A Love Story: The Messenger (PBUH) & Khadija

A Love Story: The Messenger (PBUH) & Khadija

Abdul Nasir Jangda

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."

"All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the noblest of prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions."

Introduction

(إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah), before we even get started, I wanted to appreciate all the brothers and sisters that came out in person to attend the event and wanted to apologize to everybody tuning in online for the later start. We were mistaken. We thought that (صَلَاةُ الْعِشَاءِ - salat al-isha'a) was still at 7:45 and time had switched to 8 p.m. So that was an oversight on our part and I apologize for that. But (الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ - alhamdulillah), we're starting pretty much immediately after (صَلَاةُ الْعِشَاءِ - salat al-isha'a). So hopefully you can still tune in and stay with us (إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah).

I wanted to start off by of course, welcoming everyone to the webcast by Quran Weekly. Specifically wanted to thank along with the Islamic Association of Carrollton for very graciously hosting the event. Wanted to thank Iknur Relief for sponsoring the event. They sponsored the previous webcast as well. They're sponsoring this webcast as well. And may Allah accept all the work that Iknur Relief does all across the US, all across the country.

(إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah), we are going to have a Q&A after the lecture. But like I said, that will be after the lecture. In the meantime, if you do have any questions that arise, that come up during the actual course of the discussion and the event and you'd like to go ahead and start submitting your questions (إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah) to be answered.

If you go to Quran Weekly's Facebook page over there, there should be some type of a status or something posted that basically says if you have any questions, put them in the comments here. So (إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah) in the comment section there, if you can leave your questions. The Quran Weekly admin will be recording the questions, noting them down and passing them on to me (إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah).

After the lecture, the presentations over, it's complete. Then (إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah), we'll go to the Q&A section of the program (إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ - in sha'a Allah).

The Ultimate Love Story

So the topic for today obviously very appropriately titled was a love story, which we could call the ultimate love story. And it's of course in regards to the Prophet Muhammad (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) the

Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. And his beloved wife Khadija (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا - radi Allahu anha), may Allah be pleased with her.

I wanted to really keep this a healthy balance between the obvious the presentation of the story. I wanted to tell the actual story so that we're able to really feel, you know, what the relationship was like and how strong the emotions were and the real presence of love that we are able to learn from this beautiful story of the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

But at the same time, wanted this to be beneficial in the capacity that everyone was able to take home some knowledge, some beneficial information about the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

Who Were These Two Individuals?

So what I'd like to start off by presenting to you is a little bit of a snapshot of who these two individuals were.

Muhammad ibn Abdullah (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)

So first and foremost we have Muhammad ibn Abdullah, Muhammad the son of Abdullah, who was the son of Abdul Muttalib (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was born in this great city of Mecca. He was born into an extremely noble family.

His grandfather was of course a unified leader of Arabia, Abdul Muttalib. And his father was a very young, bright, intelligent, talented, very sought-after young man by the name of Abdullah. He was the apple of his father's eye. He was very beloved to the entire family. And he passed away at a very, very young age while his wife Amina was expecting their first and their only child, who would be Muhammad (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) therefore was basically born a couple of months after the passing of his father. So he was born to a single mother. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)in spite of his father not being there, he always had a loving and a very positive presence, male presence in his life, primarily provided by his grandfather Abdul Muttalib.

Eventually the mother of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) would also pass away when he was only six years old. But again that did not leave to him being deprived of love, but he was loved by his grandfather unconditionally. His grandfather would not do anything without his beloved grandchild, who he loved so much, and he had taken full responsibility for.

Then his grandfather would pass away two years after his mother passed away, at the age of eight. And at this point in time, he didn't have any direct family members. His grandfather passed away, his parents were gone, he didn't have any siblings. But now he was in the care of his uncle Abu Talib.

And Abu Talib loved him like one of his own. So again there's a very interesting balance. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) suffered the loss of these people very early on in his life, which without a doubt is tragic for an individual. But at the same time they did not deprive him of love, because Allah always blessed him with a loving presence in his life. And he was raised by his uncle as one of his own. He loved him very very much and looked after him.

The Early Working Years

Now the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)as he was growing into a young mature man, his uncle Abu Talib who took care of him, was a very noble man, but was a very simple man. When I say simple I mean of simple humble means. He was not a very wealthy individual, because he was such an ethical and moral person, that he would not earn any money through unlawful means.

And so every penny that he earned was earned honestly. So because of that he had a very financially tight situation. He wasn't very wealthy, did not have an abundance of wealth. And he had many many children, on top of that he was caring for his nephew Muhammad (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

Now the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) feeling this and realizing this, wanted to help out at home. And so he asked, can I go and get a job? Now because of being from Quraysh and Banu Hashim, a very respectable family in Mecca, it wasn't appropriate, it wasn't deemed appropriate for a young man of this lineage and this family, to take some type of odd job.

But rather they said, there's only two jobs that our people are allowed to do, our men are allowed to engage in. We do business, but you're obviously too young, to go and embark on business. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said that, I want to start a business with my own money, like I'd like to come up with my own seed money.

And since I don't have that right now, I don't feel comfortable borrowing or taking money from someone, being a further burden on someone and starting a business. So he said, well there's only one other job that it's okay, for people of our family to engage in, and that was to be a shepherd. Because shepherding wasn't just a job, shepherding was training.

You learn being a shepherd. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) later would actually tell us, every single prophet and messenger that was sent, at one point in time in their lives, served as a shepherd, shepherded animals, and looked after animals, goats and sheep and livestock. And the benefit in that was that you learned how to care for a flock. You learned how to be patient yet diligent.

And so the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, so the Quraysh had this understanding that this is a noble job, that teaches character. So the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) started working as a shepherd.

Entry into Business

And he's a young man and he continues on working, gathering up some money. And eventually he goes into the marketplace as a young man of 18-19. He was about 14-15 years old when he starts working as a young shepherd.

And at the age of about 18-19, he actually ventures into the marketplace. He's got a little bit of money to get started, and he initially worked as a broker, where he didn't have enough money to again buy and sell goods. But what he was doing was that he was brokering deals between other merchants and businessmen.

He would introduce buyers and sellers to one another and get paid a commission, which is hard work, but it's good work. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) started working in this manner. And he immediately, instantly became known for his honesty, and he developed a reputation for his integrity.

And that's where that title started to develop (الصَّادِقُ الْأَمِينُ - As-Sadiq Al-Amin). Do you have anybody you'd recommend for me to hire as a broker for my merchandise? I just came back with a caravan full of all these goods from Syria, from Sham. Do you have anybody you'd recommend for me to hire as an agent, who can help me find some buyers? And immediately they said, there's a young man, (الشَّابُّ الصَّادِقُ الْأَمِينُ - ash-shab as-sadiq al-amin)

There's a truthful, trustworthy, honorable young man that I definitely would recommend. And that was basically the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). So he started engaging in this job, in this work.

And eventually it led him to the point where now he's earned enough money to start buying and selling goods on his own. And now he was officially into the marketplace as a businessman. And he worked very, very diligently and he worked very hard.

He became known for his hard-working reputation, because again, he would never ever dare earn a single penny in an unlawful means by undercutting somebody else's business, by underselling or short- selling someone. Never, never. So he worked hard, but he worked correctly.

And he engaged in business in this manner until finally he received a business proposition. And who did he receive a business proposition from? He received a business proposition from a woman by the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid.

Khadija bint Khuwaylid (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا - radi Allahu anha)

Now let's switch on over and understand who this woman is, because we're gonna pick up the story from here.

So Khadija was a very, again, respectable woman. She again came from nobility. She was from a very good family in Quraysh. Her father Khuwaylid was actually quite revered as a leader in Makkah.

There's a story that's narrated. The authenticity, the narration is a little weak, but nevertheless it talks about the fact that there was an individual in Makkah who in one point in time due to some type of beef or some type of conflict that he had with some of the leaders of Quraysh, he basically wanted to snatch, he wanted to steal (الْحَجَرُ الْأَسْوَدُ - Al-Hajr Al-Aswad), the black stone.

That's the sacred relic that we have there in Makkah, the Kaaba. He wanted to rob that. He wanted to steal that and take it to Yemen. And some speculation is there that he was actually hired to do so.

Now, when he was hired to do so, and he was about to set out on this plan, Khuwaylid, the father of Khadija, he grabbed a few individuals and basically went there when they found out about his plan and stood guard there at the Makkah, said, no, no, no, absolutely not. We're not gonna allow you to take this (بَيْتُ اللَّهِ الشَّرِيفُ - bayt Allah ash-sharif) from the Kaaba, from.

We're not gonna let you take this and desecrate and violate, vandalize the Kaaba. And they defended the Kaaba. So he was known for such acts of nobility and guarding the sanctity of the city of Makkah.

So he's a very respectable man. And her uncle was also known as a leader amongst his people, Amr ibn Al-Aswad. And so now at this particular time, we're talking about this woman Khadija.

So her mother was also from a family of nobility. She was from the lineage of Amr ibn Luhay. And her father was also from honorable, noble lineage as well.

And so she was born into this very respectable family. She grew up with a high level education. She was very cultured, very sophisticated. She was known to be very elegant, very beautiful, very sharply intelligent.

Khadija's Previous Marriages

And it said that she had been married twice before. She had been married twice before, unfortunately or rather in the sense we can say fortunately because it eventually led her to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). But in either case, both of her previous husbands had actually passed away.

She was widowed twice. So the reason why I say unfortunately is it must have obviously caused her a lot of pain to lose two of her husbands. And it's again mentioned in loosely in some books of history that she had three previous children.

She had two sons from her very first husband by the name of Hala and Hind, which were typically regarded or considered female names, feminine names. But nevertheless, she had two sons and that was what her first husband Malik, what he was known as, he was known as Abu Hala. And then her second husband, she had a daughter from her second husband by the name of Hinda.

So Hala, Hind and Hinda. In either case, she's been widowed twice.

Khadija's Business Success

And at this particular time, due to just what she inherited from her own father, there's some different narrations that say that her father was still alive. But most more authentic narration say her father had passed away and her mother had passed away. Due to what she had inherited from her parents and both of her husbands who had also passed away.

And then she had very intelligently because she was very, very intelligent. She had very sharply, very intelligently, she had invested that money and started a business. And her business flourished. Allah blessed her business and she eventually became a very wealthy woman.

And she was known by titles in Mecca. Some of the folks of Mecca referred to her as the princess of Mecca. (أَمِيرَةُ مَكَّةَ، أَمِيرَةُ قُرَيْش - Amiratu Mecca, Amiratu Quraysh), the princess of Quraysh.

Some of them referred to her as (خَدِيجَةُ الْكُبْرَى - Khadija al-Kubra), the great Khadija. So she was known by these different titles and she was very, very well respected amongst her people. Because not only just simply because of her wealth, wealth came later.

She was primarily respected amongst her people because she was intelligent, elegant, woman of great ethics and morality. And so she was respected for her character above everything else. Now you're already starting to see some things line up.

The Question of Age

Now at this particular time, there's a little bit of a difference of narration. What do we typically know? How old was Khadija when she married the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam)? When she came across the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). How old was she? 40.

That's what the popular narration says. And that is an authentic narration. There are some other narrations that place her age a little bit younger. Such as there's a narration from Ibn Abbas that says that she was 28 years old. Some say that she was 35 years old. In either case, the popular narration and the most widely accepted narration is that she was 40 years old at this particular time.

The Business Partnership

The Search for a Partner

Now she was looking to hire someone to go into business with. She wasn't looking to hire an employee. She wanted to hire a partner. (مُضَارَبَة - Mudaraba). What is called in the Arabic language and it was actually preserved. This was the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam)'s first experience in Mudaraba.

And he actually later on, decades later, would preserve this as an Islamic practice and would encourage this type of business. Because it is a very good, equitable, fair type of conducting business. And that is you go into a partnership.

Instead of lending money and borrowing money from people and to people. Because that's a system of usury and interest. Which leads to either complete loss or complete gain on one side or the other. It's a high risk, high reward type of situation. And that's not, that creates oftentimes, more often than not, it creates suffering amongst people and creates imbalance in the socioeconomic order.

But Mudaraba is a type of business where you go into business together. One person might have money, the other person has the ability or the time. And they basically become partners in their business. And both will share the profits and both will share the losses.

And so she was looking for a partner. And she was asking around, I need a partner, I want a partner. Obviously because of being a woman, I cannot go out and travel all the way to Sham and conduct my business myself.

So I need somebody that's trustworthy, that isn't gonna try to take advantage of me because I'm a woman back at home in Mecca and is gonna think that he can rob me or that he can swindle me for my money. So I need somebody respectable.

The Recommendation

And she eventually was referred to Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Now the uncle of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) Abu Talib, was extremely protective of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). And up till this point, he himself had preferred that the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) not travel outside of Mecca without need and necessity.

But Abu Talib realizing that Muhammad is a grown man now, he's 25 years old, he wants to go out and make a living and be a respectable businessman and settle down and start a family. He actually tells Khadija that if you are asking for a reference, this might seem a little biased, but you will never find anyone more trustworthy than my nephew, ask around.

And the second that she asked around, she immediately was told, Muhammad, you mean (الصَّادِقُ الأَمِين - (al-Sadiq al-Amin), the truthful and the trustworthy.

The Business Deal

And so she calls for a meeting with the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) goes to her and they basically sit down and discuss the business proposition. And they agree to the business terms that the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) will go on her behalf as a partner and will go there, buy the goods and sell the goods or make whatever exchange of merchandise that needs to be done and then come back with the profits.

So now that he basically sets out, Khadija sends a servant of hers by the name of Maysarah on this business trip. Just to kind of accompany him, help him out, give him a hand. And also just make sure everything is on the up and up. Not that she didn't trust the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) but at the same time, this is only intelligence.

Even the Qur'an tells us, when you go into a business deal, then write down your contract, write down your terms, make a couple of witnesses. Not because I don't trust you that I'm doing business with you. Obviously I wouldn't do business with you if I didn't trust you. That'd be foolish, to do business with somebody you don't trust. But you document things, you make witnesses. So similarly, she sends a servant of hers.

The Miraculous Journey

Now they go on this trip and it's a longer story, maybe another story for another day إن شاء الله. But he sees a lot of very interesting things. Number one, he sees his integrity. He sees his honesty. Then he also witnesses some miraculous events where he sees clouds providing shade over his head. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) stops at a place and takes shade under a tree.

And then this monk wanders up and basically is like, who is this man? And Maysara says, that's Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Qurashi al-Hashimi. That's a man of Quraysh, ibn Hashim by the name of Muhammad, the son of Abdullah.

And he says, no, no, no, you're mistaken. Because I have it written in scripture that the man that will sit down under the shade of this tree at this particular point in time will actually be a prophet of the last and the final times. Will be the prophet of last times. (نَبِيُّ آخِرِ الزَّمَان - (Nabi'u akhiriz zaman).

And Maysara is blown away. And then he sees clouds providing shade over his head. And all these different miraculous things. He witnesses trees bending down to provide a shade over the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) while he's resting under the shade of a tree. And the sun moves, so the shade moves. But he sees the branches of the tree shifting to continue to provide shade for the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). And Maysara is blown away.

The Successful Return

Eventually they come back to Makkah. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) has made twice the profit that Khadijah has ever made on any of her business investments. And so she's equally impressed by just the sheer barakah and the blessing of this business transaction.

Then she asks Maysara, what did you find? And he says, this is by and far the most noble man I've ever dealt with. I've never seen character like his. He is honest, he is trustworthy, he is considerate, he is caring. Highly noble character. And then on top of that he says, and by the way, between the two of us, I've seen some unbelievable things.

The Marriage Proposal

Multiple Business Deals

Now at this particular juncture, some narrations mentioned that they actually did a couple of more business deals. Because everybody's making money, why not? So they do a couple of more business deals and they grow very comfortable in doing business together. And it's profitable for both. There's a lot of trust. There's no fear of any like cheating going on in terms of business. And so they continue doing business and eventually, the narrations mentioned that one of Khadija (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا - radi Allahu anha) Khadija, one of her friends by the name of Nafisa.

One of Khadija's friends by the name of Nafisa, all right, she comes to Khadija and she says, how's business been going? And she says, never been better. It's amazing. Really? Why is it working out so well? You know, I found this business partner, Muhammad, young man, honest, noble, high character, amazing young man. And it's just been, there's been nothing wrong, nothing to complain about. It's awesome.

So she says, you know Khadija, you've been single for quite some time now. It's been a while since your second husband passed away. You need to get remarried. You need to think about getting married again.

And what I should mention on the side here is that because of Khadija (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا - radi Allahu anha) being who she was, she was extremely sought after. She was receiving proposals every single day.

At the same time on the other side, the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) there are actually the books of Sira Ibn Ishaq, Al-Waqidi, many, many historians, scholars of the Sira, the prophetic biography mentioned. Even the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was receiving marriage proposals now. He's a young man, great character, noble character, comes from a great background. And now he's very successful in business. He's doing well, making money.

He was receiving marriage proposals as well. And his heart just wasn't settled with any one of the proposals he was receiving. So every day it was almost, and there's even a narration where Abu Talib kind of has a talk with him too. He's like, you keep turning down proposals. Come on man, you're making my life difficult. They're breaking my door down. Come on, you got to say yes.

And so now they're both receiving marriage proposals and here Khadija's friend Nafisa says, Khadija, you got to think about getting married. And she's like, yeah, you know, I have thought about it. I just, it'll take the right person. Listen, I've been there twice. It would have to be the right person.

The Matchmaker

And so now her friend Nafisa says, that what about Muhammad? And Khadija (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا - radi Allahu anha) responds by saying, you know what? I've actually been considering it as well. It seems like it would make for a very, very good proposal.

And in fact, some of what she says to her friend Nafisa, what Khadija says to her friend who's suggesting the proposal from the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Some of that is actually mentioned in the narrations as well. That she says that, I have thought about him. I know not only him, but I know his family as well. He is extremely well respected amongst his people. His honesty and trustworthiness is well known. His beautiful character is witnessed and experienced by everyone. He's always honest and noble in his speech. And so I don't find, you know, this would be an ideal proposal. But how do I go about in doing this?

So her friend says, let me handle this. All right, this is the first matchmaking auntie of all time, okay? Everybody knows what I'm talking about. It's the first matchmaking auntie in the history of Islam, okay? All right, so she says, let me handle this, I got this.

So she goes to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) and she says have you considered Khadija? And she says that (هِيَ أَوْسَطُ نِسَاءِ قُرَيْشٍ نَسَبًا - (She comes from a very, very noble family.) (وَأَعْظَمُهُنَّ شَرَفًا - She is one of the most dignified and honorable of the women of Quraysh.) She is blessed by Allah with numerous blessings in her life. Would you consider a proposal from Khadija?

And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) says of course, what better proposal could there be than someone like Khadija? The nobility of Khadija, the character of Khadija, the integrity of Khadija.

Family Consultation

So the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) says I need to go and talk to my uncle about this. I need to go and consult with him. And so you find a balance here.

The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is a man. A lot of times, you know, we deal with this marriage situation where we got these 25-year-old mommy's boys who can't even wash their own like socks themselves. The Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is a man. All right. He's been working since the age of 14. He's been shepherding sheep and goats. He's been running around in the marketplace as a broker. He started off investing very, very small and buying little merchandise and selling it here and there. He's built himself up from scratch and he's supporting his uncle and helping his uncle out financially.

So don't get this wrong. In fact, the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) very soon would even take the youngest child of his uncle Ali bin Abi Talib and raise him himself to ease his uncle's load. So he's a man.

Don't get that mistaken. But at the same time, a man being a man also means that he respects and recognizes the fact that my uncle, both my parents were gone and my uncle raised me since the age of eight and looked after me like one of his own, cared for me more than he cared for his own children. I'm gonna go and just go off and get married and show up one day and be like, guess what? Surprise, surprise.

Like, no, it doesn't work that way. I have to consult with him. I have to talk to him. You know, like we say, quote-unquote, get his blessing. You know, talk to him, consult with him, (شُورَى - shura) get his advice, his counsel. He's got wisdom, he's got knowledge, he's got experience. And more than everything, he loves me. He loves me so much like a child of his own.

And so he goes to his uncle Abu Talib and he says (يَا عَمِّي - Ya Ammi), my dear beloved uncle, this proposal from Khadijah has come to me. And Abu Talib again says, it's a great proposal.

The Official Proposal

And so now he says, we need to make this official. So Abu Talib and the narrations mentioned that Hamza رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ was there as well. The uncle of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ who's also his milk brother, brother through (رَضَاعَة - Radha'a). They were nursed by the same woman, Thuwayba, the slave that used to belong to Abu Lahab. So Hamza رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ is with them as well.

Because he was an uncle to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ but they were very close in age. They grew up together. So he was kind of like that young, cool uncle of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Who's also very protective of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ kind of like as a younger brother.

So Hamza and Abu Talib they go. Some narrations even mentioned that Abbas is also there, another uncle of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And they go to the uncle of Khadijah and they basically, officially, properly, respectfully propose. Here's our young man, Muhammad, who would like to marry your niece. And this respectable woman of your family, Khadijah. And they all agree to the proposal. And they decide to go ahead and get married.

Marriage Arrangements

And some of the narrations mentioned that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ however, doesn't hesitate in regards to the proposal but says, you know, I need a little bit of time to kind of get some things ready for marriage, financial responsibilities, respectfully I need to present a mahr, a marriage gift to my wife (صَدَاق مَهْر - sadaq mahr). Right, so I'm gonna need some time to get ready.

And Khadijah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا says, none of that is necessary. We don't need any of that. None of this fancy schmancy business. What we're looking for is happiness, to share a life together.

And so they are able to expedite the marriage. All right, young people wanna get married. You wanna get married quick, you wanna get married fast, then stop thinking about doing that, you know, $80,000 wedding. And you can absolutely get married quick and you can get married fast. All right, so do what's within your grasp and your control. We don't wanna sacrifice that.

So the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ Khadijah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا fix a date for marriage very soon. And they get together. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ presents the mahr, the (صَدَاق - sadaq) of 20 camels.

And again, 20 camels isn't nothing to really scoff at. So again, there's a fine balance in the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ where it's not extravagant. It's not extravagant. But at the same time, he's not, you know, cheapening out over here either. 20 camels, young camels, which basically, I don't even know how to estimate it, but you could probably price that at least $20,000. So that's the mahr, the sadaq that he offers, very respectable.

Because you also have to identify who you are, where you're at in life and also who you're proposing to, who you're trying to marry. And so he offers this as the mahr, as a gift. And they get together and then they basically have a feast where the official marriage proposal, the ijab and the qubool, right, where he proposes and she accepts the proposal.

All of that is done and conducted. Some narrations mentioned that it was the uncle of Khadijah who oversaw the marriage, Amr. And some narrations mentioned that it was actually the brother of Khadijah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا who oversaw the marriage and basically accepted the marriage proposal and kind of gave Khadijah away in marriage into the marriage of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. So there's narrations of both effects in this situation.

There's a very, I don't know, there's a very interesting narration that talks about, but it's declared as being weak by a lot of the scholars because the father of Khadijah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا it's established that he had passed away before this time, but there's a narration that talks about that when they do actually get together for the wedding and her father is there to give her away, give her hand in marriage to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that during the party or whatever, he becomes intoxicated and after a while he kind of passes out, wakes up and sees a party going on.

He's like, what's this party going on? It's like, your daughter just got married. And he's like, I don't remember marrying my daughter off. And they're like, you just did. And so then the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ comes to talk to him and then he's like, well, I don't remember doing it, but even if I didn't, all right, now you're married.

So it's just an interesting story that basically everybody's got in-law drama, okay? It's not something new. Even the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had to deal with a little bit of drama from his in-laws. But it's a weak narration. So either way, either the uncle of Khadijah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا Amr ibn Asad, excuse me, Amr ibn Asad gives her away in marriage, or that it was her brother who gives her away into the marriage, Amr ibn Khuwailid, he gives her away into the marriage of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

The First Decade of Marriage

So now they basically get married and they settle down with a family, they start a family together.

Now, I'm gonna tell you two things about the next part of their life before we transition on to the major event of course of their life that they did together, that they conducted together. So I'm gonna tell you two things about this next phase of their life.

Number one, is that they were married very happily, very, you know, they enjoyed nothing but happiness and good times for their entire marriage of 25 years. They were married for 25 years. And we're gonna go through those 25 years and understand what happened in the course of 25 years. The first 10 years, the first 10 years.

The Fascinating Gap in Historical Records

One very fascinating thing from the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ when you read the books of Sirah, and I'm talking about the most classical, the most detailed, the most detail-oriented, most authoritative books of the prophetic biography, when you read them, you read about the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ getting married at the age of 25.

But then something remarkable, something very interesting happens. The next major historical event that is recorded in the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is at the age of 35. And that event is when the Quraysh, there was a flood in Mecca and the Ka'bah was somewhat damaged. And they needed to renovate the Ka'bah, the (بَيْتُ اللَّهِ - Baytullah), the sacred house of God in Mecca.

The renovation of the Ka'bah in which we know the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ played a major role, correct? For those who might not remember, real quickly, once they're renovating the Ka'bah and they get it all together and put together and everything's good to go. Now they need to put the black stone, (اَلْحَجَرُ الْأَسْوَد - Al-Hajr Al-Aswad), back into its proper place.

Now a dispute breaks out. Well, who's going to have the honor of doing so? So they're arguing, they're fighting, the different families are saying, we get it, we get it. And everyone's getting bent out of shape and some people are about to draw their swords, some people are starting to push and shove each other, yell and scream at each other.

Everyone wants this honor of holding the black stone in their hands and putting it back into their place for God knows how long. It's been centuries, it's been generations since Al-Hajr Al-Aswad was last moved. Because the renovation had been done for a very long time, a few generations.

So now this dispute is breaking out. So what do they do? How do you go about handling this situation? So finally, some narrations even say that somebody had a dream. And some narrations say that it was just kind of occurred to somebody, a wise old man who said that, all right, this is what we're going to do. This is not going to get settled between us. Everyone's going to keep fighting. It's not the way to do this.

The next person that walks through that door, two narrations, one narration says, he will put it back into place. Second narration says, he will decide who will put it back into place. All right. So they're all basically now sitting there, you know, just biting their nails, cracking their knuckles. They're all nervous and fidgety.

Who's going to walk through that door? And everybody's hoping that some moron doesn't walk through the door.

And next thing you know, the best case scenario, Muhammad ibn Abdullah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ walks through that door. And the narration mentions, when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ walks through the door, everybody inside the Ka'bah just let out a sigh of relief. They were like, oh, thank God. Whoo, that was a close one, right? Good thing it was not Abu Jahl guy, right? So everybody's relieved. Like, man, good thing it was him.

And so then they're like, they rush up to the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was coming for his daily tawaf of the Ka'bah where he would come do tawaf around the Ka'bah, just meditate, connect with the Ka'bah, think on, you know, just life and all of its realities and its truths. And so they all surround him.

They all huddle up around him. He's like, what's going on? So, you know, we've been doing the renovation of the Ka'bah. And he's like, yeah. He's like, well, we need to find a way to put this stone back into place.

And eventually, to summarize, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ suggests a beautiful plan. He takes his own shawl, his own blessed shawl. And he says, hold the corners of it, put the stone, he picks up the stone and puts it in the middle of the shawl. And he says, now lift up the shawl all the way up to where the stone is placed. And then he picks it up with his blessed hands and he puts it into place.

And everyone's happy and everything's good to go. That happened when he was 35 years old, 10 years after he was married. The interesting thing to me is that at 25 he gets married, then there's no major event.

The Reason for the Gap: Family Life

And when I say major event, of course he receives Prophethood revelation at 40. So I'm not talking about revelation, but I'm talking about in terms of maybe something in the community, something major event in terms of business or life or community or politics or something. There's no other major event recorded for a decade.

And we know the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is intelligent, talented, respected, sought after for all different types of roles in his community. Then why is he not majorly involved with any type of endeavor in his community for 10 years? Well, because he was involved in the most important task and that was building a home and building a family.

He has just gotten married. He was spending time with his wife. They were having kids. They were raising a family. They were raising beautiful children. I mean, we talk about Zaynab and Umm Kulthum and Ruqayya and Fatima رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُنَّ. We talk about these noble, illustrious women.

They didn't just materialize out of thin air, but they were the product of prophetic (تَرْبِيَة - tarbiyah), the prophetic upbringing. So he spent time with his kids. He sat with his kids. He played with his kids. He fed his kids, tucked them in at night, talked to them, spoke to them, played with them. That's what the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ invested a decade of his life into.

See, when the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ... And you notice divine revelation is given at 40 and most of his kids are grown up at that time. And the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ especially in the Madinah era, where now he's an elderly man, his children are all grown up, all married. He's got grandchildren now.

And we see the emphasis that he places on family all the time. Talks about the importance of marriage, the rights of the spouse, raising your children, spending time at home, being a good family person.

"Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example"

He didn't just... He didn't preach without practice, (وَالْعِيَاذُ بِاللَّهِ). He led by example. He had raised a beautiful family. Focused on his family and his children. And then he preached to the community to do the same. So it's very important to understand this time of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ's life.

The Children of Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and Khadija رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا

So now the next 15 years of his marriage from the time of when he was 25 years old, the 15 years of their life together, Muhammad and Khadija رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا. Alright. They had six children during this time. Six children.

Their Children

1. Al-Qasim (اَلْقَاسِم): The first of their children was a boy by the name of Al-Qasim. And that's where the kuniya, the nickname of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ (أَبُو الْقَاسِم - Abu'l-Qasim) comes from. Again very tragically, Qasim reached the age of a year and basically passed away before his second birthday. So it's a very tragic loss for this couple.
2. Zaynab (زَيْنَب): Secondly, they had a daughter by the name of Zaynab who grew up and lived a full life. She got married, she had children, etc.
3. Umm Kulthum (أُمّ كُلْثُوم): Their third child, second daughter, was by the name of Umm Kulthum who would later on be married to the famous khalifa, companion of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ by the name of Uthman رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ. May Allah be pleased with him.
4. Ruqayya (رُقَيَّة): The third daughter and fourth child that they had was a girl by the name of Ruqayya. They named her Ruqayya. And she would also grow up. And after Umm Kulthum would pass away very tragically, very young, she would fall very ill and she would die. Then Ruqayya would be married later on to Uthman رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

5. Fatima (فاطمة): And then their fifth child, their fourth daughter was a girl by the name of Fatima. Who again was the only child of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم who outlived him. And she passed away six months after he passed away. And she would have children, she would have two sons by the name of Hasan and Hussain رضي الله عنهما . And they would be just the heart and soul of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. He loved them so much.

6. Abdullah (عبد الله): And then finally his sixth child which was his second son was by the name of Abdullah. And Abdullah, a lot of times there's confusion. Some historians, some writers of the seerah have said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had another son from Khadija, a third son with Khadija by the name of Tahir.

And that's actually a mistake because Abdullah he was known by the nickname of الطاهر (At-Tahir). And the reason why he was called Tahir was he was born after revelation came. He was born after revelation came and so that's why he was known as At-Tahir. That he was born in the era of revelation. And he also passed away very, very young. Some narrations even mentioned that he passed away while still an infant.

And again it was very tragic for them. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did have a seventh child, a third son who would also pass away while he was still young by the name of Ibrahim. But that would be later on from another one of his spouses, from another one of his wives, Marya Qibthiyah.

So these were the six children that him and Khadija had together. And they had two sons, four daughters. Both sons passed away very, very young as babies. And the four daughters would outlive their mother, Khadija.

The Later Years: Trials and Tribulations

Now the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم reaches the age of about you can say 38 or 39. And they've built a beautiful home and they have a beautiful family. This couple has grown together deeply in love. There are some narrations that talk about Khadija that they never argued, they never fought. They never had any difficulty or adversity with one another. It was peace and happiness, love and affection, kindness and mercy and forgiveness.

The Beginning of Dreams

And when he reached the age of 38, 39, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had a very interesting experience. He started to see dreams at night. He started to have dreams at night. And what would happen is the next day the dream would come true. Like whatever he saw in his dream would occur in the next day.

And then so the first time you're like, okay. Then the second time, third time, fourth time. And it became a daily event. So much so that he just expected it. (الرؤية الصادقة - Ar-Ru'ya as-Sadiqah). And that was to get him to just kind of trust his heart. To be comfortable with having knowledge, with being given knowledge that was not available, was not possible to be attained anywhere else.

And once that started to happen, then he really started to reflect and deep think, you know, think very deeply. And that's when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم decided, I need to kind of get some time away. I need some time to reflect. I need some time to just invest into just some deep thought, deep reflection. Get away from the noise. And that's when he tells his wife.

Khadija's Supportive Response

And he's been telling her, I have these dreams and whatever I see comes true the next day. And she tells him, don't worry. Just trust your heart. Everything has a purpose and a reason.

Oh, I forgot to mention one thing. Very interesting thing. When she receives a proposal from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,when that whole proposal happened, back then, 15 years before this conversation, she saw a dream. So first her servant Maysarah tells her that I saw all these miraculous things, clouds providing shade, trees providing shade, this monk saying what he said.

And then she saw a dream that she walks out of her home into the courtyard of her house. So there's kind of like an open space, almost like a front yard. But the front yard would have the wall around it so that you would have privacy. So she walks out of the home, out of the door into the courtyard and she sees that the sun descends down into the courtyard and fills her entire home with light.

And this is right around the time when she receives the report from her servant about the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم, what he was like on the business trip. So she goes to her cousin by the name of Waraqa bin Nawfal who was a Bible scholar. He was one of the few people amongst the Arabs who was knowledgeable about the Bible.

He was a Christian Bible scholar and he was actually translating the Bible into Arabic and trying to preach Christianity amongst the Arab tribes. So he comes, she goes to him and she says, you know about some of this type of stuff. This is the report I got about this man I've been doing business with and then I see this dream and now I've got a marriage proposal from him as well. I just need to consult with you.

And that's when Waraqa bin Nawfal says that if the monk said that about him, then that means that he is destined to become that Prophet of the last times. And just the dream that you had of the sun descending down into your courtyard and filling your home with light, that is a sign of great blessing, divine blessing coming into your home.

Say yes to the proposal. So you can't forget that fact that that's in the mind of Khadijah رضي الله عنها She's ready to support her husband.

The Retreat to Hira

So now he tells her, I'm having these dreams and she says, it's all good. It's all for a purpose. Just trust what's going on. Then he comes to her and tells her, I need some time to reflect, to think. I need to get away for a little bit. And she says, absolutely. How long do you need to go for? At least a couple of days.

I'm gonna go find a nice spot in the mountains, not too far away. But I need a secluded nice spot where I can go and I can reflect. She packs him together some food, some supplies, some clothes, and sends him off very lovingly.

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم goes outside of Makkah, finds a mountain by the name of Nur (جبل النور - Jabal Nur). And there he finds a small cave by the name of Hira (غار حراء - Ghar Hira). And he actually chose that spot because when he sat at the mouth of the cave, he could see the Kaaba from there.

And he sits down and he begins to meditate and reflect and pray and think over here. And he would be gone for a few days at a time, and he would come back down and go back home, spend a few weeks at home, a month or so at home, then pack up some stuff and then go again. And this way he would kind of come and go, take a few days here and there.

One time it mentions that he was gone and Khadija helped him pack the stuff that he was taking. So she knew exactly how much food he had. And when they go, when he goes, she realizes that he's been gone longer than what he had food for. So she packs some food and some supplies together and she actually goes outside of Makkah and climbs up the mountain and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is sitting at the opening of the cave.

And he sees her and says, what are you doing here? And she says, I got worried about you. I wanna make sure that you are okay. I brought some food for you. So this is what their relationship was like, one of understanding and facilitating and providing and accommodating one another.

The Night of Revelation

So we know of that blessed day when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم receives divine revelation. And so now the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم comes back down from the cave. And he comes home. And he's shaking and trembling. Overwhelmed by this profound experience. Unlike anything, any human being has ever experienced. There have been many a messenger and prophet before him, but he just received the Qur'an. Most powerful experience any human being has ever had.

So he's overwhelmed, shaking and trembling. And he comes home and he tells his beloved wife, Khadija رضي الله عنها, (دثروني دثروني، زملوني زملوني - dathiruni dathiruni, zammiluni zammiluni), cover me, wrap me up in a blanket in a shawl.

Khadija رضي الله عنها wraps him up and covers him up. And then she asks him, that tell me what happened. Tell me what happened. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tells her the entire experience.

That this angel, he came to me. And he said the following words to me. And he recites the Qur'an to her. And tells him of the divine responsibility that has been placed on his shoulder.

Khadija رضي الله عنها the wife of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Now we see what marriage, what it really culminates in. She sits down next to him. She takes his hand. She looks him in the eyes. And this is what she says to him. This is how she defines. Fifteen years of marriage. Six children later. The death of two of those children. Everything they've been through.

Listen to what she has to say. This is her summary of her husband. This is how she explains and defines him.

Khadija's Testament to the Prophet's Character

She says (كلا والله - kalla wallahi). She has absolutely nothing to worry about. I swear to God. (لا يخزيك الله أبداً - La yukhzeeka allahu abadan). God will never ruin you. He will never abandon you.

Why am I so confident in saying this? What do I know about you? After fifteen years of sharing morning and evening, day and night. After sharing a life with you. What can I say about you?

(إنك لتصل الرحم - Innaka latasilur rahim). You're a good family man. You take care of your family. You love your family.

(وتقري الضيف - Wataqri ad-dhaif). You honor your guest. Somebody shows up at your doorstep. You go above and beyond any type of social obligation. To honor somebody who comes at your door.

(وتحمل الكل - Watahmilul kalla). You look for people. You look for people. You go out searching for people. Who have fallen through the cracks. Who are overlooked and neglected. And downtrodden by society. And you go and you grab them by the hand and lift them back up.

(وتقسط المعدوم - Wataqsibul ma'dum). You go and give to those people. You take care of those people who can't take care of themselves. You look for those people.

(وتعين على نوائب الحق - Watu'inu ala nawa'i bilhaq). And you are always the first one waiting there. Whenever there's a good cause.

That's who you are. There's no way that God would ever abandon you. That God would ever forsake you. I refuse to believe it. Think about the conviction she has. What is her husband telling her? And think about his honesty and his character and his integrity and his nobility.

That she would literally she would follow him to the moon. She would trust him no matter what. And that she said that I have no doubts about the fact that this is the truth. And that this is good. Because this is who you are.

Khadija's Immediate Support

And then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم tells her, that's fine. But who will believe this message? And she says, I believe this message.

And then she even helps him. However she can, whatever she knows. She takes him to her cousin She said, he knows. He talks about this type of stuff. He talks about Prophets and Revelation and Angels and God and Divine inspiration. He talks about this stuff. I'll do what I can.

And she takes the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم to her cousin and introduces them. And the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم talks to Waraqa ibn Nawfal and he says, you are the Prophet. I wish I could be there when your people will oppose you. I would help you and I would aid you and I would support you and I would stand by your side if that day would come.

And that's why Waraqa ibn Nawfal is considered a believer. He said, yes. You are the Prophet of God. This is the truth.

The Gift of Prayer

Now what happens at this particular point and juncture? Something very very beautiful. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم Allah provided the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم a way, a means to be comfortable with the responsibility and the message that he was given. To find some strength and some conviction. To strengthen and nourish his soul.

And the Qur'an definitely is nourishment for the soul but something the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم himself could engage in, something he could access to provide him comfort when he was looking for it when he needed it most.

And so Jibreel, the angel Gabriel, Jibreel comes to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم takes him with him, strikes the earth, a spring comes forth from the earth and he says this is from the well of Zamzam. This is an offshoot, a branch of the well of Zamzam being provided for you here and then he shows him Wudu.

Jibreel عليه السلام shows the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم Wudu. And then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم makes Wudu. And then Jibreel stands up and shows him how to pray two rak'ahs. This is before the five times daily prayer. Just how to pray two rak'ahs so that he can talk to Allah and pray when he needs it.

Whenever any situation came up he would immediately go to his prayer.

Sharing Prayer with Khadija

Guess what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) does? With this new Salah, this Wudu, this purification and this prayer that he just learned, he rushes back home to his beloved wife, the first believer, his strongest supporter, his rock. He goes home to her and he grabs her by the hand and he says, Come on, I have to share something with you. I have to show you something.

Amazing. And he takes her there and they make Wudu together. And then he stands up with her and he says, Now follow after me. And he shows her how to pray and they pray together.

And it is that day, later that night, when they are actually standing and praying together, when the nephew of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) the son of that uncle who cared for him his entire life and raised him, Abu Talib, his son Ali ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) he's a young boy, a young man at the age of 10. He sees them praying and he says, What are y'all doing?

And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) explains to him, What is Iman and what are we doing? And he accepts Islam and becomes Muslim.

The First Muslim Community

And there's a narration about a man who would later on become Muslim. He says, I came in the very early, early days. The very early days. And outside of the house of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) I saw this man, this handsome man, he comes and stands and then this young boy comes and stands next to him and then this very dignified woman she comes and she stands behind them and then he raises his hands and ties his hands and they do the same and then he goes into ruku and they do the same and then he goes into sujood, prostration, puts his face on the ground and they do the same and I'm watching this and I'm just amazed.

And I ask my host whose name was Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) I say, wait, what's that? That's amazing, what is that? He says, you know who that is? He says, no, that's my nephew Muhammad. He says, you know who that woman is? He says, no, that's his wife Khadija.

And that boy, that's my nephew. That's my nephew. Excuse me, I refer to Ali he's not the nephew of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) the cousin of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Abbas says that, that's my nephew Ali, the son of Abu Talib, my older brother.

And they prayed together as a family and from that point on Khadija (رضي الله عنها) stood by the side of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And every single time the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had a difficult experience.

When he stood upon the mountain of Safa and then Abu Lahab curses him and talks bad about him and says rude and crude things to him. It was Khadija that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) could go home to and that he could talk to and that he could confide in and that he could see comfort in. And not only did he see love in her eyes but he saw faith in her eyes.

And that reaffirmed the strength and the conviction of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). This is what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) alluded to when he said that somebody who gets married (فَقَدِ اسْتَكْمَلَ نِصْفَ الْإِيمَانِ - faqad istakmal nisf al-iman) - that person has completed half the faith. (Hadith)

Marriage and faith are intertwined and your faith, your unified collective together the faith that you share your unified collective faith in Allah strengthens your love for one another and your love for one another continues to unify you in your devotion and dedication to Allah.

That was the marriage of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and Khadija. That's that love story.

The Years of Struggle

And so now what happens? Khadija (رضي الله عنها) and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had money, had wealth and they realized that many poor people in Mecca slaves in Mecca are accepting Islam and they start spending their money.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) can't take out time anymore to go on business trips and go and make more money. He's gotta preach, he's gotta teach he's gotta spread the message far and wide and Khadija every single morning wakes up and is standing there with him at the door telling him go out there and spread this message far and wide.

And on top of that on the other side while he can't go out and do business anymore there are constantly slaves who need freeing who've become Muslim and are being tortured because they're Muslim. So they need to be freed. So they're spending their own money freeing these slaves feeding the poor, looking after people, sending people off to Habasha, to East Africa to escape persecution to go and live there in freedom and in safety. They spend their money in sending these people off, making sure they're okay.

The Boycott

Finally the time comes where eventually a lot happens during this time over the next 6, 7 years a lot happens and they finally the Meccans, the Quraish the opposition to the message of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) they decide that the only way to really handle and curb this issue is to boycott Muhammad his family and his followers and his supporters kick them out from Mecca and isolate them and boycott them.

So Abu Talib rounds up the clan all the believers, all the followers, all the supporters including the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) his beloved wife Khadija and their children and they go into the (شعب أبي طالب - shi'ab of Abu Talib) a place some property, some land Abu Talib had outside of Mecca and they are isolated there for 3 years.

Nobody will do business with them nobody will trade with them nobody will lend them any money, nobody will provide them any food, nobody will deal with them in any way shape or form nobody will

show them any kindness and they spend 3 years like this days would go by where people wouldn't have food to eat and water to drink babies would cry because they were hungry and their mothers would cry because they hadn't eaten anything to be able to nurse their babies children died babies died there were graves of babies and children many many people died during this time dozens of graves were dug during this time the cries and the screams of women crying over the passing of babies and children could be heard all the way into Mecca people became sick, malnourished very very ill until finally through again the help of Allah miraculous means the boycott was lifted and everybody came back into Mecca and it said that during this time Khadija, who was a lot older now she became very sick and very ill and they came back from this boycott in the Shi'ab of Abu Talib and she passed away a few months later and that harshness of those 3 years not just the physical harshness but the emotional difficulty watching these people struggle caring for them, loving them she was like a mother to all of them her heart just couldn't bear it and a couple of months later she was bedridden for a few months and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was so distraught this entire time until finally one day she breathed her last and she passed away.

The Prophet's Grief

You know a real tragedy for us is when we read Seerah, when we talk about the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) we jump straight from the death of Khadija right into his marriage to Aisha and then his marriage to Saudah there are narrations which talk about the fact that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was so devastated he's a single father two of his daughters are not married Fatima was quite young she's a young girl she was maybe 8, 10 12 years old and he was so devastated at the loss of his beloved wife Khadija he actually didn't come out of his home just sat at home with his daughter recovering mourning healing for a few days he was not seen outside and when his family members came to see him you could see the streaks of tears on his face hugging his daughter sitting there trying to console his daughter at the loss of her mother.

That it said that even Abu Lahab came to the door, he heard the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has not come outside for a few days that he comes to the door of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and knocks the door and when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) opens the door and he sees the face of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Abu Lahab who's actively been campaigning against the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) for a decade he sees the face of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and he feels bad and he goes and he says I'm not going to oppose my nephew anymore eventually some of his cronies and his supporters and his troublemaking buddies they eventually come to him and talk him out of it and he goes back on this oath that he took and goes right back to opposing the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) but even his heart was softened even for a minute a man like Abu Lahab even his heart was softened when he looked at the pain and the anguish on the face of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

He loved her so much and so yes the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did eventually get remarried a couple of years later and yes the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) eventually left Mecca and migrated to Medina and

yes eventually he established the most beautiful community this earth has ever seen and yes eventually he had grandchildren and laughed again and smiled again and had a beautiful experience and happiness and joy in his life but you know something very interesting he never forgot Khadija never forgot Khadija never.

Eternal Love and Memory

Four years after she passed away four years after she passed away it was the battle of Badr it's a longer story but basically his son-in-law was one of the prisoners of war he had come in the battle on the opposition side and he was captured so his daughter, eldest daughter Zainab sends her necklace to secure the ransom of her husband the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wasn't aware of this situation when the necklace is put before him he sees that necklace and immediately knows where he's seen it before this is Khadija's necklace that she passed on to her daughter, her eldest daughter Zainab and the second the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sees that necklace tears start streaming down his face immediately on contact and the people around him are so taken aback by the immediate onslaught just a rush of emotions that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is experiencing some of them begin to apologize and ask is everything okay and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says you guys did nothing I just recognized this necklace it belongs to my Khadija she gave it to our daughter Zainab and seeing this necklace reminds me of her and of course the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) requested the companions if you don't mind we'll release my son-in-law and send this necklace back to my daughter because that's all she's got of her mother Khadija.

Seeing her necklace four years later would make him cry like that.

One time the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is sitting at home and somebody brings a gift and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) immediately tells one of the young Sahaba who used to like assist him they would help the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) run his errands and things like that one of his young assistants he tells them I need you to take this gift to such and such woman's house and some of the family members of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) are like who's that, such a nice gift somebody sends it for you we're not sure is there somebody we don't know about are you related to somebody we're not aware of they sincerely are asking and he says no that's one of Khadija's friends I still like to send her gifts to respect Khadija's memory to honor her memory.

When you would sacrifice an animal like bring some meat into the house or cook some nice food was cooked in the home of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) immediately would take some aside and say go give this to Khadija's friends go take some food to them.

One time the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is sitting at home and he hears a knock and it's a very distinct type of knock and sometimes some people just kind of have a habit of knocking in a particular way like my kids, when they come to the door they have a very particular way of ringing the doorbell, it's called

non-stop alright sometimes they wait till I open the door and then they ring the bell while they look at me and laugh right, so everyone's kind of got their own little thing that they do so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) hears a very distinct door knock that he recognizes whatever it was and he hears that and that's the same way Khadija used to knock a door same way Khadija used to knock a door and it was her sister Hala they grew up together sisters that are close in age, grow up together you know a lot of things they have in common, very very similar so she used to knock the door the same way that her sister Khadija used to knock the door and as soon as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) heard that knock he jumped up and ran to the door saying (اللهم هالة، اللهم هالة - Allahumma Hala, Allahumma Hala) O Allah please let it be Hala, let it be Hala, let it be my sister-in-law Hala and he opens the door and it's Hala and he invites her in, sits her down and they talk for hours about Khadija hours about Khadija, this is a decade after she passed away hours and hours, remember that time she did this remember that time she did that, remember how she used to say that, remember how she used to do that remember how she used to do this they would talk about Khadija for hours and hours and hours and hours.

One of the later wives of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Aisha even remarked she said sometimes it seems like there's nobody else in this world besides Khadija like there's just nothing, nobody besides Khadija, it's all you talk about, any little thing, yep Khadija used to do that, you know what, Khadija used to do it just like that, that's how Khadija used to like to do it all the time.

One time some people asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) tell us a little bit about Khadija, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in one narration he says, (رُزِقْتُ حُبَّهَا - Ruziqtu Hubbaha) I was given Rizq, Rizq sustenance, a gift from God the roof over our head, the food that we eat, the air that we breathe the years that we live the minutes and the hours that we spend Rizq, what we receive from Allah,

your Rizq is written for you in the heavens and is sent to you by God from the heavens he said زفت God sent me her love from the heavens God gave me her love from the heavens her love was divine (رُزِقْتُ حُبَّهَا وَكَانَ لِي مِنْهَا وَلَدٌ - Ruziqtu Hubbaha Wakana li minha walad) she was the mother of my children, she was the love of my life and the mother of my children that's who she was.

In one narration they asked her tell us about Khadija, tell us about Khadija some young companions, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says (إنها كانت وكانت - innaha kanat wakanat) it's like saying she was and she just was where do you want me to start where do I begin I can't even put it into words I don't even know what to tell you she was so amazing I can't explain it to you you had to see her, you had to know her you had to experience it to realize how amazing and remarkable she was.

The Scholar's Testimony

There's a beautiful passage I'll end with a couple of things there's a beautiful passage Ibn Ishaq writes this it gets me every single time Ibn Ishaq who's one of the most noteworthy historians and scholars of the prophetic biography he writes the following, I'm going to quote him verbatim he says وآمنت خديجة بنت