Lady Khadija (Part 1):

Lady Khadija (A)        The first wife of the Holy Prophet (S)

                                                           The mother of Lady Fatimah (A).

                           She was born in Makka.

Her father's name was Khuwaylid bin Asad and he was a wealthy trader.

When her father died, Lady Khadija (A) continued his business of sending trade caravans to Syria and Yemen. Under her sensible management, the business expanded and with the profits she:

• helped the poor,
• the widows,
• the orphans,
• the sick and the disabled.
• If there were any poor girls, she got them married and paid their dowry.

Lady Khadija (A) preferred not to travel with the caravans and used to send her agents instead. She made such great profits that she was soon the richest trader in Makka. Her trade caravans were larger than the rest of the traders combined, and her success earned her the title "Princess of Makka".

Lady Khadija (A) believed in One God and did not worship idols like most other people of her time. Her reputation for being a good lady earned her the name Tahira, which means "the pure one." As Lady Khadija (A)'s fame grew, many men asked for her hand in marriage, but she turned them all down.

In the spring of AD 595, at the time when the summer caravans were ready to leave Makka for Syria, Lady Khadija (A) had not yet found a reliable agent to take her caravan. Meanwhile, Abu Talib was trying to find employment for his nephew, the Holy Prophet (S), who was now 25 years old. When he heard of this vacancy, he came to Lady Khadija (A) and asked her to consider his nephew for the job.

Like most people in Makka, Lady Khadija (A) had heard a lot about the Holy Prophet (S). Already he had earned a reputation for his trustworthiness and honesty. Although he lacked experience, she had no hesitation in hiring him, saying that she would send along her slave Maysara, who was already an experienced traveller.

That year the trade caravan of Lady Khadija (A) made unusually high profits. The Holy Prophet (S) learnt the business quickly and in Syria he impressed the traders with his clever but fair dealing.

On their return to Makka, the Holy Prophet (S) reported back to Lady Khadija (A) and then returned to his home. Maysara then told her about all the details of the trip. He was very impressed with the manner of the Holy Prophet (S) and spoke highly of his character and personality.

That is why, when Abu Talib sent his sister Safiya to the house of Lady Khadija (A) with a marriage proposal from the Holy Prophet (S) Lady Khadija (A) agreed immediately. Abu Talib himself took charge of the preparations for the marriage of his beloved nephew. On the day of the wedding he dressed the Holy Prophet (S) in the cloak of Abdul Muttalib and made him wear the ring of Hashim. The sermon of marriage was recited by Abu Talib at the agreed Mahar of 400 pieces of gold. The marriage was a cause of great celebration amongst the Quraish.

Three days after the marriage, Abu Talib arranged for a feast in which every resident of Makka was invited for a meal. This practice is known as "Walimah" and Islam later made it a recommended part of the marriage ceremonies.

At the time of their marriage the Holy Prophet (S) was 25 years old while Lady Khadija (A) was 40 years of age

Why do you think the Lady Khadija (A) accepted the proposal of the Holy Prophet (S)?

Lady Khadija (Part 2):

After her marriage to the Holy Prophet (S), Lady Khadija (A) settled down happily in her new life as a wife. She slowly began to cut down the size of her business and after a few years, she was no longer a trader, although she was still a very rich lady.

Lady Khadija (A) made it her duty to serve her husband and make him happy. In this she was very successful. Their marriage was blessed with happiness and children.

Their first child was Qasim. After his birth, the Holy Prophet (S) was called Abul Qasim - the father of Qasim - as per the custom of the Arabs.

The second child was Abdullah. He was also called Tahir and Tayyib.

Both boys did not survive very long and died while still very young. These losses made the Holy Prophet (S) very sad and when his cousin Imam Ali (A) was born, he brought him up in his house as his own son.

When the Holy Prophet (S) was finally commanded by Allah to begin his mission to preach Islam, Lady Khadija (A) was the first woman to accept his message and become a Muslim.

She gave her entire wealth to serve the cause of Islam.

• Her money was used to buy the freedom of the early Muslims, many of whom were slaves.
• Later on, her money also financed the migration that the Muslims made to Abyssinia to escape the cruelties of the Quraish.

As the Prophet spread the word of Islam, many of the Quraish became his enemy and began to call him names and insult him. They used to make fun of him because he had no children. This made the Holy Prophet (S) sad and Allah revealed the Suratul Kawthar in reply:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful
Verily, We have given you (O Muhammad) the Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice. Verily, your enemy shall be "Abtar."
(Suratul Kawthar, 108: 1 – 3)

In these verses Allah promised the Holy Prophet (S) that he would not be childless, and soon afterwards his last child was born. She was a girl and he named her Fatimah Zahra. Lady Fatimah (A) became the mother of our Holy Imams (A).

Lady Khadija (A) was married to the Holy Prophet (S) for 25 years.

She died on the 10th of Ramadhan in 619AD. She is buried in Makka. In the same year the Holy Prophet (S) lost his uncle, Abu Talib. Saddened by these two great losses, he called that year "Aamul Huzn", which means "The Year of Sadness".

While Lady Khadija (A) lived, the Holy Prophet (S) did not marry another woman he always said that she was the best of his wives.

The Holy Prophet (S) had said that Lady Khadija (A) was one of the four perfect women who had ever lived. The other three are: Lady Aasiya the wife of Fir'aun, Lady Maryam the mother of Prophet Isa (A) and Lady Fatimah Zahra (A).