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The Biography of Khadījah Bint Khuwaylid — Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ

Khadeeja

خديجة أم المؤمنين

Khadījah, the mother of the believers,

وسيدة نساء العالمين في زمانها أم القاسم ابنة خويلد بن أسد بن عبد العزى بن قصي بن كلاب ، القرشية الأسدية . أم أولاد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وأول من آمن به وصدقه قبل كل أحد وثبتت جأشه ، ومضت به إلى ابن عمها ورقة.

And the most pre-eminent of all women of her time, Ummu Qays, the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzza ibn Qusayy ibn Kilāb, from the Quraysh, from Banū Asad. The mother of Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ)’s sons, and the first to believe in him and place her trust in him before anyone else; she reassured him and took him to her cousin, Waraqah.

ومناقبها جمة . وهي ممن كمل من النساء . كانت عاقلة جليلة دينة مصونة كريمة ، من أهل الجنة ، وكان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يثني عليها ، ويفضلها على سائر أمهات المؤمنين ، ويبالغ في تعظيمها ، بحيث إن عائشة كانت تقول : ما غرت من امرأة ما غرت من خديجة ، من كثرة ذكر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لها.

Her accolades are many. She was from those who excelled among the women. She was intelligent, dignified, devout, chaste and generous. She is from the people of Paradise. And the Prophet (ﷺ) would praise her, and raise her above the rest of the Mothers of the Believers. He would glorify her exceedingly—so much so that ʿĀʾisha used to say: ‘I have never been jealous of woman, as I had been of Khadījah because of how often the Prophet (ﷺ) would mention her’.

ومن كرامتها عليه صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه لم يتزوج امرأة قبلها ، وجاءه منها عدة أولاد ، ولم يتزوج عليها قط ، ولا تسرى إلى أن قضت نحبها ، فوجد لفقدها ، فإنها كانت نعم القرين . وكانت تنفق عليه من مالها ، ويتجر هو صلى الله عليه وسلم لها .

وقد أمره الله أن يبشرها ببيت في الجنة من قصب ، لا صخب فيه ولا نصب.

And from her esteemed stature with him (ﷺ) is the fact that he had never married before her, and he had many sons with her, and that he never married another woman while being married to her. He also did not take a concubine until she passed away. He was extremely saddened by her loss for she was the best of companions. She used to spend her wealth for him, and he would trade with it on her behalf.

قال الزبير بن بكار : كانت خديجة تدعى في الجاهلية الطاهرة . وأمها هي فاطمة بنت زائدة العامرية .

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār narrated: Khadījah was called al-Ṭāhirah (the pure one) in jāhiliyyah (the days of ignorance). Her mother was Fāṭimah bint Zāʾidah al-ʿĀmiriyyah.

كانت خديجة – أولا – تحت أبي هالة بن زرارة التميمي ، ثم خلف عليها بعده عتيق بن عابد بن عبد الله بن عمر بن مخزوم ، ثم بعده النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فبنى بها وله خمس وعشرون سنة . وكانت أسن منه بخمس عشرة سنة.

Khadījah was first married to Abī Hālah ibn Zurārah al-Tamīmi, and after him to ʿAtīq ibn ʿAbid ibn ʿAbdillah ibn ʿAmr ibn Makhzūm, and then finally to the Prophet (ﷺ). He consummated his marriage with her, when he was 25 years of age. She was older than him by 15 years.

عن عائشة : أن خديجة توفيت قبل أن تفرض الصلاة وقيل : توفيت في رمضان ودفنت بالحجون عن خمس وستين سنة.

Reported ʿĀʾisha: Khadījah died before the salah was made compulsory. It is also said that she died in Ramadan and was buried in Ḥajūn, at the age of 65.

وقال مروان بن معاوية ، عن وائل بن داود ، عن عبد الله البهي ، قال : قالت عائشة : كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا ذكر خديجة لم يكد يسأم من ثناء عليها واستغفار لها ، فذكرها يوما ، فحملتني الغيرة ، فقلت : لقد عوضك الله من كبيرة السن . قالت : فرأيته غضب غضبا . أسقطت في خلَدي وقلت في نفسي : اللهم إن أذهبت غضب رسولك عني لم أعد أذكرها بسوء ، فلما رأى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ما لقيت ، قال : كيف قلت ؟ والله لقد آمنت بي إذ كذبني الناس ، وآوتني إذ رفضني الناس ، ورزقت منها الولد وحرمتموه مني قالت : فغدا وراح علي بها شهرا.

It is reported that ʿĀʾisha said: “If the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) mentioned Khadījah, he would not tire of praising her and seeking forgiveness for her. He mentioned her one day and I was overcome by jealousy and said: ‘Verily Allāh has given you better than that old woman’. I then saw that he had become extremely angry. I was devastated and said in my mind, O Allāh, if you were to take your messenger’s anger with me away, I would never speak ill of her again. When the Prophet (ﷺ) saw that I was troubled, he said: ‘What did you say? By Allāh, she believed me when the people disbelieved; she supported me when the people turned away from me; and I was granted child with her while I wasn’t granted the same with you’.  He kept repeating this to me for a month”.

وقال الحاكم : ماتت بعد أبي طالب بثلاثة أيام .

Al-Hakim reported: She died three months after Abū Ṭālib.

هشام بن عروة عن أبيه ، عن عائشة : ما غرت على امرأة ما غرت على خديجة ، مما كنت أسمع من ذكر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لها ، وما تزوجني إلا بعد موتها بثلاث سنين . ولقد أمره ربه أن يبشرها ببيت في الجنة من قصب. 

Narrated ʿĀʾisha: I did not feel jealous of any woman as much as I did of Khadījah because of how often Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) would mention her—even though he had married me after three years of her death (and I haven’t seen her). His Lord ordered him to give her the good news of having a palace made from jewels in Paradise.

محمد بن فضيل ، عن عمارة ، عن أبي زرعة ، سمع أبا هريرة ، يقول : أتى جبريل النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال : هذه خديجة أتتك معها إناء فيه إدام أو طعام أو شراب ، فإذا هي أتتك فاقرأ عليها السلام من ربها ومني وبشرها ببيت في الجنة من قصب ، لا صخب فيه ولا نصب. متفق على صحته .

Narrated Abū Zurʾah, that he heard Abū Hurayrah say: “Gabriel came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, ‘Here Khadījah comes with a plate of condiment or food or drink. When she arrives convey to her the greetings from her Lord, and from me, and give her the glad tidings of a house in Paradise made of jewels, in which there will be no shouting or tiredness’”. 

(The report’s soundness has been agreed upon)

عبد الله بن جعفر : سمعت عليا : سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : خير نسائها خديجة بنت خويلد ، وخير نسائها مريم بنت عمران.

Narrated ʿAbdullah ibn Jaʾfar: He heard ʿAli (r.a) say: ‘I heard Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) say: “The best of its (the world’s) women is Khadījah bint Khuwaylid, and best of its women is Maryam, the daughter of Imran”’.

قال ابن إسحاق : تتابعت على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم المصائب بهلاك أبي طالب وخديجة . وكانت خديجة وزيرة صدق . وهي أقرب إلى قصي من النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم برجل . وكانت متمولة ، فعرضت على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يخرج في مالها إلى الشام ، فخرج مع مولاها ميسرة . فلما قدم باعت خديجة ما جاء به ، فأضعف ، فرغبت فيه ، فعرضت نفسها عليه ، فتزوجها ، وأصدقها عشرين بكرة .

فأولادها منه : القاسم ، والطيب ، والطاهر ، ماتوا رضعا ؛ ورقية ، وزينب ، وأم كلثوم ، وفاطمة .

Ibn Ishaq said: The calamities struck the Prophet (ﷺ) successively with the death of Abū Talib, and then Khadījah. Khadījah was a true ally and she was closer to Qusay (their common ancestor) than the Prophet (ﷺ) by one person. She was a financer (who would engage others to do business on her behalf), and she asked the Prophet (ﷺ) to leave for Syria to trade with her wealth. So he went along with her servant, Maysarah. When he bought back the wares she was able to sell all of it and multiply her profits. She then wished to marry him and offered herself in marriage to him. He married her and gave her a dowry of ten cows.

Her sons with him were Al-Qāsim, Al-Ṭayyib, and Al-Ṭāhir, all of whom died before the age of weaning. And then Ruqayyah, Zaynab, Umm Kulthūm, and Fāṭimah.

قالت عائشة : أول ما بدئ به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من الوحي الرؤيا الصالحة . . . إلى أن قالت : فقال : اقرأ باسم ربك الذي خلق قالت : فرجع بها ترجف بوادره حتى دخل على خديجة ، فقال : زملوني . ، فزملوه حتى ذهب عنه الروع ، فقال : ما لي يا خديجة ؟ . وأخبرها الخبر ، وقال : قد خشيت على نفسي ، فقالت له : كلا ، أبشر ، فوالله لا يخزيك الله أبدا ، إنك لتصل الرحم ، وتصدق الحديث ، وتحمل الكل ، وتعين على نوائب الحق . وانطلقت به إلى ابن عمهاورقة بن نوفل بن أسد ، وكان امرأ تنصر في الجاهلية ، وكان يكتب الخط العربي ، وكتب بالعربية من الإنجيل ما شاء الله أن يكتب ، وكان شيخا قد عمي ، فقالت : اسمع من ابن أخيك ما يقول ، فقال : يا ابن أخي ، ما ترى ؟ فأخبره ، فقال : هذا الناموس الذي أنزل على موسى الحديث .

Narrated ʿĀʾisha: The commencement (of the Divine Inspiration) to Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) was in the form of true dreams in his sleep… (Till she reached the part:) He (the angel) said, ‘Read, in the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists)’. Then Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) returned; and the muscles between his neck and shoulders were trembling till he came upon Khadījah and said, “Cover me!” They covered him, and when the state of fear was over, he said to Khadījah, “O Khadījah! What is wrong with me? I was afraid that something bad might happen to me”. Then he told her the story. Khadījah said, “Nay! But receive the good tidings! By Allāh, Allāh will never disgrace you, for by Allāh, you uphold your family ties, speak the truth, bear the people’s burdens, and assist those who are stricken with calamities”. Khadījah then took him to Waraqa bin Naufal ibn Asad, the son of Khadījah’s paternal uncle. Waraqa had converted to Christianity in the Pre-Islamic Period and used to write Arabic and write of the Gospel in Arabic as much as Allāh wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadījah said (to Waraqa), “O my cousin! Listen to what your nephew is going to say”. Waraqa said, “O my nephew! What have you seen?” The Prophet (ﷺ) then described whatever he had seen. Waraqa said, “This is the same Angel (Gabriel) who was sent to Moses….(the Hadith is continued)”.

قال الشيخ عز الدين بن الأثير : خديجة أول خلق الله أسلم ، بإجماع المسلمين.

Sheikh ʿIzz al-Dīn ibn Athīr said: Khadījah was the first of Allāh’s creation to accept Islam (after the Messenger (ﷺ)), by the consensus of the Muslims.

حماد بن سلمة ، عن حميد ، عن عبد الله بن عبيد بن عمير ، قال : وجد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على خديجة حتى خشي عليه ، حتى تزوج عائشة .

Narrated ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr: Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) was so saddened by Khadījah’s demise that people worried about him; [this continued] until he married ʿĀʾisha.

وقال ثابت ، عن أنس : خير نساء العالمين مريم ، وآسية ، وخديجة بنت خويلد ، وفاطمة

Narrated Thabit from Anas: The best women in the world are Maryam, Āsiyah, Khadījah bint Khuwaylid, and Fāṭimah.

الدراوردي ، عن إبراهيم بن عقبة ، عن كريب ، عن ابن عباس : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : سيدة نساء أهل الجنة بعد مريم فاطمة ، وخديجة ، وامرأة فرعون آسية .

Narrated Ibn Abbas: The Messenger (ﷺ) said: “The most pre-eminent of the women of Paradise, after Maryam, are Fāṭimah, Khadījah, and Āsiyah, the wife of Firaun.

مجالد ، عن الشعبي ، عن مسروق ، عن عائشة ، قالت : ذكر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خديجة ، فتناولتها ، فقلت : عجوز ! كذا وكذا ، قد أبدلك الله بها خيرا منها . قال : ما أبدلني الله خيرا منها ، لقد آمنت بي حين كفر الناس ، وأشركتني في مالها حين حرمني الناس ، ورزقني الله ولدها ، وحرمني ولد غيرها . قلت : والله لا أعاتبك فيها بعد اليوم .

ʿĀʾishah said: “Allāh’s Messenger mentioned Khadījah and I spoke ill of her. I said: ‘An old woman, and such and such. Allāh has replaced her for you with someone better’. He said, ‘Allāh has not replaced her for me with someone better. She believed me when people rejected me; she shared her wealth with me when people obstructed me; and Allāh granted me children with her, and prevented me from having children with others’. I said: ‘By Allāh, I will never blame you regarding her after today’”.

وروى عروة ، عن عائشة ، قالت : توفيت خديجة قبل أن تفرض الصلاة.

Narrated ʿUrwah, from ʿĀʾisha that she said: Khadījah died before the salah was made compulsory.

قال الواقدي : توفيت في رمضان ، ودفنت بالحجون.

Al-Wāqidi said: She died in Ramadan, and was buried in Ḥajūn.

وقال قتادة : ماتت قبل الهجرة بثلاث سنين وكذا قال عروة. 

Qatādah said: She died 3 years before the Hijrah. ʿUrwah also reported the same.

Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, p.109-118. (Mussasat Risalah)

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