Encyclopaedia entry: "Khadijah bint Khuwaylid"

Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 2023

Which Khadīja are we studying? Known to many as Muḥammad’s first wife and a wealthy tradeswoman, the Khadīja emerging from this careful analysis is much more multifaceted: she is at once the mother of the believers (umm al-muʾminīn), bearer of the truth of Islam (wazīrat ṣidq ʿalā al-islām), best of women in the worlds (khayr nisāʾ al-ʿālamīn), recipient of the archangel Gabriel’s greetings, a caring partner alarmed by Muḥammad’s eye injury, a woman of standing with a personal hairdresser (māshiṭa), and a generous mother gifting a necklace to her daughter. In this formidable study, Mariam Saeed El Ali approaches the khabar as a narrative structure (abniyat al-sard) that interweave various historical layers of information and affective relationships, which must be understood in the social and political contexts of transmitters and compilers in addition to that of the events they purport to describe. For El Ali, these narrative structures are not simply important by virtue of originating from within the early community of believers but because they enable historians to understand how specific images of Khadīja gradually crystallized in the centuries after. El Ali excavates the competing representations of Khadīja in the sources and puts them in conversation with the social and political forces that either privileged or sidelined them. The author examines why, despite the important role Khadīja assumed during her lifetime, she has received much less attention in the Islamic tradition and scholarly literature when compared to ʿĀʾisha or Fāṭima. Throughout the book, readers will loudly hear the echoes of Talal Asad’s methodological plea for studying Islam as a discursive tradition as the author eschews reducing her sources to historical vignettes frozen in time and emphasizes their significance as “living units” (waḥadāt ḥayawiyya) that—transmitted across space, time, and genres—are subject to continuous reinterpretations in light of changing cultural and political discourses.

2018

Living in a secular , war torn world, where material possessions are more important than spiritual values ,where the dwellers desire to exercise their right to be free from religion, where the states declare themselves to be neutral on matters of belief , one feels all doors leading to Divinity close one by one. Almost sixteen hundred years ago in the tribal, male dominated Arab culture, lived the daughter of Abu Khuwaylid. Sayyida ( the noble one), as she was known, who not only survived but also thrived as a successful merchant , managing her trade with the help of her servants. She was held in high esteem in Mecca for her wisdom and piety .In 610, an orphan called Mohammad (May Allah be pleased with him), who used to graze cattle became a man of means by marrying the honorable Meccan merchant, Khadeeja Bint e Khuwaylid. It is narrated that Khadeeja (R.A), a forty year old wealthy widow broke all taboos and proposed to this impressive twenty five year old young man of clean character. In those days, the Arab tribes were even fought over trivial matters: such as disputes over water, camels and goats. These bloody feuds fought out of tribal prejudice, continued for decades, leaving their men wounded or dead, and their women helplessly fending for the orphans. Even Khadeeja tul Kubra, had lost her father in the Battle of Fijar. In a society that had no respect for justice and law, the noble Mohammad (peace be upon him) took up the task of building a nation out of the disunited Arab tribes. In a culture of ignorance and violence, Mohammad p.b.u.h acted as a savior, uniting them all as one. He spread God’s word in the pagan Arab society, asking people to submit to God's will. Islam means "submission to the will of God." The worthy Prophet of Islam stood up against bloodshed, materialism, paganism, usury, gambling, killing of the girl child, the unjust treatment of the women, slaves and the poor. Khadeeja Bint e Khuwaylid played a historic role in the Prophet’s life, providing not only financial support to his cause but also emotional support when the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was plagued with doubts. His doubt increased to such an extent that he left the Meccan society and began to live a life of isolation in the Cave of Hira. At the age of 40, he received his first revelation and began to preach the message of Islam. Khadeeja, the Prohet’s wife willingly and lovingly supported her beloved husband, a woman who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth not only cooked and cleaned for him, but cooked and served the orphans, slaves and all the people who were persecuted by the ruthless, powerful, pagan society for embracing Islam. Those who embraced Islam were weak and ignorant. They had limited or no means to survive, when the people of Mecca socially boycotted them in the valley of Abi Talib. My mother Khadeeja (R.A) stood by the Prophet’s side, till death parted them; raising his morale, looking after his children and the people who selflessly devoted themselves to God and to His Prophet. As her husband contemplates in the Cave over the destiny of mankind, Khadeeja (R.A) lovingly grooms a daughter like Fatima bint e Mohammad who later grows up to be the wife of Ali bin Abi Talib, and the mother of two glorious young men Hassan and Hussein( R.A). The Prophet’s wife does not complain to her husband when her two beloved daughters are divorced owing to the religious bigotry. Her story of immense sacrifices and resilience is worth reading. I accidently read a booklet written on Sayyida Khadeeja’s life in Urdu, by brother Zubair Mansoori and decided to lovingly re create it in English, to repay this woman‘s huge debt to the Muslims. It was through her selfless service and her financial contribution that the Muslims were empowered and their national and political identity emerged in the world. The weak and the downtrodden began to rule the world. In the 8th and 9th centuries, the Islamic civilization entered a golden age. Arabic, Byzantine, Persian and Indian cultural traditions were integrated. And while in Europe, where learning seemed to be at its lowest point, the Muslims created a "high civilization", eventually transferring all learning to the West in the 12th century. Muslims led the world as long as they followed the Divine model of a nation, an Ummah, a politically, intellectually and spiritually developed Ummah!! The Ummah needs resilient and enlightened women of worthy Khadeeja’s caliber, who lead and defend our home fronts, the cradle of our civilization; women of substance who empower their husbands, brothers and sons. May Allah accept this humble effort to inspire women and men to understand that they must love, respect and support each other to carry new impulses of God consciousness in to the future. Amen.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1997

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Abū l-Qāsim ʿUbaydallāh b. ʿAbdallāh (or Aḥmad) Ibn Khurdādhbih (or Khurradādhbih; fl. third/ninth century) was a high-ranking Persian functionary, littérateur, and courtier in the ʿAbbāsid administration.

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