SAYYIDATINA KHADIJA (Rady Allahu Anha)
By: Syed Ahmed Ali

Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) is one of the four greatest ladies of Islam along with Sayyidatina Maryam (‘Alayhassalam), (the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Prophet Isa ‘Alayhissalam); Sayyidatina Asiya (‘Alayhassalam) (wife of the Pharaoh), and Sayyidatina Fatima (Rady Allahu Anha), (daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam). She was the first person to accept Islam. She was also the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) and played a vital role in his life. They were married when the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) was twenty five years old and she was forty. They were happily married for twenty five years until she passed away. They had four daughters; Zainab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Fatima (Rady Allahu Anhunna); and two sons Qasim and Abdullah, who passed away in childhood. She is described as the “First mother of the Faithful” because she was the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu ‘alayhi was Sallam). Her other titles are al-Kubra which means “the Great”, Ameerat Quraysh which means “Princess of Quraysh” and al-Tahira which means “the Pure” as she did many good things for the people at that time.

The Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) loved Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) a lot and never let anyone say anything bad about her. He said: “To me, she was one of the best human beings; she was the first to believe in me, she gave me her moral and material support and I had all my children but one by her”. This shows how much the Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) loved and cared for Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha).

Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) did many good things for the less fortunate and her relatives. Some of her many good deeds even before marrying the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) were feeding and clothing the poor, helping her relatives by giving them money and helping her relatives get married. She used a lot of her wealth and profit from her business to help the poor, widows, orphans, the sick and the disabled people of Makkah. Another great quality of Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) was that despite the fact that people in her tribe of Quraysh worshipped idols, she did not worship them and never believed in them but believed in one God.

Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) helped the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa Sallam) in many ways especially when he became a Prophet of Allah. When the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) received the first revelation of the Holy Qur’an through Angel Jibreel (‘Alayhissalam), he came home with this great responsibility of Prophethood.

Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) helped him throughout this time by providing him with love, care and moral support. She took him to her Christian cousin whose name was Waraqa ibn Nawfal. When her cousin heard what happened to the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) he said: “Holy, Holy! By Him Who dominates Waraqa’s soul, if your report is true, this must be the great Spirit that spoke to Moses. Muhammad, you must be the Prophet of the nation and if I were young, I would have supported you”.

The Holy Qur’an says:

The Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves and his wives are their mothers. (33:6)

Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) was instrumental in helping the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) spread the word of Islam especially in the early stages. She was such a great lady that even Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala) sent Salaams to her. One day, Hadrat Jibril (‘Alayhissalam) came and told the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi was Sallam) to convey Salaams of Allah to Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha). Hearing this, Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) exclaimed: Did Allah mention my name, O Prophet of Allah? “Yes indeed”, was the Prophet Muhammad’s (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) answer.

Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) passed away on the 10th of Ramadan, 3 years before Hijra at the age of 65 and was laid to rest in Makkah in the cemetery of Ma'lah. The Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) called the year in which Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) passed away 'Aam-ul-Huzn' meaning “the year of grief”. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam) did not marry any other woman while he was married to Sayyidatina Khadija (Rady Allahu Anha) and later on said that she was the best among his wives. He said that Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta‘ala) has provided her with a palace in Paradise.

Dhu’l Hijjah 1424, February 2004