Saudi Arabia
wife of the Prophet Muhammad
Hijri 69-3 (BH); Common Era 555-619 (CE)
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was the first convert to Islam. She was also the devoted wife of the Prophet Muhammad. The daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za’idah, she came from the family of Quraysh, Mecca’s leading family. The Quraysh belonged to the Banu Hasham clan of the Banu Asad tribe. Khadijah was well-known in her community for her success in the field of trade. By the time she met Muhammad, she was a wealthy businesswoman who had been widowed twice and had borne several children. Khadijah hired Muhammad to work for her on a specific trade endeavor in Syria. Impressed with his honesty and trustworthiness, as well as his successful conclusion of her business endeavors, Khadijah’s satisfaction with Muhammad’s success soon turned into love. Although she had refused previous proposals of marriage, she proposed to Muhammad. At the time of their marriage, she was 40 years of age he was 25. Together they had six children, four of whom survived past infancy: Ruqayyah, Zaynab, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah. Khadijah and Muhammad had been married for fifteen years before he received his first revelation and began preaching the religion that was eventually to be called Islam. On the night he received his first revelation, Khadijah was the one in whom he first confided. She comforted and supported him, and it was she who sought advice from her Christian cousin, who proclaimed that Muhammad’s revelations were from God. Although it was common practice amonst 7th century Arab men to take multiple wives, Muhammad never took another wife in the nearly 25 years of his marriage to Khadijah. Khadijah has been a role model for all Muslim women. Her marriage to Muhammad and the stories of their relationship reflect love, loyalty, trust, and respect between two individuals and partners.
