Sunday, February 28, 2010
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
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Wives of Muhammed ( PBUH )
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Khadījah bint Khuwaylid (Arabic: خديجة بنت خويلد) or Khadījah al-Kubra (555 CE – 619 CE) was the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Khadijah was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asadand Fatimah bint Za'idah and belonged to the clan of Banu Hashim.
Khadijah's father, Khuwaylid ibn Asad, who died around 585, was a merchant, a successful businessman whose vast wealth and business talents were inherited by Khadijah, who successfully managed her father's business interests and preserved the family's fortune. It is said that whenQuraysh's trade caravans gathered to embark upon their lengthy and arduous journey either to Syriaduring the summer or to Yemen during the winter, Khadijah's caravan equaled the caravans of all other traders of Quraish put together. Fatimah bint Za'idah – Khadijah's mother – died around 575, a member of the Banu `Amir ibn Luayy ibn Ghalib tribe and a distant relative of Muhammad.
Khadijah earned two titles: Ameerat-Quraish (Princess of Quraish) and al-Tahira (the Pure One), and Khadija Al-Kubra (Khadija the great) and was said to have had an impeccable character. She used to feed and clothe the poor, assist her relatives financially, and provide for the marriage of those of her kin who could not otherwise have had the means to marry. Another aspect of her character, unusual for her times and unlike the practices of her people Khadijah was said to have neither believed in nor worshipped idols.
By 585, Khadijah , even though she was sought for marriage by many honorable and highly respected men of the Arabian Peninsula, throughout which she was quite famous, due to her business dealings.
Khadijah did not travel with her trade caravans, she relied on someone else to act as her agent to trade on her behalf in return for an agreed upon commission. In 595, Khadijah needed an agent to trade in her merchandise going to Syria, and it was then that a number of agents whom she knew before and trusted, as well as some of her own relatives, particularly Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, suggested to her to employ her distant cousin Muhammad ibn Abdullah who, by then, had earned the honorifics of Al-Sadiq (the truthful) and Al-Amin (the trustworthy).
Muhammad, did not have any official business experience, but he had twice accompanied his uncle Abu Talib on his trade trips and keenly observed how he traded, bartered, bought and sold, and conducted business. It was not uncommon to hire an agent who did not have prior experience; so, Khadijah decided to give Muhammad a chance. He was only 25 years old. Khadijah sent Muhammad word through Khazimah ibn Hakim, one of her relatives, offering him twice as much commission as she usually offered her agents to trade on her behalf. She sent him one of her servants, Maysarah to assist him and be his bookkeeper. She also trusted Maysarah's account regarding her new employee's conduct, an account that was most striking, indeed one that encouraged her to abandon her decision never to marry again.
The profits Khadijah reaped from that trip were twice as much as she had anticipated. Maysarah was more fascinated by Muhammad than by anything related to the trip. The trip's measure of success encouraged Khadijah to employ Muhammad again on the winter trip to Yemen
The age of Khadijah is not well documented. This is because Arab people were more concerned with the month they were born in than the year. Therefore, her age has been narrated as anywhere from 25 to 40 years.
Correlation of her age with that of her daughter Fatimah does not support the view that she was as much as fifteen years older than Muhammad.
With the passage of time, her admiration for Muhammad developed into a deeper affection. Khadijah was by then convinced that she had finally found a man who was worthy of her, so much so that she initiated the marriage proposal herself. Muhammad detailed all the business transactions in which he would be involved on her behalf, but Khadijah was thinking to leave the financial matters to her distant cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal.
By the time Muhammad was gone, Khadijah sought the advice of a friend named Nufaysa bint Umayyah. The latter offered to approach him on her behalf and, if possible, arrange a marriage between them.
Khadijah and Muhammad agreed that he should speak to his uncles and she would speak to her uncle, `Amr ibn Asad, since her father had died. It was Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, despite being relatively young, whom the Hashemites delegated to represent them on this marriage occasion, since he was most closely related to them through the clan of Asad; his sister Safiyyah bint ‘Abd al-Muttalib had just married Khadijah's brotherAwwam ibn Khuwaylid.
It was Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, who delivered the marriage sermon saying,
All praise is due to Allah Who has made us the progeny of Ibrahim 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 Muhammad 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. Muhammad is a man whose lineage you all know, and he has sought Khadijah bint Khuwaylid for marriage, offering her such-and-such of the dower of my own wealth.
When her husband received his first revelation from the Archangel Gabriel, she was the first person (besides Muhammad) — among both male and females — to convert to Islam. According to some sources, it was Khadijah's parental cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, who informed Muhammad of his prophethood soon after his vision of the angel.
Khadijah did not hesitate to embrace Islam at all, trusting to her husband's teachings.
R. V. C. Bodley in his book The Messenger, the Life of Mohammed, 1946
"God is my protection, Oh Abul Kasim!" said Khadija, "Rejoice and be of good cheer. He in Whose hands stands the life of Khadija, is my Witness that thou wilt be the Messenger of His people!" Then she added, "Hast thou not been loving to thy kinsfolk, kind to thy neighbors, charitable to the poor, hospitable to the stranger, faithful to thy word, and ever a defender of the truth?"
Washington Irving in his book Life of Mohammed:
After the first encounter with Gabriel, Mohammed came trembling and agitated to Khadija. She saw everything with the eye of faith. "Joyful tidings dost thou bring," exclaimed she, by Him, in Whose hand is the soul of Khadija, I will henceforth regard thee as the Prophet of our nation. Rejoice," added she, "Allah will not suffer thee to fall to shame. Hast thou not been loving to thy kinsfolk, kind to thy neighbours, charitable to the poor, hospitable to the stranger, faithful to thy word, and ever a defender of the truth?"
Yahya ibn `Afeef is quoted saying that he once came, during the period of Jahiliyyah (before the advent of Islam), to Mecca to be hosted by‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, one of Muhammad's uncles mentioned above. "When the sun started rising," he said, "I saw a man who came out of a place not far from us, faced the Kaaba and started performing his prayers. He hardly started before being joined by a young boy who stood on his right side, then by a woman who stood behind them. When he bowed down, the young boy and the woman bowed, and when he stood up straight, they, too, did likewise. When he prostrated, they, too, prostrated." He expressed his amazement at that, saying to al-Abbas: "This is quite strange, O Abbas!". "Is it, really?" retorted al-Abbas. "Do you know who he is?" al-Abbas asked his guest who answered in the negative. "He is Muhammad ibn Abdullah, my nephew. Do you know who the young boy is?" asked he again. "No, indeed," answered the guest. "He is Ali son of Abu Talib. Do you know who the woman is?" The answer came again in the negative, to which al-Abbas said, "She is Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, my nephew's wife." This incident is included in the books of both Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Al-Tirmidhi, each detailing it in his ownSahih.
She bore patiently in the face of persecution to which her revered husband and his small band of believers were exposed at the hands of thepolytheists and aristocrats of the Quraish, sacrificing her vast wealth to promote Islam, seeking God's rewards.
She remained at his side and supported him throughout his mission to spread Islam.
Khadijah from "Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum "
Muhammad is reported to have taken no other wife until after her death because of his love for her.
Edward Gibbon in his book The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
During the 24-years of their marriage, Khadija's youthful husband abstained from the right of polygamy, and the pride or tenderness of the venerable matron was never insulted by the society of a rival. After her death, the Prophet placed her in the rank of four perfect women, with the sister (sic) of Moses, the mother ofJesus, and Fatima.
Kazi Ejaz and Ibne Abdul Bir in their book Al-Estiab
Once the Prophet mentioned Khadija near Aisha,
Aisha responded:
"She was not but a such and such of an old lady, and Allah replaced her with a better one for you."
He replied:
"Indeed Allah did not grant me better than her; she accepted me when people rejected me, she believed in me when people doubted me, she shared her wealth with me when people deprived me, and Allah granted me children only through her."
The year of her death is known as the Year of Sorrow, because of the devastation that it caused him and it was also the same year in which his uncle and guardian Abu Talib died. She was either 64 or 68 years old (having been born in AD 555). Her grave can be found in Jannatul Mualla cemetery, in Mecca , Saudi Arabia.Many scholars place the events of the Year of Sorrow in 619, prior to hijra, and use these events as part of the reason for Muhammad's emigration.
Ibn Kathir, the famous Islamic scholar and commentator on the Qur'an writes in his book Wives of the Prophet Muhammad
Khadijah had been the first to publicly accept Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as the Messenger of Allah, and she had never stopped doing all she could to help him. Love and mercy had grown between them, increasing in quality and depth as the years passed by, and not even death could take this love away. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never stopped loving Khadijah, and although he married several more wives in later years and loved them all, it is clear that Khadijah always had a special place in his heart. Indeed whenever 'Aisha, his third wife, heard the Prophet speak of Khadijah, or saw him sending food to Khadijah's old friends and relatives, she could not help feeling jealous of her, because of the love that the Prophet still had for her.
Once Aisha asked him if Khadijah had been the only woman worthy of his love. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied: "She believed in me when no one else did; she accepted Islam when people rejected me; and she helped and comforted me when there was no one else to lend me a helping hand." It had been related by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that on one occasion, when Khadijah was still alive, Jibril came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, Khadijah is just coming with a bowl of soup (or food or drink) for you. When she comes to you, give her greetings of peace from her Lord and from me, and give her the good news of a palace of jewels in the Garden, where there will be neither any noise nor any tiredness." After the Prophet's uncle, Abu Talib, and his first wife, Khadijah, had both died in the same year, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his small community of believers endured a time of great hardship and persecution at the hands of the Quraish. Indeed the Prophet, who was now fifty years old, name this year 'the Year of Sorrow.'
Sons:
§ Qasim ibn Muhammad, died in 605 CE, before his second birthday
§ Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad, died in childhood in 615 CE
According to some Shia sources she only had one daughter, Fatimah. The others either belonged to her sister or were orphaned girls raised by her. Possibly, all of them were Khadijah's but only Fatimah was born to Muhammad. Sunni Muslims however do not contest the parentage of her daughters. They affirm what the Qur'an states: "O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers...".]
The famous Sunni scholar Yusuf ibn abd al-Barr says: "His children born of Khadīja are four daughters; there is no difference of opinion about that".
Daughters: The daughters attributed to Muhammad are;
1. Zainab bint Muhammad, married to her maternal cousin Abu al-Aas ibn al-Rabee before al-Hijra
2. Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, was married to Uthman ibn Affan
3. Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, also married to Uthman ibn Affan after the death of her sister Ruqayyah
4. Fatimah, the youngest was married to Ali ('Ali bin Abi Talib)
Sister:
§ Halah bint Khuwailid
Cousins:
§ Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum
§ Waraqah ibn Nawfal
Sawda bint Zama ibn Qayyis ibn Abd Shams (Arabic: سودة بنت زمعة) was a wife of Muhammad, and therefore a Mother of the Believers and one of the early converts to Islam.
She was of the Quraysh tribe on her father's side. According to the traditions,she migrated to Abyssinia with her first husband, after being persecuted by the Polytheists of Mecca. Her husband died when the couple returned to Mecca
Muhammad married her in Shawwal, in the tenth year of His Prophethood, a few days after the death of Khadijah. Prior to that, she was married to a paternal cousin of hers called As-Sakran bin ‘Amr. She was considered homely and was older than Muhammad. However, she can not be older than Muhammad, if she really died in October 674 as mentioned below. Since Muhammad was born in 570, that would mean that she has lived more than 104 years which is less likely in those days.[citation needed]
After Muhammad's death, Sawda received a gift of money, which she spent on charity. Muawiyah I, the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty bought her house in Medina for 180,000 dirhams. She died in Medina
The name of her previous husband was Sakran, and she had a son from him named Sakran ibn Amr ibn Abd Shams who fell a martyr fighting in the Battle of Jalula in 637 AD.
Aisha bint Abu Bakr (died 678) (Arabic عائشة Transliteration: ʿāʾisha, IPA: [ʕaːʔɪʃæh] "she who lives", also transcribed as A'ishah, Ayesha, 'A'isha, Aishah, or 'Aisha) was the last wife of Muhammad. In Islamic writings, she is thus often referred to by the title "Mother of the Believers" (Arabic: أمّ المؤمنين umm-al-mu'minīn), per the description of Muhammad's wives as "Mothers of Believers" in the Qur'an (33.6), and later, as the "Mother of Believers", as in Qutb's Ma'alim fi al-Tariq (pps6). She is quoted as source for many hadith, sacred traditions about Muhammad's life, with Muhammad's personal life being the topic of most narrations. She narrated 2210 hadiths out of which 316 hadiths are mentioned in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
Aisha was the daughter of Um Ruman and Abu Bakr of Mecca. Abu Bakr belonged to the Banu Taym sub-clan of the tribe of Quraysh, the tribe to which Muhammad also belonged. Aisha is said to have followed her father in accepting Islam when she was still young. She also joined him in his migration to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 615 AD; a number of Mecca
According to the early Islamic historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Aisha's father tried to spare her the dangers and discomfort of the journey by solemnizing her marriage to her fiance, Jubayr ibn Mut'im, son of Mut‘im ibn ‘Adi. However, Mut’am refused to honor the long-standing betrothal, as he did not wish his family to be connected to the Muslim outcasts. The emigration to Ethiopia proved temporary and Abu Bakr's family returned to Mecca
See also: Criticism of Muhammad: Aisha
Aisha was initially betrothed to Jubayr ibn Mut'im, a Muslim whose father, though pagan, was friendly to the Muslims. When Khawla bint Hakim suggested that Muhammad marry Aisha after the death of Muhammad's first wife (Khadijah bint Khuwaylid), the previous agreement regarding marriage of Aisha with ibn Mut'im was put aside by common consent. British historian William Montgomery Watt suggests that Muhammad hoped to strengthen his ties with Abu Bakr; the strengthening of ties commonly served as a basis for marriage in Arabian culture.
According to the traditional sources, Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad.American historian Denise Spellberg states that "these specific references to the bride's age reinforce Aisha's pre-menarcheal status and, implicitly, her virginity." This issue of her virginity was of great importance to early historians who supported the Abbasid Caliphate. These historians considered that as Muhammad's only virgin wife, Aisha was divinely intended for him, and therefore the most credible regarding the debate over the succession to Muhammad.
Aisha stayed in her parents' home for several years until she joined Muhammad and the marriage was consummated. Most of the sources indicate that she was nine years old at the time, with the single exception of al-Tabari, who records that she was ten.] The marriage was delayed until after the Hijra, or migration to Medina, in 622; Aisha and her older sister Asma bint Abi Bakr only moved to Medina
Most early accounts say that Muhammad and Aisha became sincerely fond of each other. Aisha is usually described as Muhammad's favorite wife, and it was in her company that Muhammad reportedly received the most revelations. Some accounts claim it was the curtain from her tent that Muhammad used as his battle standard.
Aisha was traveling with her husband Muhammad and some of his followers. Aisha claimed that she had left camp in the morning to search for her lost necklace, but when she returned, she found that the company had broken camp and left without her. She waited for half a day, until she was rescued by a man named Safwan ibn Al-Muattal and taken to rejoin the caravan. This led to speculation that she had committed adulterywith Safwan. Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah defended Aisha's reputation. Shortly after this, Muhammad announced that he had received a revelation from God confirming Aisha's innocence and directing that charges of adultery be supported by four eyewitnesses. These verses also rebuked Aisha's accusers, whom Muhammad ordered to receive forty lashes.
Ibn Kathir wrote in his biography of Muhammad that Muhammad's wife Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya was given a skin filled with honey, which she shared with her husband. He was fond of sweets and stayed overlong with Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya; at least in the opinion of Aisha and her co-wife Hafsa bint Umar, they both conspired. Each of them was to tell Muhammad that the honey had given him bad breath. When he heard this from two wives, he believed that it was true and swore that he would eat no more of the honey. Soon afterwards, he reported that he had received a revelation, in which he was told that he could eat anything permitted by God. In the following verses, Muhammad's wives are rebuked for their jealousy: "your hearts are inclined (to oppose him)".
Word spread in the small Muslim community that Muhammad's wives were taking advantage of their husband, speaking sharply to him and conspiring against him. Umar, Hafsa's father, scolded his daughter and also spoke to Muhammad of the matter. Muhammad, saddened and upset, separated from his wives for a month. By the end of this time, his wives were humbled; they had admitted their wrongdoing, and harmony was restored.
Some Muslim commentators on the Qur'an sometimes give this story as the "occasion of revelation" for Sura 66, which opens with the following verses: "Prophet, why do you prohibit that which God has made lawful for you, in seeking to please your wives? God is forgiving and merciful. God has given you absolution from such oaths."
In his Sirah Rasul Allah, Ibn Ishaq states that during Muhammad's last illness, he sought Aisha's apartments and died with his head in her lap. The text highlights Muhammad's fondness for Aisha.] Aisha could not remarry after Muhammad's death because a passage in the Qur'an forbids any Muslim to marry a widow of Muhammad:
Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy God's Apostle, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time. Truly such a thing is in God's sight an enormity.
—Qur'an 33:53
After Muhammad's death in 632 AD, Aisha's father, Abu Bakr, became the first caliph, or leader of the Muslims. This matter of succession to Muhammad is extremely controversial to the Shia who believe that Ali had been appointed by Muhammad to lead;[citation needed] Sunni maintain that the public elected Abu Bakr, and did so in accordance with Muhammad's wishes.
Main article: Battle of Bassorah
Abu Bakr's reign was short, and in 634 AD he was succeeded by Umar, as caliph. Umar reigned for ten years, and was then followed byUthman Ibn Affan in 644 AD. Both of these men had been among Muhammad's earliest followers, were linked to him by clanship and marriage, and had taken prominent parts in various military campaigns. Aisha, in the meantime, lived in Medina and made several pilgrimages to Mecca
In 656 AD, Aisha took part in provoking the rebellious people to kill Uthman.The rebels then asked Ali to be the new caliph. Many reports absolve Ali of complicity in the murder. Ali is reported to have refused the caliphate. He agreed to rule only after his followers persisted.
Aisha raised an army which confronted Ali's army outside the city of Basra. Professor Leila Ahmed claims that it was during this engagement that Muslims fought Muslims for the first time. Battle Battle
Ali captured Aisha but declined to harm her. He sent her back to Medina
Historians see Aisha as a learned woman, who tirelessly recounted stories from the life of Muhammad and explained Muslim history and traditions. She is considered to be one of the foremost scholars of Islam's early age with some historians accrediting up to one-quarter of the Islamic Sharia (Islamic religious law), based on the collection of hadiths, to have stemmed from her narrations. Aisha became the most prominent of Muhammad’s wives and is revered as a role model by millions of women. Feminist writers such as Haleh Afshar have argued that Aisha provided a role model for women's political participation in Islamic communities, and that women became marginalized in Islamic polity following Aisha's defeat.
After Khadijah al-Kubra (the Great) and Fatimah az-Zahra (the Resplendent), Aishah as-Siddiqah (the one who affirms the Truth) is regarded as the best woman in Islam by Sunni Muslims. She often regretted her involvement in war but lived long enough to regain position. She died at the age of 65 years in the year 678 AD in the month of Ramadan. As she instructed, she was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi in the City of Light
Sunnis hold Aisha in high esteem. Many believe that she was Muhammad's favorite wife and the best woman of her time. They consider her (amongst other wives) to be Umm al-Mu'minin and among the members of the Ahl al-Bayt, or Muhammad's family. The Shi'a view of Aisha, on the other hand, is generally a negative one. This is primarily due to her contempt for the Ahl al-Bayt (Muhammad's family) and her attempts to stir up communal strife (fitnah). Her participation in the Battle of the Camel is widely considered her most significant sign of such contempt. They also believe she behaved inappropriately in her role as Muhammad's wife.
The issue of Aisha's age at the time she was married to Muhammad has been of interest since the earliest days of Islam.[citation needed] Early Muslims regarded Aisha's youth as demonstrating her virginity and therefore her suitability as a bride of the Prophet. During modern times, however, critics of Islam have taken up the issue, regarding it as reflecting poorly on Muhammad's character.
References to Aisha's age by early historians are frequent. According to Spellberg, historians who supported the Abbasid Caliphate against Shi'a claims considered Aisha's youth, and therefore her purity, to be of paramount importance. They thus specifically emphasized it, implying that as Muhammad's only virgin wife, Aisha was divinely intended for him, and therefore the most credible regarding the debate over thesuccession to Muhammad.
Child marriages such as this were relatively common in Bedouin societies at the time, and remain common in some modern societies worldwide. American scholar Colin Turner suggests that such marriages were not seen as improper in historical context, and that individuals in such societies matured at an earlier age than in the modern West. In modern times, however, the issue of Muhammad marrying and having sexual relations with a girl so young has been used to criticize him, particularly in the West, where there is heightened concern aboutchild sexual abuse and related issues.
In response some modern Muslim apologists have argued that adding up other dates given in the traditional sources may indicate that Aisha was older. Such a tactic was employed by the Indian Ahmadiyya figure Maulana Muhammad Ali. However, scholars such as Watt accept the traditional account.
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