In Memory of the Mother of All True Believers

Today(July 19) is the 10th of Ramadhan, the Day when Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) became a widower, following the passing away of the First Lady of Islam, his loyal wife, the Mother of all True Believers, Omm al-Mominee Hazrat Khadija (peace upon her), with whom he spent 25 years of marital bliss.

First we start our article with recitation of the special supplication of the 10thof Ramadhan, before we present you an exclusive feature on this great lady.

“O Allah, appoint me this day to be among those who put their trust in You; include me therein among those who are triumphant with You; and count me therein among those who are brought near to You with Your kindness, O Goal of the seekers!”

It was indeed a separation hard to bear for the Prophet in the month of fasting, after having endured the 3-year socio-economic boycott imposed upon him, his family, and the neo Muslim community by the Arab infidels. His loyal companion of a quarter century, who had stood beside him with her wealth, kindness, and affection, was no more. She had in pecuniary conditions after having spent her proverbial wealth for the propagation of Islam, and to provide food, clothing and shelter to the persecuted followers of her husband. Once the richest lady of Arabia, Khadija (SA) had left no inheritance for her only surviving child, her little daughter Fatema Zahra (SA). However, whatever she had done it was for the sake of God, and she left the world in a state of satisfaction. An aggrieved Prophet laid her to eternal rest with tears flowing down his eyes, while being consoled by his uncle Abu Taleb, who had stood beside him for the past 40 years, and would soon leave him for the other world in the next Ramadhan, before completion of one full year. That is the reason that year is called in the annals of Islamic history as Aam ol-Hozn or Year of Grief.

“All praise is due to Allah Who has made us the progeny of Abraham, the seed of Ishmael, the descendants of Ma`ad, the substance of Mudar, and Who made us the custodians of His House and the servants of its sacred precincts, making for us a House sought for pilgrimage and a shrine of security, and He also gave us authority over the people. This nephew of mine, Mohammad (SAWA), cannot be compared with any other man: if you compare his wealth with that of others, you will not find him a man of wealth, for wealth is a vanishing shadow and a fickle thing… He has sought Khadija daughter of Khuwaylid for marriage.”

What you just heard was a passage found in the acclaimed biographical work of Ibn Hisham titled “as-Sirat-an-Nabawiyyah”. It is part of the famous sermon of the Prophet’s uncle, Abu Taleb (AS), delivered while solemnizing the wedding of his nephew with the spotlessly pure lady Khadija at-Tahera (SA), the daughter of Khuwaylid Ibn Assad. While laying the faithful Khadija to eternal rest, the Prophet certainly remembered these words of his uncle in praise of the One and Only God and in reference to the lineal descent of both the groom and the bride from Abraham the Iconoclast, at a time when most of the Arabian Peninsula was immersed in ignorance and idolatry. Indeed, Khadija, who was his distant cousin, was a monotheist, adhering to the creed of Prophet Abraham. She was virtuous, sincere, and spotlessly pure of character. She had chosen him as husband over numerous suitors, despite his lack of wealth, for these very same virtues, having tested his honesty and integrity, while employing him as manager of her trade caravans. The two made a perfect husband-and-wife pair, and fifteen years later, when God commanded her husband to declare his universal mission as the Last of the Divine Messengers, Khadija immediately believe in him. Thereafter, she spent all her proverbial wealth for the promotion of Islam and the defence of Muslims, to the extent that when she breathed her last, no material inheritance remained for her only surviving child, daughter Fatema Zahra (SA). The Prophet for his part, throughout the 25-years of married bliss with the First Lady of Islam, never took any other spouse.

Even in the last ten years of his life when out of social necessity and to break the un-Islamic customs of Arabia, the middle-aged Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) had to marry nine other women, he would always cherish the memory of the loyal Khadija (SA). These undeniable facts are mentioned in the works of our Sunni brethren as well. For example, the author of the hadith compilation titled “Sahih Bukhari” mentions that once when one of his wives named Ayesha, tried to mock the memory ofthe Late Omm al-Momineen Hazrat Khadija (AS), the Prophet reprimanded her, saying:

“By God, the Almighty did not grant me a better wife than her. She believed in me when the people used to mock at me and she acknowledged me when the people denied me. She shared her wealth and property with me, and she bore me children which I was not destined to have through other women.”

Today, while offering heartfelt condolences on the passing away anniversary  of Hazrat Khadija (SA) to her direct descendant, the awaited Saviour of mankind, the Prophet’s 12th and last Infallible Heir, Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his advent), we picture the grief of the orphaned Fatema az-Zahra (SA). For the moment, the little girl of hardly seven years finds solace in the arms of her father. She now bravely takes on the role of housekeeper for the widower Prophet to the extent that she would be known as Omm Abiha (or Mother of her Own Father). But over a dozen years later, with the departure from the world of her father, she would find her inheritance sized, the right of political leadership of her husband usurped, and the door of her house set on fire and flung upon her to break her ribs, by those ingrates who in Mecca had survived on her mother Khadija’s wealth, and who will now masquerade as caliphs or political rulers, even though God and the Prophet had already appointed Imam Ali (AS) as the Vicegerent at Ghadeer. To end this brief radio programme, we cite a famous statement of the Prophet – also mentioned in the books of our Sunni brethren – calling Khadija (SA) as one of the four most perfectly virtuous ladies of all time – the other three being: Mary the Mother of Jesus, Asiya bint Muzahim, the monotheist wife of the tyrant Pharaoh, and last nut not the least, the noblest of them all Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA).

Here we present you a poem in honour of Hazrat Khadija (SA) by Iran’s English language poet, Dr. Hassan Najafi

The richest lady of her time

The full blossomed rose of the clime,

The First Lady who prayed behind the Prophet

And to believe her husband’s mission as Last Prophet,

Her riches were also in shape of herds

And the herds brought money in hoards.

Goats, horses, cattle, camels, round the clock

Several servants and a staff attended the livestock.

Her camels kept the commercial routes flourishing,

Efficient management meant profit mounting,

Her caravans relaxed fatigue from oasis to oasis,

To ease the burden of passengers in cool breezes,

None ever thought her well organised trade

Could ever go down, or in the public esteem fade,

But she herself willingly sacrificed

For the sake of God, Islam to her sufficed,

She handed the keys to the Prophet and surrendered

The wealth to him; and a great service rendered

Her wealth clothed, fed, and sheltered the neo-Muslim community

Alas, these ingrates would show her offspring hostility

She bore the Prophet several children,

But none survived, except Fatema the Bright Lantern.

This once Richest Lady of Arabia,

Immortal in history by the Glorious Name of Khadija,

After enduring hardship she died on a mat in a simple house

Shed tears the Prophet as her funeral rose.

He always remembered her in gratitude

Indeed, her death told on his fortitude!