Assalamu Alaikum Walaikum Assalam! Which story are you going
to tell me today uncle? Inshallah, I will tell you the story of the Prophet’s wife-
Khadija (Rali Allahu Anha) Mashallah, that is amazing! Please tell me the story uncle! Yes Abu, I will start now The Story of Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha) Bismillahirrahmanirrahim Khadija al-Kubra,daughter of
Khuwaylid ibn Asad ibn Qusayy belonged to the clan of Banu Hashim of
the tribe Banu Asad. According to many sources, Khadija was born in 565 AD. And died eleven years after the
Hijra which took place in 623 AD. Khadija grew up in Makkah
and she got married to a merchant called
Abu Hala ibn Zururah. They had two sons called
Hind and Hala. Her husband didn’t live long, and he died after she gave
birth to their sons. After the death of her husband, she got married to another merchant named
Atiq ibn Ayidh. They had a daughter and named her Hind. But this marriage too didn’t last for long. Her second husband passed away soon. Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha)
belonged to a rich family, and she inherited the wealth of
her husbands as well. She performed good deeds with her wealth. She was not only wise, but she was
very good in conducting business. She started handling their
families trading business herself. She would buy goods and do business
with traders in Yemen and Syria. Since she was a woman,
she couldn’t travel to these distant lands. She hired people to do this job for her. People from faraway lands travelled to
Yemen through Makkah. Many of these travellers took halt in
Makkah for food and rest. They use to set up temporary
shops in the market and trade their goods with
other merchants. One day Abu Talib, the uncle of Prophet
Muhammad(Sallallaho Alaihe Wassalam) was sitting in the market. He overheard two men
discussing about Khadija. They talked to each other about
the news of Khadija (Rali Allahu Anha) looking for a new man
to assist her in business. It was a well known fact that Khadija paid her men
more than anyone else. Abu Talib who overheard this,
thought about his nephew. He wanted the young Prophet
to learn business so that he could look after himself. Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had grown into a young man by now. He was liked by everyone for
his good character and wisdom that he received the title ‘Al Ameen’ which meant the faithful. Abu Talib met the Prophet and asked
him to meet Khadija for the job. The Prophet didn’t want to be burden
on his uncle’s family who were already struggling. So he agreed to meet Khadija for the Job. Abu Talib really wanted
his nephew to get the job, so he decided to meet
Khadija himself first. He went to her house,
introduced himself and said “My nephew is called Al Ameen
by people in Makkah. He is looking for a job. I heard you are hiring someone
for your caravan. It would be great if you can hire him” Khadija knew Abu Talib and she had heard
good things about the young prophet. “I have heard about your nephew. I would be happy to hire him. Ask him to come and meet me tomorrow.” The Prophet met Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha) and she immediately hired him. She made him in charge of her
trade caravan to Syria. Prophet was very happy to work for her. He was only twenty five years old,
and full of energy. He was confident of doing
good business for his master. This was not the first time that
the prophet was travelling to Syria, He had been there once with
his uncle Abu Talib. He was just twelve years old then, and he had been their to sell
some of his uncle’s merchandise. But things were different now. He was made in charge of the whole team. He knew that he had to take
good care of the merchandise, and use his skills to make good profit. Khadija knew that Prophet was young, and there were chances that people would
take advantage of his inexperience. To aid him, she sent her trusted servant
Maysarah along with him The journey from Makkah to Syria
took several days to complete, and tested the strongest men. At first they travelled under the
scorching sun through the desert. Once they crossed the desert, they now had
to travel throught forests for many days. And after many days of travel,
they finally reached Syria. The market in Syria was much
bigger than the one in Makkah. There were traders everywhere. The place had changed much
since the Prophets last visit. Maysarah soon found a spot
for their camels under a tree. They tied their camels, unpacked their
goods and put them up for display. Soon they were surrounded by
curious merchants who came to see what they are selling. Prophet and Maysarah sold
all their goods in no time! The prophet had bargained for
the best price for all his merchandise. Once they had enough money with them, Prophet decided to take a
walk in the market. He was amazed at the quality of goods
they were selling in the market. People came from all over Turkey, China, India and many
other places to sell their goods. He knew that these goods would get
excellent price if taken back to Makkah. The Prophet talked to the traders and got
excellent price for the goods they sold. They loaded their caravans with
goods and left from Syria. They had made good profits, and they
also had many goods. that would get excellent
profit in the markets of Makkah The people of Makkah were amazed
to see the caravan loaded with goods. They wondered what were in those bags. The prophet handed over all the money
he had made by selling her goods in Syria He also handed over all the goods
he had brought from there. Khadija was surprised. Prophet had made double the profits
than anyone before him! He had also brought many
merchandise as well! She knew that this was all because
of his excellent character. When the Prophet left,
she called Maysarah . and asked him how the Prophet behaved He praised the Prophet. “I have never seen anybody more honest
or more trustworthy than Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) Khadija gave prophet additional
responsibilities and he performed those much to her satisfaction. As days went by she was more and more
impressed by the Prophet’s character One day,Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha)
was talking to Her friend "I have never met such a good man. This is for the first time that I have
mad so much profits, and its all because of Him. I think I am very lucky to have
hired the nephew of Abu Talib”. Her friend agreed with Her “Yes, you are very lucky!” “I think you should marry Him. He is good man, and you are a widow. You like Him so much too!” It was then that Khadija
(Rali Allahu Anha) thought about this. “Yes you are right. It is a good idea. Can you ask Him if He is willing
to marry me?” The next day, Khadija’s friend
met the Prophet. “Why are you not yet married?” she asked Him straight away! “I don’t have the means for
supporting a family” the Prophet replied truthfully. “What if you are let off from
taking that responsibility?” she asked Him. “How is that possible?”
asked the Prophet “What do you think of Khadija?” she asked “I hold her in great esteem. She is a wise, pious and a kind woman.”
He replied “What if she would like to marry you?”
she asked Him. The prophet was surprised! He respected Khadija a lot
for giving Him work, but the thought of marriage
never occurred to him. “I will give you an answer after talking to my uncle.”
He said. When the Prophet told his uncle
about the proposal, Abu Talib was very happy! He knew that Khadija was a good woman, and he was so happy for his nephew. The Prophet informed his uncle’s
approval to Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha) and they got married to each other
very soon! For the first few days,Prophet
and Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha) lived at Abu Talib’s house. Soon they shifted to a very large house. The Prophet and Khadija
lived together in their new house happily. Khadija handed over all her
business to her husband. Prophet used her wealth wisely, and soon he became one of the
richest man in Makkah. Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha)
gave birth to six children two boys and four girls. However both the boys died
when they were still infants. They named the daughters- Zaynab,Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Fatima. They grew up into
young and beautiful girls. Years went by. But there were many questions that kept
arising in His mind every now and then. He often went on top of Mount Hira,from
where He could see the whole Makkah. Most of his doubts were the same as
what Prophet Ibrahim(Alaihissalam). He wondered who created this world, and how the humans were created. He thought about his purpose in this world. He wondered what would happen once He died. He gazed at the stars and kept thinking
about these questions. He loved spending more and more time alone
at Mount Hira. Khadija would often send Fatima, their youngest daughter with
food and water to him. It was during one of these nights
when no one was near him, that an angel appeared before Him!! Prophet was amazed by
the sight of this angel! He couldn’t believe His eyes!! The Angel then asked the Prophet to read! But how could the Prophet read, when He had never gone to a school? “I am not a reader” He said to the angel. Then suddenly, the angel took hold of Him, and squeezed Him tightly! The angel said again “Read” “I am not a reader" The Prophet cried again! The angel then squeezed
the Prophet so hard, that He thought that He would faint! And he said “Read! In the Name of Your
Lord and cherisher, who created man,out of a clot
of congealed blood. Read! And your Lord who is the most Generous, Who has taught writing by the pen- taught man which he knew not” The Prophet repeated the words
with a trembling heart! Perplexed by His experience, Prophet made His way to home. As soon as He entered His house, He said to His wife “Wrap me up! Wrap me up!” He was trembling as He was He said this, and She wrapped Him up in a towel, until His fear was gone. He explained to his wife
what had happened. When He finished,He asked Her if She
She thought He had gone mad! “Allah forbid!” She replied “He will surely not let such a
thing happen, for you speak the truth, you are faithful in trust,
you assist your fellow men” Then She went to Her cousin
Warawa Ibn Naufal, who was old and blind. But He knew the scriptures
quite well, he had translated them into Arabic. When She told him about what happened
to Her Husband,he cried out. “Holy! Holy! This is the Holy Spirit
that came to Musa! He will be the Prophet for His people! Tell Him this and ask Him
to be brave at heart! The Prophet continued to receive
revelations for the remainder of His life. It was memorized and written
down by His companions on sheepskins Slowly Prophet started understanding
the meanings of revelations. He realized that He was now responsible
for spreading the message of Quran. Prophet Muhammad
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had been married to
Khadija (Rali Allahu Anha) for 15 long years by now. She was the first person to accept Islam. She knew that her husband would speak only the truth, and she trusted him. One day angel Jibril(Alaihissalam) taught the Prophet how to
perform the wudu. The he taught the prophet
how to say the salah. When the Prophet learned this, he taught this to
Khadija(Rali Allahu Anha) as well. From that day, they started to pray
in their own house. Ali Ibn Abu Talib, the cousin of Prophet
Muhammad (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam) was staying at their house and he saw them praying together. He was only 10 years old, and he was curious to know
what they were doing When he asked, the Prophet told him that they were
offering their prayers, or salah. The prophet Muhammad
(Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam) told the boy that Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'aala)
had made him a Prophet and revealed the Quran to him. The next day, Ali met the prophet and said "‘I want to accept islam and
follow its teachings” Prophet accepted this request gladly. Thus Ali became the second
follower of Islam after Khadija. They continued to pray together
from that day onwards. The Prophet led the prayers and
Ali would stand next to Him. Khadija stood behind them Many days passed by, and one day the angel
appeared again to the Prophet. The angel informed that it was
now time to call the people to Islam. He asked the prophet to preach the
message of Islam to the people. It was the dawn of a new era. The Prophet started
calling people to Islam. He gave his full time attention in
preaching people about Islam. Preaching Islam was not an easy job. But Khadija (Rali Allahu Anha)
supported her husband whole heartedly. She gave up her entire fortune
for the good cause of Islam. She got quite involved in her
husband's work as well. She met people and talked
to them about Islam. Slowly and steadily people realized
that the Prophet was speaking the truth. They started joining Islam one by one. But not everyone liked
what they were hearing, especially the Quraysh men. The Quraysh tribe were mainly
the leaders of Makkah. Most of the rich men in Makkah
belonged to the Quraysh tribe. They were scared that if people
started following Islam, then would no longer
be feared and respected. They started treating the prophet
and his followers very cruelly. They threw garbage at the prophet
whenever he passed by, started beating those who
was following the prophet, and even chased some of
them out of Makkah. Several kinds of ban were
imposed on the Muslims. They were not allowed to take
part in their gatherings, and refused to do business with them. One day the prophet was sitting
on top of Hira mountain. He had been sitting there
for a long time now. When he did not reach
home at his usual time, Khadija started to worry about him. She asked one of the men to
go and look for him in Makkah But after a while, the man returned. He couldn’t find the prophet
anywhere in Makkah. Khadija waited for some more time, but the prophet didn’t return. She decided to go and search
for the prophet herself. She carried some food and water with her. The Prophet had been in the
company of Angel Jibril(Alaihissalam) The angel said to the prophet “Your wife is on her way here. She has got food and water for you. When she arrives, tell her that there will be a house
made of pearls for her in paradise.” Like the Angel said, Khadija soon reached the cave. The prophet saw that she was carrying
food and water with her! Then the prophet told her about
the angel’s message Khadija calmly replied “May Gods peace and blessings
be upon you, Rasulullah” The Prophet had started
gaining many more followers. When the Quraysh leaders saw this,
they were very angry. They imposed social boycott on
the Prophet and his family. Abu Lahab, the uncle of the Prophet,
was also the leader of Quraysh in Makkah. He was a very evil man,
and the worst enemy of Muslims. He ordered a complete ban on the
Prophet’s family and their followers. No one in Makkah was allowed to
buy or sell anything to them. They were not even allowed to talk to them. It was very difficult in those
days for someone to live without the support
of their tribe. For three long years, the Prophet labored
quietly to deliver the message of God. Idol worship was deeply rooted
among the people, and the Prophet tried to
convince as much as He could After three years of struggle, He was only able to
secure thirty followers! Even His companions had now
started questioning His sanity! By now His enemies had started
plotting against the Prophet The Prophet preached that everyone
were equal in front of God, and this challenged the
authority of local priests! One day, they gathered together and decided to suppress the movement of Prophet. They decided that each family
should take upon themselves the task of stamping out the
followers of Islam. Each household started
torturing its own members, relatives and slaves who were
following the Prophet. The people were beaten, flogged and
then thrown into the prison The hill of Ramada and the
place called Bata had now become scenes of cruel torture. Only the Prophet was left out, because He had the protection of
Abu Talib and Abu Bakr (Rali Allahu Anhu) Then the priests tried to tempt the
Prophet into joining their religion. For this, they sent Utba Ibn Rabi’a
to meet the Prophet “O son of my brother” said the messenger “You are distinguished by your qualities. Yet, you have denounced our Gods. I am here to make a proposition to you” “I am listening to you, O son of Walid”
said the Prophet. “If you are willing to acquire
riches, honors, dignity, then we are willing to offer you a fortune larger than what we have among ourselves. We shall make you our chief, and we will consult everything with you. If you desire dominion,
then we shall make you our king” said Utba When Utba had finished, the Prophet said “Now listen to me Son of Walid” “I’m listening” replied Utba The Prophet recited the first thirteen
verses of Surah Fussilat He praised Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala), and explained about the
glad tidings of paradise to anyone who believed in the one true god. The Prophet then reminded him about what had happened to the
people of ‘Ad and Thamud When the Prophet had finished
His recitation, he said to Utba “This is my reply to your proposition. Now take what course you find the best” When their plan to tempt
the Prophet failed, they approached His uncle- Abu Talib The Prophet’s uncle tried persuading the
Prophet to stop preaching to the people But the Prophet said “O uncle! if they were to put
the sun in my right hand, and the moon in my left hand and to stop
me from preaching Islam, I would never stop!” The Prophet, overcome by the thought that
His uncle was willing to desert Him, turned to depart from His home. But Abu Talib called out
to the Prophet loudly. He asked Him to come back. When the Prophet came back, Abu Talib told Him “Say whatever you please. By the Lord, I shall not
desert you forever! The Priests from different
tribes started publicly prosecuting the supporters of the Prophet. It was during this time that a
Christian king named Al Najashi was ruling Abyssinia. The prophet had heard about
the righteousness, tolerance and hospitality
of this kind ruler. When the persecution became
unbearable for the people, the Prophet advised them
to emigrate to Abyssinia. Some 15 families emigrated to this country, in small groups to avoid detection. This is called the first Hijrah
in the history of Islam. This happened during the fifth year
of the Prophet’s mission. The emigrants received a kind reception
from the king and his people. They were soon followed by many others, who suffered at the hands of
the evil Priests in Makkah. The number of people who emigrated
soon reached hundred. When the priests heard about this,
they were furious! They decided not to leave
the emigrants in peace. They immediately sent two envoys to
the King, for bringing back all of them. When the envoys met the King, he summoned the poor fugitives and
asked them what they had to say Ja’far the son of Abu Talib, and brother of Ali then spoke
for the exiles “O king! We were plunged in the depth of barbarism, we adored idols, we disregarded everything, and we had no law. Then Allah raised a man among us, who was pure and honest. He taught us to worship Allah, and forbade
us from worshipping the idols. He taught us to speak the
truth, and to be faithful. We believe in Him, and we have
accepted His teachings. His followers were persecuted, forcing us to back into worship
the idols again! When we found no safety in among them, we came to your kingdom trusting us
to save us from them". When the King heard his speech, He asked the envoy to return to their land, and not to interfere with the emigrants. While His followers sought
refuge in foreign lands, the Prophet continued his preaching
against strict opposition. Some of them mocked at Him, and they asked for a sign. Then the Prophet would say “Allah has not sent me to work wonders, He has sent me to preach to you” But the Priests persisted
didn’t agree with Him. They insisted that unless they saw sign, they would not believe in His Lord. The disbelievers used to ask “Why is He not showing any miracles
like the previous Prophets?” “Because miracles had proved inadequate
to convince” answered the prophet. “Noah was sent with signs,
then what happened? Where was the lost tribe of Thamud? They refused to believe in
Prophet Salih(Alaihissalam) unless they showed a sign. Then the Prophet caused the rocks to break
and brought forth a living camel. He did what they asked for. Then what happened? In anger, the people cut the camel’s feet and again dared the Prophet to fulfill his threat of judgement. Eventually they all lay dead in
their beds the next morning. There are some seventeen places in Quran,
in which the Prophet is challenged to show a sign. But He gave all of them
the same answer After sometime, the priests
approached Abu Talib again, and asked him to abandon his nephew. But the honorable man declared his
intention to protect the Prophet against any harm. Certain events forced the Quraysh to lift
the ban on the Muslims. The Prophet and his followers were allowed
to return to Makkah after three long years! In the following year, His uncle
Abu Talib passed away. He was a great supporter of the
prophet for many years. He had grown very sick and weak, and he
died soon after returning to Makkah. Khadija’s health was not in
great shape either. She had suffered great hardships. The food was scarce,
and instead of eating herself, she used to give all the food to
her children and husband. Once the richest woman in Makkah
spent her last few days as a poor. She passed away a few days after
Abu Talib’s death Prophet had lost his most loyal supporters. He was heart broken. He could hardly manage to
keep his mind strong. He called that year the year of sorrow. Whenever he spoke of Khadija, he spoke of
her with great love and fondness. Khadija’slife is a source of
great inspiration to believers, especially women. Her story is a reminder to live
a purposeful life. We should remember Khadija and
the whole family of Prophet in our prayers for their
sacrifice and dedication. May Allah be pleased with them all! Thats all Abu. Next time I will tell you another story. Thanks,Massalam Yusuf uncle! May Allah bless you! Massalam Abu!! I will see you soon. Next time when I come here, I will tell you more stories. Sure Uncle, It was a really nice story Thanks a lot uncle! You are welcome my son. May Allah bless you!
Massalama! Maassalama Uncle Yusuf!
