Khadijah: The First Believer

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was already known throughout Makkah as "At-Tahira" (the Pure One) and "The Princess of Quraysh" before she ever met Muhammad ﷺ. She was a successful businesswoman in a society where this was rare for women, having inherited and expanded her father's trading business. She was twice widowed, wealthy, and respected.

When Khadijah heard about Muhammad's exceptional honesty and trustworthiness, she hired him to lead one of her trade caravans to Syria. She sent her servant Maysarah to observe him. The reports came back glowing - not only was Muhammad incredibly honest and successful in trade, but Maysarah witnessed miraculous signs: clouds shading him from the sun, and a Christian monk recognizing him as a future prophet.

Deeply impressed, Khadijah (RA) proposed marriage through an intermediary. Though she was forty years old and he was twenty-five, and though she had rejected many suitors from noble families, she chose Muhammad. Their marriage would last twenty-five years, until her death, and during this entire time, the Prophet ﷺ did not marry another woman.

Their home was filled with love and tranquility. Khadijah (RA) bore the Prophet several children, including his beloved daughter Fatimah (RA). She supported him in every aspect of life, managing their household while he spent long periods in contemplation at the Cave of Hira.

Then came the night that changed everything.

When Muhammad ﷺ received the first revelation from Jibreel in the Cave of Hira, he was overwhelmed. He descended the mountain trembling, unsure of what had happened to him. He rushed home, calling out, "Cover me! Cover me!"

Khadijah wrapped him in blankets and held him until his trembling subsided. When he told her what had happened - his fear that something harmful had occurred - her response was immediate and unwavering:

"Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You maintain family ties, you bear the burden of the weak, you earn for the destitute, you are hospitable to guests, and you help people in genuine distress."

These words of comfort and conviction came at the most crucial moment in history. The first revelation had come, and the first response was belief and support from Khadijah.

She didn't doubt. She didn't question. She knew her husband's character, and she knew that Allah would never abandon such a man. With these words, she became the first person to accept Islam - the first Muslim.

Khadijah then took Muhammad ﷺ to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal, an elderly Christian scholar who had studied the scriptures. When Waraqah heard what had happened, he confirmed that this was the same divine messenger who had come to Musa (Moses). He said, "This is the Namus (the angel of revelation) that Allah sent to Musa."

Throughout the early years of Islam, when persecution was harshest, Khadijah (RA) stood firmly by the Prophet's side. When the Quraysh boycotted the Muslims, forcing them into three years of starvation in a valley outside Makkah, Khadijah (RA) - who had been one of the wealthiest women in the city - endured the hardship alongside her family.

The Prophet ﷺ loved her deeply. Even years after her death, he would remember her with tears in his eyes. When Aisha (RA) once expressed jealousy of Khadijah's memory, the Prophet said:

"I have been given her love. She believed in me when no one else did. She accepted Islam when people rejected me. She supported me with her wealth when others deprived me. And Allah gave me children through her."

The angel Jibreel came to the Prophet with a special message: "Give Khadijah (RA) the good news of a palace in Paradise made of pearls, where there will be no noise or fatigue."

Khadijah (RA) passed away in the "Year of Sorrow," shortly before the Isra and Miraj. The Prophet ﷺ never forgot her. Throughout his life, he would send gifts to her friends and speak of her with love and reverence.