Khadijah First Believer, Greatest Support

Before she became the first Muslim, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (ra) was already one of the most admired people in all of Makkah.

She came from the noble tribe of Banu Asad, from the most respected family of Quraysh. She was a widow her first husband had died, then her second and she had used her inheritance to build one of the most successful trading businesses in all of Arabia.

She hired trusted men to lead her trade caravans to Syria and Yemen and beyond. Her caravans carried more goods than those of the other merchants of Quraysh combined. She was sharp, generous, and deeply respected.

And she was known for one thing above all others: the quality of the people she chose to trust.

When Khadijah heard about a young man from Quraysh known as Al-Amin The Trustworthy she offered him work. She hired Muhammad ibn Abdullah ﷺ, who was 25 years old, to lead her trade caravan to Syria.

She sent with him her servant Maysarah to accompany him on the journey. When they returned, Maysarah told her astonishing things: on the journey, a monk had looked at Muhammad ﷺ and said, "This is a prophet." And on the hot desert road, two angels had shaded him with their wings.

Khadijah listened carefully. She had seen the honesty of his dealings, the profit he had brought, the trust everyone placed in him. And she had heard what Maysarah said.

She made a decision.

Khadijah (ra) sent word to Muhammad ﷺ through a trusted friend she was proposing marriage. He was 25 years old. She was 40.

They married. And for the next 25 years until her death he had no other wife.

They had six children together: Qasim, Abdullah, and four daughters Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah.

She was his companion, his counsellor, and his greatest comfort. When he felt the weight of the world pressing on him when he retreated to the Cave of Hira to think and worship she would pack food and water for him and wait for his return.

The Prophet ﷺ said later: "She believed in me when others rejected me. She consoled me with her wealth when others denied me. And Allah provided me with children through her." (Ahmad)

One night in Ramadan, the Prophet ﷺ came home from the Cave of Hira trembling his heart pounding, his body shaking and said: "Cover me! Cover me!"

Without a single question, without panic, Khadijah wrapped him in a cloak. She held him. She waited until the trembling passed. Then she listened as he told her everything: the angel, the embrace, the words Iqra Read.

And then she spoke the words that have been preserved in Islamic history ever since:

"Never by Allah will He disgrace you. You uphold ties of kinship. You carry the burdens of others. You give to those who have nothing. You honour your guests. And you help those struck by hardship."

She was not saying: "I believe you because you are a prophet." She was saying: "I believe you because I know who you are."

After hearing his account of the angel in the cave, Khadijah (ra) took the Prophet ﷺ to her cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal an elderly scholar of the Torah and Gospel. Waraqa heard the account and said: "This is the Namus the same angel Allah sent to Musa."

Khadijah returned home and declared that she believed. She was the first human being to accept the prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ.

Before Abu Bakr. Before Ali. Before any companion. Before any crowd. Khadijah (ra) was the first Muslim.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah did not give me a better wife than her. She believed in me when all the people disbelieved me. She held me to be true when the people called me a liar. She helped me with her wealth when all others denied it to me." (Sahih al-Bukhari 3816, Sahih Muslim 2435)

Khadijah (ra) died in the 10th year of prophethood. The Prophet ﷺ called it the Year of Sorrow the year his greatest support left him.

He buried her with his own hands. He grieved deeply. And for the rest of his life, he honoured her memory in ways that no one else received.

Aisha (ra) later said: "I was never jealous of any wife of the Prophet except Khadijah though I had never met her. He used to mention her often. He would slaughter a sheep and send portions of it to her friends. I once said to him: 'It is as if she is the only woman on earth!' He replied: 'She was what she was and I had children through her.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3816)

Once, the angel Jibreel came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "Khadijah is coming to you with a bowl of food. When she arrives, give her salam from her Lord and from me and give her glad tidings of a house of pearls in paradise." (Sahih al-Bukhari 3820)

A house of pearls in paradise. From Allah Himself. For the woman who believed first.