Khadijah Bint Khuwailid is a woman
related to a deep-rooted family which has been renowned for noble
reputation and highly elevated manners and for its inclination to
"Hanafism," the religion of Abraham, Al-khalil
(P.B.U.H.).
Khadijah's father is the person
who contended with the King of Yemen of that time and challenged
him when the King was determined to transfer the black stone to
Yemen but this same Khuwailid insisted on challenging him in
defense of the rites of his religion and his belief in spite of
multitudes of the Yemeni king's supporters at that
time.
As for her grandfather, he is:
Asad bin Abdul-Uzza - one of the eminent personalities of his
folk who has taken part in Al-Fudhul to stand up for the
vulnerable and the needy. As for Waraqa bin Nawfal is her uncle
and he was the person who had read all the books of Al-Nasara
(Christians) and the Jews in addition to living with them in
peace and security.
It is difficult to give a clear
picture about her previous life before being married to Muhammad
(P.B.U.T.) because books of history didn't touch upon her
biography during that period in detail. Besides, there is some
discord about whether she has got married to someone else before
Muhammad or not.
It is narrated that she had been
married to two men and that she had got children from both of
them but some other narrations say that she has been virgin when
she has got married to Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) But as regards her age
when she married Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) there is some doubt about
that, too.
As narrated, she is said to have
been 25 years of age and according to another assumption she is
said to have been 28 years old. According to some other sources
she is said to have been 30 or 35 and even 40.
Muhammad and Khadijah
(P.B.U.T).
When Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was 25
years old, he came out to be an intelligent trader and showed a
highly competitive spirit in transacting business. He convened a
partnership in a business or a bargain based on two parties with
the profit to be divided in half- one party employs his capital
and the other party invests his effort- that is with
property of Khadhijah bint Kuwailid by a suggestion made by his
uncle Abu Talib (P.B.U.H.) who took the role a mediator to make
this trade succeed.
So the first trading journeys to
Al-Sham were set off with the companionship of "Maysarah" the
servant who was infatuated with the character of Muhammad
(P.B.U.H.) owing to this same trading journey through which he
could achieve a wonderful success and won abundant
profits.
The Blessed Marriage of Muhammad
and Khadijah (P.B.U.T)
Khadijah bint Khuwailid was
greatly infatuated with the character of Muhammad and his
honesty, noble manners and sincerity and added to that what her
servant "Maysarah" had said about his divine honors which the
servant had witnessed of Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) in their trading
journey to Al-Sham and thus her interest in him increased and
Khadijah eagerly expressed her keen desire to get married to him
as many texts from reliable sources had indicated
that.
Abu Talib went with a number of
his household members to engage her to him by referring to her
uncle Amr bin Asad."In her house Abu Talib (P.B.U.H.) opened a
talk with her uncle by starting it with praise and thank to
Allah, the Almighty saying: "Praises and thanks be to the Lord of
the House who made us the offspring of Abraham and the progeny of
Ismael and we made us descend as secure sanctuary and as rulers
over the people, highly blessed in the country where we live, "
till he said:
"Yes, this is my nephew, namely,
Muhammad, who has had no one equal to him from Quraishi people
without exceeding him in talent and integrity, nor equivalent to
him in creation, nor deficient in possession of wealth for wealth
has been to him like ever flowing water; yet, in the meantime,
wealth, to him, is no more than a passing shadow.
He feels he has a strong desire
for her as much as she has had for him; and now we came to you to
engage her to him out of her own will and order; and that her
dowry will be, all in all, as you demanded, at my own account,
the sooner and the later ones.
Besides, he has got by the Lord of
this Sacred House I swear, a great luck, a well-reputed religion
and perfect sagacity."
And owing to Muhammad's high and
great position in the hearts of the people (P.B.U.H.) to the
extent that Khadijah bint Khuwailid has granted the dowry herself
though some opposed such procedure as it was not common in
society to find women undertake the cost of the dowry because
dowries are to be paid by men, not women as that was
conventional.
As a reply to allegations as such,
Abu Talib (P.B.U.H.) said: "If they were – meaning the men- other
than my nephew-that is, my brother's son, had come to engage her,
she would have demanded them to pay the highest of dowries and
the highest of costs - as you, yourselves demand the highest of
dowries when you get your daughters married."
The Blessed Progeny
Historians differed in restricting
the number of his children but what we have in hand of the
narrations that came in that respect from the Imams (P.B.U.T.)
which referred to him are the following:
1. Al-Qasim
2. Abdullah who is renowned as "the pure" and
"the gentle"
3. Um
Kulthum
4. Ruqaiyya
5. Zainab
6. Fatimah
Al- Shaikh Taberasi: one of the
prominent religious authorities of the Shia says: " The first who
was borne and born was Abdullah bin Muhammad i.e. the "gentle"
and the "pure" but the people make a gross mistake and say: " She
gave birth to four sons, namely:
Al-Qasim, Abdullah, Al-Tayyib and
Al-Tahir but in fact, she only bore of him two sons only; the
second one was Al-Qasim and was said to be the elder one and that
he was his virgin and by his name Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was usually
nick-named and four daughters: Zainab, Ruqayyah and
Fatimah."
But as for their arrangement
according to their age, it can be fully seen detailed by
Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi (1037 -1111 H.) and he also regarded as a
prominent religious authority of his time. Kazroni conveys of him
through Ibn Abbas that he said:
"The first son who came to the
Prophet of Allah Muhammad in Mecca before prophet-hood:
Al-Qasim and by him he was usually nicknamed, then came Zainab,
then Ruqaiyyah, then Fatimah, then, Um Kulthum; then came to him
in Islam Abdullah and people used to call him, " the gentle" and
the "pure." The first to die of his sons was: Al-Qasim, then
followed by Abdullah, in Mecca.
At this point, we get to know as a
fact that Al-Aas bin Waael Al-Sahmi has got cut off from
posterity; and Allah has descended a verse in this respect which
reads: " O Muhammad! He who hates you will be cut off from
posterity and every good in this world and in the
Hereafter."(Al-Kawthar: 3).
Sat -
23 Sha’ban 1446H -
