Prophet of Allah), was treated with hostility, and if I should remain alive, I will support you.
However, a few days after this conversation, Waraqah bin Nawfal passed away.
The Jihad of Khadijah:
The Document and the Boycott:
When the disbelievers of the Quraysh realised that Umar ibn al-Khattab and Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib had accepted Islam and that the religion was spreading throughout the tribes, they gathered and agreed to boycott the tribes of Banu Hashim and Banu Abdul-Muttalib.
This boycott included: not being able to marry their daughters, sell/buy anything from them, accept any treaty from them and to not show mercy towards them until the Muslims handed the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to the Quraysh so that they could kill him.
The Quraysh then wrote this agreement down on a document and after signing it, they hung the document inside the Kabah.
The Quraysh cut off the tribes of Banu Hashim and Banu Abdul-Muttalib from the markets and left no food or drink for them to buy.
Abu Talib left and headed to a valley in which he owned in Makkah.
During this boycott, the Muslims suffered greatly because of their hunger and thirst.
Out of their lack of resources, they would eat leaves from trees and the skin of dead animals. Some of the Muslims even passed away due to their hunger.
Khadijah’s Role During the Boycott:
Khadijah played her part in alleviating the suffering that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the other Muslims experienced.
Khadijah left her house and went to join the Muslims in the valley of Abu Talib.
Khadijah would spend all of her wealth in order to provide the Muslims with as much food and resources during the years of this boycott.
Khadijah was assisted by her nephew, Hakim ibn Hizam, who was a disbeliever at this point.
Hakim ibn Hizam would buy food for Khadijah and send it to her and she would distribute the food among the Muslims.
She stayed with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and helped out the Muslims financially until the boycott was eventually lifted.
The Prophet’s Praise for Khadijah:
Khadijah had a very special place in the heart of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
The Prophet would often say good things about her, praising her, acknowledging her virtues and mentioning how she had stood by him from the very beginning of his prophethood.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: Maryam, the daughter of Imran, was the best among the women (of her time) and Khadijah is the best amongst the women (of this nation) (Bukhari)
Aisha on Khadijah bint Khuwaylid:
Aisha bint Abi Bakr said: I did not feel jealousy towards any of the Prophet’s wives as I did towards Khadijah. I did not see her, but the Messenger of Allah would mention her often, and sometimes, he would slaughter a sheep, then he would cut it up and send the portions to the friends and of Khadijah and I would say to him: it is as if there is no one in the world besides Khadijah, upon which he would reply: ‘she was such-and-such and such-and such’, enumerating her virtues, adding: ’and she bore me children’. (Bukhari)
Incident of Aisha and the Prophet About Khadijah:
Aisha said: The Messenger of Allah would almost never leave the house without mentioning Khadijah and he would praise her highly. One day, he mentioned her and I was overcome by jealousy and I said: ‘Was she anything more than an old woman? Allah has given you in her place one better than she.’
Upon hearing this, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ became extremely angry and said: No, by Allah, Allah has not given me one better than she! She believed in me when the people disbelieved, she believed in me when the people belied me, she shared her wealth with me when the people prevented me and Allah blessed me with children from her when the (other) women did not give me any. (Ahmad)
Aisha then said to herself: I will never say anything bad about her.
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid’s Death:
In the tenth year of prophethood, after the boycott that the Quraysh had enforced was over, Khadijah and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ returned to their home.
Not long after, Khadijah became very ill and the Prophet remained by her side, comforting her and reminding her of the blessings that Allah SWT promised her in Jannah and the Palace that was awaiting her.
When death came to Khadijah, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: You dislike what I see from you (the illness), but Allah has put goodness in the (thing which you) dislike.
The Prophet ﷺ remained by her side until she passed away.
Burial:
When Khadijah bint Khuwaylid passed away, she was washed, shrouded and carried to Al-Hujun Cemetery where she was buried.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ descended and placed Khadijah in her grave with his own blessed hands.
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the first person to believe in the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, had now been buried, leaving the Prophet in a state of great sadness.