KHADIJAH THE GREAT

The first wife of the Prophet, the first woman in Islam was: Khadijah (may Allah bless her), the Mother of the Believers, the leader of all the women in creation. Pure and noble, she was of great intelligence and discernment; in that she chose the master of creation as a husband. For when he reached twenty-five years, and when she learnt the truthfulness of his speech, the immensity of his trustworthiness, the nobility of his character, the fair-mindedness of his opinions, she summoned for him.

 She then said: "I shall give you double of what I give a person from your people, that you become a merchant with my money". The Prophet accepted the offer. When he returned back from the Caravan, he came back with double the amount of profit  or the like. So she sent for him and said to him: "O son of my uncle, indeed I am hopeful to be related to you, by your position in your community, the immensity of your faithfulness, the nobility of your character, the truthfulness of your speech."

So the Prophet married her. So her house was full of love and the happiness of married love. She was distinguished by the inherent wisdom she had in her words and speech. She spent of her money and the Prophet continued to engage in trade on her behalf. Until he reached the age of forty and the revelation first descended. When his initial experience was to fear for himself, and he was in need for someone to support him, she was the one who reassured and calmed his fear, giving him peace through the words:

كَلَّا وَاللَّهِ مَا يُخْزِيكَ اللَّهُ أَبَدًا

By Allah - Allah will never disappoint you.

She went with him to her cousin Waraqah bin Nawfal, requesting him to interpret what had happened, so she said: " O cousin, listen to your nephew." So the Prophet informed Waraqah about the events that had befallen, at which point Waraqah gave them the glad tidings of Prophethood.

Khadijah (may Allah bless her) was the first person to have revelation descend in her house, the first to become Muslim with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the first to pray with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Prophet used to love Khadijah immensely, he said:

إِنِّي قَدْ رُزِقْتُ حُبَّهَا

I was blessed with love for her

This was no doubt because of her great intelligence, her firmness of faith, the beauty of her love, kindness of her speech, the concern and care of her companionship, her expending of her wealth and her great patience in facing the tribulations that were to face them. She always had contentment, being a strong believer in Allah. The Prophet was blessed through her with: Qasim, Abdullah, two sons both of whom died young, and four daughters: Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with them all. She was an immensely compassionate woman. Noble and generous. Always caring for her sons and daughters, she would not spare an effort when it came to their eternal happiness.

When her daughter Zaynab got married, she gave her a precious necklace to wear it the first time she would meet her husband Abu Aas. And in compensation for what Khadijah (may Allah bless her) had given for Islam, towards the end of her life, the Angel Jibril descended and gave her glad tidings in her house, saying to the Prophet:

هَذِهِ خَدِيجَةُ قَدْ أَتَتْ مَعَهَا إِنَاءٌ فِيهِ إِدَامٌ، أَوْ طَعَامٌ أَوْ شَرَابٌ، فَإِذَا هِيَ أَتَتْكَ فَاقْرَأْ عَلَيْهَا السَّلَامَ مِنْ رَبِّهَا وَمِنِّي، وَبَشِّرْهَا بِبَيْتٍ فِي الْجَنَّةِ مِنْ قَصَبٍ، لَا صَخَبَ فِيهِ وَلَا نَصَبَ

This is Khadija coming to you with a dish having meat soup (or some food or drink). When she reaches you, greet her on behalf of her Lord (i.e. Allah) and on my behalf, and give her the glad tidings of having a Qasab palace in Paradise wherein there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue (trouble) . "





In other words her home would be from arranged pearls. This would be in reward for all the fatigue that she exerted in support of her husband. How she gave him contentment during difficult times. Making easy for him every difficulty. This is why she was deservedly called from the best women of Paradise, as the Prophet said:

أَفْضَلُ نِسَاءِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ: خَدِيجَةُ بِنْتُ خُوَيْلِدٍ، وَفَاطِمَةُ بِنْتُ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَآسِيَةُ بِنْتُ مُزَاحِمٍ امْرَأَةُ فِرْعَوْنَ، وَمَرْيَمُ ابْنَةُ عِمْرَانَ

The Best of women of Paradise are: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Fatimah bint Muhammad, Asiyyah bint Muzahim, the wife of the Pharaoh, and Maryam bint Imran.

Whenever the Prophet would remember her he would say:

قَدْ آمَنَتْ بِي إِذْ كَفَرَ بِي النَّاسُ، وَصَدَّقَتْنِي إِذْ كَذَّبَنِي النَّاسُ، وَوَاسَتْنِي بِمَالِهَا إِذْ حَرَمَنِي النَّاسُ، وَرَزَقَنِي اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلَدَهَا إِذْ حَرَمَنِي أَوْلَادَ النِّسَاءِ

She was the one who believed in me when no-one did, she was the one who said I was truthful when the people said I lied, she was the one who spread her wealth for me when others deprived me and she was the one I was blessed by Allah to have my children with when Allah gave me no children through other women [The Prophet would later have Ibrahim from Maria al-Qibtiyya, who died young in his infancy]

This is sufficient evidence for the preservation of love of one's wife, the need to honor her family, to do this during her life and even if she was to die before one. What an example there is for husbands in seeing how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to honour his wives, and what an example there is for wives in seeing how the mothers of the believers, may Allah be pleased with them all, interacted with the Prophet.

It is clear that women are the counterpart and partners of men, and they are partners in the doing of good deeds and their reward, all of this is confirmed

by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said:

نَعَمْ إِنَّمَا النِّسَاءُ شَقَائِقُ الرِّجَالِ

Woman are counterpart of men.

And in this regard Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, was a model of excellence for what it means to be a distinguished woman in her social and practical affairs, and what it means to be a good wife. She was not only a wife and mother, but she as also a successful businesswoman as the books of biography and history have recorded many prominent models of women who were pioneers in industry and work, Khadijah is the greatest of them.

From such women we find women becoming doctors, teachers, great poets, and so on. Hence it is good for parents to direct their daughters and children to read about them, to learn from their lives, to take lessons and benefit from their careers, all of which will help enable a society and noble generation of ethics and behavior, pioneering in knowledge and ethics.