The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told her,
“Khadeejah, here is the (angel) Gabriel. He commanded me to say Salaam to you and to give you the glad tidings of a home (made out) of pearl in paradise, in which there will be no toil or hardship.”
She replied,
“Allah is the giver of Salaam (peace). Peace be upon Gabriel and peace and mercy of Allah be upon you.”
Khadeejah had previously been married before her marriage to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). But these marriages did not work out as she was widowed. This is why she had to begin conducting the affairs of her life alone and had to shoulder 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 of being ‘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 caused her to refuse their proposals. Her preoccupation in her business and other obligations may also have yet been another reason for these refusals. She thus remained unmarried until she was much older and was approaching the age of forty.
Because of the popularity of the name of the Trustworthy one, Muhammad (peace be upon him), Khadeejah came to hear about him and his good conduct through her servant Maysarah. He informed her about Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) excellent manners and trustworthy nature in buying and selling and how he made a huge profit for her in their last business trip to Syria. This caused her to be interested in him for marriage, she then sent someone to him in order to indirectly express her interest in marrying him.
The marriage took place and the marriage was a successful one. Their hearts grew in respect, love and admiration for one other.
Within the years they lived together as husband and wife, the marriage was blessed with pleasant children. The first of them was al-Qaasim, with which his famous acronym of ‘Aboo al-Qaasim’ is associated. They were also blessed with ‘Abdullah at-Tayyib, who was otherwise known as at-Taahir. Due to Divine Wisdom all of them died in their infancy, before he was commissioned as a Prophet.
After the Prophet (peace be upon him) was commissioned as a Prophet he was blessed with girls successively in the following order: Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with all of them).
The amazing personality of our Mother Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her) was shown when her husband was commissioned as a Prophet. We can see how dearly loved she was and the respect she had gained in her family by the tears her daughters shed after her parting and the sorrow of the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him) by her death. For, she was his first love, his life partner and a solid, unwavering support.
While she was still alive, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began to love seclusion and the 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 further purity in his being. He became prepared to receive the great news of Prophethood and its huge responsibility.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to visit the cave of Hira on the Mountain of Mercy (Jabal ar-Rahmah). He would take with him food and drink, which his wife Khadeejah had prepared for him. He would spend in seclusion many days and nights there, particularly during the month of Ramadhan.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) returned home one day after the first revelation had been sent down. He returned home to convey the following divine words to Khadeejah:
{Read! In of 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.} (Quran [96: 1-5])
Khadeejah's Reaction
It is what at his pivotal and memorable point that the first signs of Khadeejah’s (may Allah be pleased with her) greatness manifested.
Yes! She unhesitantly believed in her husband and thus accepted Islaam immediately. This historians and writers of the biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him) unanimously agree over this.
There is however a question: “Was her acceptance of Islaam 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 such a materialistic and sentimental feeling?”
What happened next answers this question for us:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) returned home to his wife, Khadeejah while his heart was trembling. He began saying, “Cover me, cover me.” She covered him until his fear and terror had subsided. He told Khadeejah, after having informed her of his experience in the cave of Hira’, “I fear that something might happen to me.”
Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her) responded with full conviction and assurance,
“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 unwavering expression of support.
'Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was once sitting with Khadeejah. He then saw a person between the heaven and the earth, he then informed Khadeejah of what he saw. She asked him to move closer. When he moved closer she asked him if he still saw the person and he answered in 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 said,
“Relax, this is Allah’s angel. Had he been a devil he would not have been ashamed of looking at you (under the cover of a woman’s garment).”
With such decisive words and with her supportive action Khadeejah eased the Prophet's (peace be upon him) worry and strengthened him. This great love later transformed into what is greater: belief in Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).
One day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) returned home after Jibreel (‘alyhis-salaam) had taught him how to pray. He informed her of this and she said,
“Just teach me how he taught you.”
He then taught her how to pray as Jibreel had taught him. She then performed ablution as he did and prayed alongside him, and then said,
“I testify that you are really the Messenger of Allah.”
Ibn Hajar said in his book 'al Isabaah':
“This is the most correct narration I came across concerning her Islaam.”
Ibn Ishaaq said:
"Khadeejah was the first person to believe in all that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had brought… The Prophet (peace be upon him) never heard any unpleasant thing from her whenever she spoke to him."
And the journey continued...
The ship of faith continued throughout the storms and waves of the darkness of ignorance, while its unwavering captain Muhammad (peace be upon him) was directing its 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 also sought support from his companion and life partner – the Lady Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her). In turn, she would compassionately smile towards him, with a truthful, assuring and reinforcing word. In this way he would be strengthened in his mission to carry out the command of Allah and His order.
This great support given to the Prophet (peace be upon him) by Khadeejah was adequately awarded by the Lord of Majesty. The angel Jibreel (‘alayhis-salaam) was sent to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to give her the glad tiding of a home made out of pearls in Paradise, wherein there would be no hardship or tiredness.
For, not only had she supported the Prophet (peace be upon him) emotionally, but she had also invested all her wealth in the cause of Allah. She generously spent without making any mention of what she had spent, especially during the years of sanction in the valleys of Makkah.
She spared the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) the trouble of labour. His only occupation was calling unto the way of Allah. Allah reminded him of this favour when He revealed:
{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 and was very generous towards them. Thus she is deservedly entitled as being the ‘Mother of Faithful’. Yes, she was the first of the Mothers of the Faithful in every sense of the word.
She enjoyed such a high status in the heart of the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him) that ‘Aa’ishah became jealous of her because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) frequently mentioned her, praised her, remembered his days with her and missed her.
‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) rarely went out of the house without mentioning Khadeejah. One day he spoke of her and I became very jealous and said to him, ‘Was she not an old lady whom Allah has replaced you for with a better woman?” He became 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.'
‘Aa’ishah then said, ‘And I said in my mind,
‘Never shall I speak unfavourably of her again.”
Khadeejah (may Allah be pleased with her) came out of the sanction physically weakened. Her beloved husband and daughters took care of her, consoled her and tried to alleviate her suffering to the best of their ability. But as Allah Willed, no remedy or cure was able to heal her, and she finally surrendered her soul to Allah and left this world for the Highest Company.
Her death was one of the saddest experiences the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) faced in this world.
Khawlah bint Hakeem asked the Prophet, “Messenger of Allah! It seems you have been afflicted since the death of Khadeejah.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “Yes, she was the mother of the household and the caretaker of the family.”
This saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) shows us the inevitable gap her death brought about in the household of the Prophet (peace be upon him), in the real sense of the word. When seeing his daughters he would be reminded of their absent mother. The atmosphere of sorrow and distress in his home would remind him of his beloved wife and best friend, whose heart used to unwaveringly flourish with love and faith in him.
May Allah be pleased with her, for she was a role model for women in all times and places.