This was delivered by Ustada Muniba Ahmed on 28th Ramadan 1441 as part of the Dar al-Zahra (Liverpool) ‘Awakening the Hearts’ series.

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate

All praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. And salutations and greetings upon our Master Muhammad and upon his family and companions.

I intend to study and teach, take and give a reminder, take and give benefit, take and give advantage, to encourage the holding fast to the book of Allah and the way of his messenger, and calling to guidance and directing towards good hoping for the countenance of Allah and His pleasure, proximity and reward, transcendent is He.

 

As we reach the end of Ramadan, we ask Allah to accept our good actions. The scholars have said: From the sign of acceptance is that we are granted a sincere repentance in abundance of good actions and abandoning bad actions. May we be granted tawfiq. 

We want to conclude by reflecting on the life of the greatest women that ever lived in entire creation; the Mother of the Believers, Sayyida Khadijah tul Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her). No words can do justice in describing her greatness: who Allah chose as the first wife of best of all creation, the master of all Prophets and Messengers, prayers and peace be upon him; the mother of Fatimah Zahrah al-Batul (peace be upon her); the first mother of all the believers; the grandmother of the Masters of the Youth of Jannah; and the grandmother of all the pure household. She was the first to believe in the Prophet and hear revelation from him, prayers and peace be upon him. She was the first person to pray with the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon her. She was the first to give victory to him, prayers and peace be upon him. She was the first one to support him, prayers and peace be upon him. May Allah reward her well on behalf of the ummah. 

Many poets praised her. One said: ‘You have been elevated and your high ranks cannot be reached…Talk about the virtuous ones and you will be the lead.’

None of these praises can be compared to the greatest honour that Allah bestowed upon her (may Allah be pleased with her).

Once Gabriel came to the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, and said, as she entered the room, tell her: ‘Allah conveys His salams and so do I, there is a house in Paradise for her made out of pearls and there is no fatigue therein.’ Her response showed her state. She responded: ‘Allah is salam, from Him is salam, to Him is salam, and to Gabriel salam.’

She (may Allah be pleased with her) received his undivided attention, honour, and love for 25 years. 

The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, said to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): ‘By Allah! He has not given me anyone better than her. She believed in me when no-one believed in me. She supported me when people accused me. She was generous when people deprived me. She gave me children.’

The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, never saw or heard from her anything that displeased him. 

The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him said: ‘I was granted her love.’
No-one loved the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, like her except perhaps her daughter Fatima al-Zahra (peace be upon her). 

After this long introduction, let us reflect on her background.

Sayyida Khadijah tul Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) was born 15 years before the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, in one of the most honourable households of Quraysh. Her paternal lineage meets the lineage of the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, at the fourth grandfather who is Qusayy. And, on her mother’s side through the third grandfather at Abd-Manaf. Her father is Khuwaylid and her mother is Fatima. The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, said: ‘Allah chose Kinanah from the children of Ismael, Quraysh from Kinanah and Banu Hashim from Quraysh and me from Banu Hashim.’ So he is from the best of the best of the best. His wife is also from the best. His children are from the best. His companions are from the best. His ummah are from the best. 

Sayyida Khadijah tul Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) was known for her purity and chastity before Islam. She was already nicknamed: al-Tahira; al-Afifah; and al-Sharifah. She (may Allah be pleased with her) never worshipped their idols. She (may Allah be pleased with her) adhered to the Abhrahamic way. She (may Allah be pleased with her) never drank alcohol or attended their social gatherings. She (may Allah be pleased with her) was married twice before the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, from great clans in Quraysh; al-Tamimi and al-Makhzumi. She had two children – Hala and Hind from her first husband. Her second husband was Ateeq al-Makhzum. Both her husbands were wealthy and left her a lot of wealth; she became the richest person in the whole of Makkah. 

They said that her (may Allah be pleased with her) caravan used to get double the amount of money that the whole businessmen would gain. She (may Allah be pleased with her) would be considered a millionaire in our time. Her wealth didn’t change her virtuous character or distract her from the main goal in life which was to know her Lord and worship Him. Her house (may Allah be pleased with her) was a refuge for the poor, needy, and destitute. All the men were attracted to her honour, inward and outward beauty, and virtuous character. She (may Allah be pleased with her) had many proposals but didn’t find her match in them. 

She (may Allah be pleased with her) used to visit her cousin Waraqah who would often inform her about the Final Prophet. She was honoured with a dream where she saw a light stronger than the sun entering her house and spreading through the horizon. She (may Allah be pleased with her) asked her cousin for the interpretation. He told her that Allah will honour you with light that will enter the house: ‘I have a strong sense that it is the light of Prophethood.’ Her (may Allah be pleased with her) yearning increased more and she would ask details about the signs and characteristics of his arrival, prayers and peace be upon him. 

Once a man suddenly appeared whilst she was in the Ka’bah with other women and he announced: ‘This is now the time for the arrival of Ahmad in your town, if one of you can seek to be his wife then do so.’ They thought he was joking so they threw stones at him except Sayyida Khadijah tul Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) who took his word seriously. 

The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, was the talk of the town. Since she (may Allah be pleased with her) never mixed with the men she wanted to find out more about him closely so came up with a plan for him to go on a business caravan for her. She sent Maysara, her faithful servant with him, and told him to take care of him and report every detail. 

At Zuhr, the caravan was returning and she (may Allah be pleased with her) saw there was no single cloud above but there was one moving with the caravan. Her (may Allah be pleased with her) profit had been more (than usual) in many folds. Maysara reported to her amazing things that he witnessed like a cloud always shading him, prayers and peace be upon him. Some scholars say it was not a cloud but two angels in the form of a cloud. When he sat under a tree, branches would lean against him and stones would become cushions under his feet, prayers and peace be upon him. He was easy in transactions and dealing with people, prayers and peace be upon him. 

Sayyida Khadijah tul Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) was 100% assured that he was the awaited Prophet and sent a message asking if he would be interested in marriage. When the marriage was done, she confessed that she married him in the hope that he is the awaited Prophet and requested from him that if it is him that she wants him to pray to his Lord for her. He said, ‘If I am the one then I will not forget your favours upon me. If it is not me, then the Lord that you are doing this for, He will never let your efforts be wasted and will compensate you.’

He continued to do business for her, prayers and peace be upon him. She never made him feel she had a great favour upon him. He, prayers and peace be upon him, bought the house they lived in with his own money. He, prayers and peace be upon him, still worked for her. He said, prayers and peace be upon him, ‘I have never seen a boss like her. She treated her employees like a king.’ 

She (may Allah be pleased with her) had a full house. She gave birth to 5 children prior to revelation; four girls and a boy (al-Qasim). Abdullah was born after revelation who is also nicknamed al-Tahir and al-Tayyib as he was born after revelation. She also had 3 children from previous marriages and Zayd b. Haritha who she gifted to the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, upon their wedding. The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, freed him and adopted him; he is called the Beloved of the Messenger. They also had his cousin Ali (may Allah ennoble his face) and there was his cousin, Zubayr b. Awaam, who was orphaned by the death of his father and mother Saffiyah. There was also Umm Ayman who looked after him, prayers and peace be upon him, upon the death of Sayyida Aminah and was there at his birth. She moved in after the passing of her husband – as well as many others. They were all from the first to accept revelation when it came. 

Shortly after giving birth to Fatimah al-Zahrah, 10 years into their marriage, the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, started seeing dreams at the age of 35. He would go into seclusion for days or weeks or even months. Sayyida Khadijah tul Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) fully supported him and encouraged him to do so. She would check up on him from time to time at Jabal Nur. At the age of 50 she would climb the mountain to give him food and to comfort him. She would leave the food and not talk to him. Sometimes, if he saw her coming, they would meet each other halfway. She (may Allah be pleased with her) would listen to him attentively and never complained to him or brought news that disturb his thoughts. 

There is now a masjid built at the bottom called Masjid al-Ijaba. 

The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, continued in this state of wanting to be in seclusion for 5 years. In Ramadan, on Layla tul-Qadr, at the age of 40, Gabriel came down with revelation. He said: ‘I am not of those who read’, three times. Gabriel would squeeze him so hard that he felt his heart would split from the power of revelation. He, prayers and peace be upon him, came running down to the embrace of his wife. He, prayers and peace be upon him said, ‘Cover me! Cover me!’ Even the strongest men need the embrace of loving women in difficult and stressful times. She was already prepared to receive him; she was calm and collected and assured him that no harm could reach him, prayers and peace be upon him. ‘Allah will never disappoint you.’ She (may Allah be pleased with her) continued to praise him, prayers and peace be upon him. Once he, prayers and peace be upon him, calmed down and relaxed, she asked him to tell her what happened. When he told her, her face lightened up and she said: ‘I bear witness that you are the Prophet of this ummah.’ She (may Allah be pleased with her) did not even wait for him to call her to Islam. 

She took him straight to her cousin Waraqah and her cousin was excited. He informed them that this is the same angel that would come to Musa. She (may Allah be pleased with her) asked him to tell him when he sees the angel and he told her that he’s here. She told him to sit on the right side and he was there. She told him to sit on his lap and he was there. She took off her scarf and he went. So, she said: ‘This is definitely not a devil, it is an angel from the angels of al-Rahman.’ Who inspired her (may Allah be pleased with her) to do that?

The early days and period of revelation were the most difficult for the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him. He was constantly attacked, ridiculed and physically harmed. He would come with a heavy heart and she would receive him with warm smiles and comforting words. She would put her hand on his heart and place his hand on her heart. 

When the Quraysh decided to exile Banu Hashim after 7 years, she went to the sh’ib although she wasn’t from the clans that were exiled, to support him. Her clan Banu Asad would send food and she would distribute it. She began to feel sick due to sanctions and starvation. The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, nursed her during her illness, comforted, and prayed for her. She (may Allah be pleased with her) counselled her daughters to look after and support their father. Fatimah was closed to her mother as she was the youngest and looked most like the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him. Sayyida Khadijah tul-Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) noticed that the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, was giving her special attention so she gave her special attention and love.

When her (may Allah be pleased with her) final hours approached, the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, was by her bedside and she requested he prayed for her and entered her grave before her. She asked Fatimah al-Zahrah to ask her father if she can have the cloak that she covered him with upon revelation. 

Sayyida Khadijah tul-Kubra (may Allah be pleased with her) passed 10 years after revelation on the 10th of Ramadan. The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, was saddened but kept his promise. He lay down in her grave after digging it. There was no funeral prayer at the time but he prayed a lot for her. Shortly after, his uncle Abu Talib passed away. This year in sirah is known as the ‘year of sorrow’. 

The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, continued to be loyal to her and remembered her throughout his entire life. Whenever he got an opportunity, he would constantly praise her and count her favours; not to himself but to the ummah. He honoured her family and friends. When he slaughtered an animal, he would give a great share to her family and friends. Prayers and peace be upon him.

After the Battle of Badr, his eldest daughter Zaynab sent a necklace as a ransom for her husband who was captured and held by the Muslims as a prisoner of war. When the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, saw the necklace, his eyes became all teary. He remembered seeing it on the neck of his beloved wife and how she gave it to her daughter as a wedding gift. The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, was affected and he asked permission to return it back to his daughter and they all agreed; they also freed her husband who was the nephew of Sayyida Khadijah tul-Kubra. He later became Muslim and died in Madinah. 

On the day of the Conquest of Makkah, 11 years after her passing, the Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, went to Makkah with a great army of more than 10,000. The army camped outside of the Haram. The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, ordered the companions for his tent to be pitched near her grave and for the victory flag to be placed on her grave. He wanted to share the victory with her.

May Allah be pleased with her and reward her with the best of rewards on behalf of the ummah and join us in Jannah-tul-Firdous with her, all the Mothers of the Believers, Daughters of the Prophet, and all the other virtuous women of Allah. 

Please recite a Fatiha for all their souls.

These are notes. Any mistakes, errors or misinterpretations of words are from me. Please correct me when you spot any mistakes.