In the Name
of God, the Most Merciful, the Most
Compassionate
She was one of the noblest women around,
coming from a very prominent family. She
was also quite beautiful and the holder
of a considerable amount of wealth,
being a prominent businesswoman. To
marry her would have been a great feat
for any man, and indeed, quite a few of
the most prominent and wealthy men in
society had asked for her hand. Yet, she
rejected them all.
Until he came into her life. He was
young man of 25, and although he was
also of a noble family, he was an orphan
and was not a man of many means. He had
made a meager living tending sheep in
the hills surrounding the city. Yet, he
had an impeccable moral character, and
he was widely known as one of the most
honest men around. That is what
attracted her to him: she was looking
for someone honest who could conduct
business for her, as she - a woman in a
fiercely patriarchal society - could not
do it herself. So, he started working
for her.
After he came back from his first
business trip, she asked her servant,
whom she sent with him, about him and
his conduct. The servant amazed her by
his report: this young man was the
kindest, gentlest man he had ever met.
Never did he treat the servant harshly,
as many others do. Yet, there was more:
as they traveled in the heat of the
desert, the servant noticed that a cloud
had followed them the entire time,
shading them from the blazing sun. The
businesswoman was quite impressed with
her new employee.
Not only that, this new employee proved
to be an astute businessman in his own
right. He took his employer's
merchandise, sold it, and with the
profits bought other merchandise that he
sold again, thus profiting twice. All
this was enough for her: the embers of
love in her heart that were once
extinguished re-kindled again, and she
resolved to marry this young man, who
was 15 years younger than she.
So, she sent her sister to this young
man. She asked him, "Why are you not
married, yet?"
"For lack of means," he answered.
"What if I could offer you a wife of
nobility, beauty, and wealth? Would you
be interested?" she told him.
He replied in the affirmative, but when
she mentioned her sister, the young
employee chuckled in amazement.
"How could I marry her? She has turned
down the most noble men in the city,
much wealthier and prominent than me, a
poor shepherd," he said.
"Don't you worry," the sister replied,
"I'll take care of it."
Not long after, the wealthy
businesswoman married her young
employee, and it was the beginning of
one of the most loving, happiest, and
sacred marriages in all of human
history: that of Prophet Muhammad and
Khadijah, the daughter of Khuwaylid.
When they were married, the Prophet was
25 years old, and Khadijah was 40. Yet,
that did not bother the Prophet one bit.
He loved her so deeply, and she loved
him as deeply. They were married for 25
years. Khadijah was a source of immense
love, strength, and comfort for the
Prophet Muhammad, and he leaned heavily
on this love and support on the most
important night of his life.
While he was meditating in cave of Hira,
the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet
Muhammad and revealed to him the first
verses of the Qur'an and declared to him
that he was to be a Prophet. The
experience surprised the Prophet
Muhammad, and he ran home, jumping into
Khadijah's arms saying, "Cover me! Cover
me!"
Khadijah put all his fears to rest: "Do
not worry," she said, "for by Him who
has dominion over Khadijah's soul, I
hope that you are the Prophet of this
nation. Allah would never humiliate you,
for you are good to your relatives, you
are true to your word, you help those
who are in need, you support the weak,
you feed the guest and you answer the
call of those who are in distress." She
then took him to her cousin, Waraqah ibn
Nawfal - a scholar well-versed in the
Judeo-Christian scripture - and he
confirmed to the Prophet that his
experience was Divine and he was to be
the Last Prophet.
After his ministry began, and the
opposition of his people became harsh
and brutal, Khadijah was always there to
support the Prophet Muhammad,
sacrificing all of her wealth to support
the cause of Islam. When the Prophet and
his family was banished to the hills
outside of Mecca, she went there with
him, and the three years of hardship and
deprivation eventually led to her death.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mourned her
deeply, and even after her death, the
Prophet would send food and support to
Khadijah's friends and relatives, out of
love for his first wife.
Once, years after Khadijah died, he came
across a necklace that she once wore.
When he saw it, he remembered her and
began to cry and mourn. His love for her
never died, so much so, that his later
wife A'isha became jealous of her. Once
she asked the Prophet if Khadijah had
been the only woman worthy of his love.
The Prophet replied: "She believed in me
when no one else did; she accepted Islam
when people rejected me; and she helped
and comforted me when there was no one
else to lend me a helping hand."
Much has been made and said about
Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) multiple
marriages. There are many who smear the
Prophet (pbuh) as a womanizing
philanderer, citing his multiple
marriages. This is absolute propaganda.
As a response to those who malign the
Prophet (pbuh), IF the Prophet (pbuh)
were anything of the sort, he would have
taken advantage of his youth to do such
a thing. But he did not! At a time when
it was a common custom to have multiple
wives, the Prophet did not marry anyone
else while he was with Khadijah.
It was only after Khadijah died, may
God be pleased with her, that he
married other women. Most of these wives
were widows, whom the Prophet (pbuh)
married to care after them, or they were
they were the daughters of prominent
Arab chieftains, so that the Prophet
(pbuh) could form a cohesive Muslim
society out of a fiercely tribalistic
(and barbaric) Arab culture. The smears
against the Prophet (pbuh) fall flat on
their faces once the light of truth
shines brightly upon them.
In a song about the Prophet and Khadjiah,
Muslim rappers Native Deen sing: "We
look for stories of love in places dark
and cold/When we have a guiding light
for the whole world to behold." Many of
what we call "love stories" today are
nothing more than stories of lust and
desire, physical attraction disguised as
love.
Yet, I can find no love story more
powerful, more spiritually uplifting,
more awe inspiring as that of the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Khadijah. It
is a shining example of what an ideal
marriage is, and if I ever claim that I
love my wife, I must gauge my actions
with that of the Prophet.
Note: The article
has been slightly edited for this
website... the al-Huda.com Editor
Hesham A. Hassaballa is a
physician and writer based in Chicago.
You can visit his blog at
www.drhassaballa.com.