In a famous incident, related by Ibn Saad, a man called Akeef came to Makkah for some trade, probably of Eitr, and stayed in the house of Abbas. He said that one morning he saw a very handsome man standing before Ka’abah and praying; a cute boy came and stood next to him and soon a woman came and joined them; all three of them started praying. The man said that a great event was about to take place. Abbas asked him whether he knew who the three were. He replied in the negative. Abbas told him the three were his nephews, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), Ali and Khadījah. He further explained that his nephew thought that he was following a religion revealed by the Almighty and to his knowledge only these three people in the world followed this religion till then.
This is how they lived: praying, calling people to Allah, facing retributions, persecutions, together bearing all pains in the way of Allah. The Holy Prophet and Khadījah had to bear the death of their sons Qasim and Abdullah in their infancy and in the fifth year of prophethood, their daughter Ruqaiyyah left them and migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) with her husband.
Soon the enmity of Quraish increased manifold as they could not contain the growing fire of Islam which was threatening to burn their very homes. In the 7th year of prophethood, the Quraish decided to boycott the Holy Prophet and his family. They hung clauses on the door of Ka’abah stating the ban of all forms of trade and communication with him. Here again the attitude of Khadījah is praiseworthy. She happily bore the enormous strain and suffering during the boycott at Sha’bi (the valley of) Abu Talib for three years.
Never did a single complain come on her lips. She fed her kids with what little was available to her when she could have afforded them the best food, an act of endurance unbearable for any other woman in the world. Imagine the richest woman of Quraish who could have afforded any amount of luxuries known to man virtually lived with her family on mere plant leaves.
During this boycott, her nephew could not bear to see her condition and sent her some food. It was stopped by Abu Jahl, but some leaders intervened and allowed the food to be given to them.
The great lady passed away to Allah’s mercy in the 10th year of prophethood. In the same year Abu Talib too died. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) called this year the year of sorrow.
Whenever he was reminded of her, he had tears in the eyes. She got the prestigious position of being the first wife of the greatest man in the world.
Muslims have left no stone unturned in praising her-
Mrs Quratulain Fatima (an Islamic scholar) said that “Hazrat Khadījah-tul-Kubra was a person who devoted herself to worship and remained consistent in the face of difficult times despite being rich. She embraced Islam at a time when no other person was ready to do so.”
She said that Khadījah-tul-Kubra extended unflinching support and encouragement to the Holy Prophet when people would create difficulties for him. She possessed sterling character and was known as Tahira for her piety. She said that if we wanted to put our lives on the path of piety and good work, we would have to receive light from the life of Khadījah-tul-Kubra because her life is an ideal for us. She stood by the Prophet all the time. In moments of trial and difficulty, the Prophet used to come to her and she consoled and comforted her husband and encouraged him. Khadījah’s wealth was used for the cause of Islam.
Ibn Kathir, the Islamic scholar and commentator on the Qur’an, writes in his book Wives of the Prophet Muhammad:
Khadījah has been the first to publicly accept Muhammad as the Messenger of Allah, and she had never stopped doing all she could to help him. Love and mercy had grown between them, increasing in quality and depth as the years passed by, and not even death could take this love away. The Prophet Muhammad never stopped loving Khadījah, and although he married several more wives in later years and loved them all equally, it is clear that Khadījah always had a special place in his heart. Indeed whenever Aisha, his third wife, heard the Prophet speak of Khadījah, or saw him sending food to Khadījah’s old friends and relatives, she could not help feeling jealous of her, because of the love that the Prophet still had for her. Once Aisha asked him if Khadījah had been the only woman worthy of his love. The Prophet replied: “She believed in me when no one else did; she accepted Islam when people rejected me; and she helped and comforted me when there was no one else to lend me a helping hand.”
Thus ended the legendary life of a lady who accepted Islam when the whole world was silent, spent her life and wealth in Allah’s way, forgave her enemies and possessed a gentle yet uncompromising character. She showed us with her example that a woman has tremendous power and can achieve great heights by obeying Allah. She was a leader in all fields of life, as homemaker, business woman, mother, wife, employer, sister, and friend. If Muslim women learn from her example and follow her then the day is not far away when Islam will be victorious in the world.