Mother of all true believers

Here is a special feature on this noble lady whose death left her only surviving child, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her), an orphan at a tender age.

Today, the 10th of the blessed fasting month of Ramadhan is anniversary of the departure from the mortal world of Mother of all True Believers, Hazrat Khadija (peace upon her), the loyal wife of 25 long years of the Mercy unto the whole creation, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

“Did He not find you needy, and enrich you?”

What you heard was ayah 8 of the 93rd Surah of the Holy Qur’an, where God Almighty addresses his Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). The reference here is to the youth of the orphaned son of Abdullah, who on being introduced by his loving uncle Abu Taleb to his distant cousin, Khadija, the rich monotheist heiress and daughter of Khuwailed, whose caravans plied the Syrian and Yemeni trade routes, was chosen as business manager by the latter. He ably carried out his duties and on one occasion personally led the caravan to Syria, bringing in great profits for his employer.

On finding the young 25-year man honest, truthful, trustworthy, intelligent, well-mannered and diligent in his duties, the monotheist lady, who had never married and had spurned the rich suitors of Arabia as unworthy of her chaste hand, proposed marriage to the poor grandson of the late patriarch of Mecca, Abdul-Muttaleb. The two were an excellent “made-for-each-other” pair, and became parents of several children including two boys, Qasim and Abdullah, all of whom died in infancy.

This ideal husband-and-wife pair was never dismayed and had full confidence in the Almighty that He would one day grant them a worthy child. In the meantime, the husband decided to take in as ward under his personal care, his young cousin, Ali (PuH), the son of his dear uncle and guardian Abu Taleb (PuH) – the person who had solemnized his marriage with Khadija (peace upon her).

Some 15 years later, when God Almighty ordered Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) to formally announce the universal mission of Islam, Khadija (peace upon her) promptly believed in her husband’s message and put all her proverbial wealth at his disposal in order to feed, clothe, and shelter the persecuted Muslim community.

The rest is history and need not be repeated, including the fact that the “Maleekat-al-Arab” (or the Richest Lady of Arabia), died penniless this day, leaving no monetary wealth for her Immaculate Daughter Hazrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her), after over 25 years of blissful marriage with the Prophet, who as long as the First Lady of Islam was alive, never took another spouse.

It is however, interesting to note that in the ayah that we recited to you, although it was Khadija (peace upon her), who permanently enriched the Prophet and Islam, as the Omm al-Momineen or the Mother of all True Believers, it is the  Almighty Who is assuming responsibility Himself for the acts and services of this pious.   

This speaks volumes for the unsurpassed merits of the One and Only Mother of all True Believers, and warrants a proper explanation to dispel doubts concerning some undeserving elements who staked claim to this title.

In Islamic terminology, based on God's revelation in the holy Qur'an, Omm al-Momineen is the title used for any of the several women who had the honour of being the wife of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). According to the exegetes of the heavenly scripture, the Almighty by designating the wives of the Prophet as "Mothers of Believers" made them unlawful for any other man after the passing away of the Prophet, in order to preserve the dignity of their conjugal bond with the Seal of Messengers.

The exegetes add that the reason behind this Divine Revelation was the secret desire of a companion of the Prophet to marry a certain wife of the Prophet, after the passes away, since that particular woman in whom he was interested, happened to be the sister of the wife of his bosom friend. Glory to God for thwarting the designs of the ill-wishers by promoting these ladies to the status of Mothers of Believers!

Yet, despite God's commandment for use of this honourific title, the fact is that only one of the nine women the middle-aged Prophet had taken as wives in the last ten years of his life in Medina, out of social necessity to break customs of the Days of Ignorance, could become the physical mother of the Prophet's offspring. She was Maria the Egyptian who gave birth to Ibrahim, who, however died in infancy.

Perhaps, for non-Muslims, unfamiliar with details about the Prophet's life, the questions might arise: Did he ever marry in youth, and if so, with whom, and was there any issue from this union? It is here that the significance of 10th Ramadhan comes to the fore. It is the day on which the Prophet of Islam was a picture of profound grief on becoming a widower at the age of 51 years, on losing to the cold hands of death, the lady who guaranteed the continuation of his progeny.

Today is that sad day in history on which the weeping Prophet laid his loyal wife in the grave in the gorge outside Mecca where his uncle Abu Taleb had taken the persecuted neo-Muslim community under his protection during those three tortuous years of the socio-economic siege imposed by the pagan Arabs. It is the day, when the Noblest Lady of all times, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her), became an orphan.

Unlike the other marriages of the Prophet later in life, this was the only union that was sealed in the celestial heavens, for this wedlock had a purpose behind, that is, to give humanity an Infallible line of divinely-guided leaders, the last of whom is the awaited Saviour of mankind, Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance to cleanse the world of all vestiges of corruption and oppression by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity and justice).

The Prophet in this hour of grief was soothed by his loving uncle and guardian, Abu Taleb, who like Khadija was a monotheist untainted by the worship of idols. Soon before the year ended, Abu Taleb would also pass away, and hence that particular year is known in Islamic history as Aam al-Hozn or the Year of Grief. Khadija had sacrificed for the sake of Islam whatever she possessed of material wealth, because she knew that God will never make her efforts go fruitless, especially after having granted her the Immaculate Daughter. Khadija was chosen by God Almighty as one of the four greatest-ever ladies of all times – the other three being, Aasiya, the virtuous monotheist wife of the tyrannical Pharoah of Egypt, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Prophet Jesus (PuH), and her own daughter the Noblest Lady of all times, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (peace upon her).

Soon God would decree the marriage of Hazrat Fatema (peace upon her) with Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (PuH), so that these two pure persons would be progenitors of the progeny of the Prophet and Khadija, the Ahl al-Bait, whose purity God Himself has vouched in ayah 33 of Surah Ahzaab.

Thus, Islam and all true Muslims will forever remain indebted to the sacrifices of Hazrat Khadija (peace upon her), whose memory the Prophet used to cherish, despite taking as wives nine women out of social necessity in his last ten ears. Once, when one of his spouses tried to speak of herself as a better one, 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."

This famous statement mentioned in all authentic books of Hadith, including the Sahih Bukhari of our Sunni brethren, is a lasting testimony to the matchless position of Khadija bint Khuwailed.

AS/SS