Mother of the Believers — First to Believe
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid خَدِيجَة بِنْت خُوَيْلِد
The first wife of the Prophet ﷺ and the very first person to believe in him, a noble and wealthy merchant of Makkah who supported and consoled him through the hardest years. The Prophet ﷺ never ceased to honour her memory, and she was given glad tidings of a house in Paradise.
The Noble Merchant
Khadijah was a dignified, intelligent businesswoman of Quraysh, called 'the Pure'. Impressed by Muhammad's honesty in managing her trade caravans, she proposed marriage to him; she was about forty and he about twenty-five. Theirs was a marriage of deep love and mutual respect for some twenty-five years.
The First to Believe
When revelation first came in the cave of Hira and the Prophet ﷺ returned trembling, it was Khadijah who wrapped him, reassured him, and declared with certainty that Allah would never disgrace him, for he upheld the ties of kinship and helped the weak. She believed in him instantly — the first of all humanity to accept Islam.
Strength in the Hardest Years
Through the long persecution she stood by him, spending her wealth in the cause and sharing the suffering of the boycott in which Quraysh cut off the Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ said she believed in him when people disbelieved, trusted him when they called him a liar, and supported him with her wealth when others withheld.
A House of Pearl in Paradise
The angel Jibril conveyed Allah's greeting of peace to Khadijah and glad tidings of a house in Paradise of hollowed pearl, free of noise and toil. She died about three years before the Hijrah, in the 'Year of Sorrow'. The Prophet ﷺ honoured her all his life, keeping ties with her friends and praising her after her death.
Lessons
- The first and firmest believer in the Prophet ﷺ was a woman.
- A righteous spouse is a refuge in times of fear and trial.
- Faith, loyalty, and generosity in hardship are never forgotten by Allah.
Quran references
93:6-8