Khadījah bint Khuwaylid رضي الله عنها

Khadījah bint Khuwaylid رضي الله عنها

Long before the Qur’an was revealed, before the call to Islam echoed through the valleys of Makkah, and before the world would come to know the Final Messenger ﷺ, there was a woman whose life was already adorned with truth, sincerity, and nobility. Her name was Khadījah bint Khuwaylid, and her place in the story of Islam is not incidental — it is foundational.

She was the first soul to embrace Islam (after the Prophet ﷺ) . The first to affirm the truth of revelation. The first companion in both marriage and in daʿwah. Khadījah (r.a.) was not simply the wife of the Prophet ﷺ — she was the one whom Allah chose to be his support at the most critical time of his mission. In the earliest and most vulnerable days of prophethood, before the world knew him as Rasūlullāh, he was known and believed in by Khadījah.

Born into the noble Quraysh tribe, Khadījah was known for her purity of character and high moral standing. Her people called her tāhirah — “the pure one.” She was dignified, wise, and trustworthy. As a woman who inherited her father’s trading enterprise, she became known for her sound judgment and fairness in business. Her dealings were marked by integrity, and she was widely respected by the most reputable tribes of Makkah.

When she heard of a young man named Muhammad ibn ʿAbdillāh, whose honesty had become well known among the people, she entrusted him with one of her trade caravans. What returned was not only an increase in profit, but a report of such truthfulness, modesty, and uprightness that it stirred in her a recognition of something deeper — a character unlike any other. She inquired further, and the more she learned, the more her heart turned toward him.

With grace and sincerity, and through a means consistent with the customs of her time, she proposed marriage. He was twenty-five. She was forty. What followed was a marriage that remains unmatched in its love, tranquility, and harmony. There was no conflict between them, no discord, no division — only mutual respect and deep affection.

The Prophet ﷺ would later say of her:

“She believed in me when no one else did. She accepted Islam when people rejected me. She supported me with her wealth when no one else would. And Allah granted me children through her and not through any other wife.”

[Musnad Ahmad, Sahih]

For twenty-five years, Khadījah stood by his side — not merely as a wife, but as his closest companion. She bore him children, comforted him in hardship, and provided support in moments of difficulty. When revelation first came to him in the Cave of Hirā’, and he descended the mountain shaken by the weight of what he had seen, he went to her — not to seek reassurance from the world, but to find refuge in her presence.

When he said, “Zammilūnī, zammilūnī.” — “Cover me, cover me."
She covered him with her cloak and filled his trembling heart with certainty.

She said with conviction:

“By Allah, He will never disgrace you. You maintain ties of kinship, you carry the burdens of the weak, you help the destitute, you honor your guests, and you assist those afflicted by calamity.” [Bukhārī and Muslim]

She did not ask for a sign. She did not hesitate. She recognized the truth because she knew the man.

Khadījah’s belief was not born from emotion — it was rooted in clarity, in character, in a deep sense of the truth. She was the first to declare lā ilāha illā Allāh, the first to stand with the Prophet ﷺ as the world turned away, the first to offer her home, her wealth, her loyalty — and her life — for the cause of Islam.

Her sacrifices were immense. When the Quraysh imposed a harsh economic and social boycott upon the Prophet ﷺ and his followers, Khadījah endured hunger, hardship, and isolation with patience and grace. Her wealth was spent for the sake of the daʿwah, to protect the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and care for those suffering alongside him. Her body weakened, but her resolve never did. She bore every trial without complaint, knowing that her reward was with her Lord.

When she returned to her Lord, the grief of the Prophet ﷺ was deep. He buried her with his own hands. That year came to be known as ʿĀm al-Huzn — the Year of Sorrow, for the Prophet ﷺ had lost both his uncle Abū Tālib and his beloved wife. Her absence left a silence in his life that no one else would ever fill. Years later, he would still mention her with love and reverence, and the very mention of her name would bring tears to his eyes.

Even the greatest of angels bore news of her virtue. Jibrīl (a.s.) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:

“O Messenger of Allah, Khadījah is coming to you with a dish of food or drink. When she reaches you, convey to her greetings of peace from her Lord and from me, and give her glad tidings of a palace in Paradise made of hollowed pearls, where there will be neither noise nor fatigue.” [Bukhārī and Muslim]

Khadījah's palace in Paradise is a reflection of the life she lived: a life free of vanity, filled with sincerity; a life of patience, of quiet strength, and of complete submission to the will of Allah.

She raised daughters like Fātimah az-Zahrāʾ (r.a.), whose lineage would carry forward the blessed blood of the Prophet ﷺ. She was a mother of believers before the Ummah even took shape. She was a woman of calm, not of display. A woman of sincerity, not of spectacle. A woman who knew that the highest rank is not given by society, but granted by the One who sees what is hidden in the hearts.

To remember Khadījah is not merely to admire her; it is to take her as a guide. Her life reminds us that strength is not found in worldly power, but in reliance upon Allah. That success is not measured by praise, but by sincerity. That honor is not achieved through status, but through truthfulness and sacrifice.

For every Muslim woman who seeks nearness to Allah — whether as a wife, a mother, a daughter, or a servant of the dīn — Khadījah stands as a beacon of light. Her legacy is not one of worldly glory, but of eternal nearness to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and to the mercy of her Lord.