KHADIDJA'S BUSINESS PROPOSAL
Khadidja, who was an honourable wealthy woman, used to put her wealth at the disposal of others who traded for her and received wages in return for their services.
As Muhammad's fame for honesty, virtue and trustworthiness spread throughout Arabia and reached Khadidja, she started seeking his cooperation. Then she made this proposal to him: `I will put at your disposal some property plus a servant, Masara, and pay you more than others'.
Being well aware of his uncle's financial problems due to his old age, low income, and large family, Muhammad accepted Khadidja's ofher.
KHADIDJA
Khadidja, the daughter of Khuwalid, was a lady of supreme character. She had been twice married, to Abu Halah and Atigh Makhzumi, and twice widowed. Though she was forty years old, her enormous wealth, popularity, and prestige had led many wealthy and powerful Quraysh to court her.
But she did not accept any of them as her husband and avoided marriage, for she knew well that they either were interested in her wealth or were men whose character she detested.
PROPHET'S JOURNEY TO DAMASCUS
When the commercial caravan of the Quraysh was ready to start moving towards Damascus and the Prophet, too, had made provisions for the trip and was about to join the caravan, Khadidja ordered her servant, Masara, to accompany him to Damascus and be always ready to serve him.
Obviously, it is not possible to explain in detail this historical journey, and we content ourselves with mentioning the following points: This journey brought about many blessings and much good fortune, such as enormous profits in commerce, the manifestation of the Prophet's wonderful personality to the people in the caravan, the meeting with the Christian monk, the prediction of his prophecy, and the preliminary causes of an auspicious matrimonial union. When the trading was over, the caravan returned from Damascus.
Masara explained the trip to Khadidja in detail, reporting the huge, unprecedented profits they had gained. She also spoke about the Prophet's excellent character and his generosity, as well as his many other virtues manifested during this journey.
Upon hearing this and hearing about the predictions of a learned Jewish man about his divine character and his marriage with the most honorable woman of the Quraysh, Khadidja not only started to cherish his love in her pure heart, but also came to realize that he was her ideal husband.
Also, her uncle, Warqa ibn Nawfal, had talked to her about tile predictions of the last prophets, and about the good news of his marriage with Khadidja. These words, too, added to her love and enthusiasm.
But how was she to talk to him about her desire and heavenly affection? This was not so easy for Khadidja, who was herself the most respected woman of the Quraysh.
KHADIDJA'S PROPOSAL OF .MARRIAGE
Khadidja asked Nafisa, who was her close friend and whom she always trusted with her secrets, to speak to the Prophet about marriage. Nafisa went to him and asked, `Why do you not get married?' He answered, `My living conditions and financial situation do not allow me to get married'. Nafisa said, `Will you agree to get married if this problem is solved and a rich, beautiful, and honorable woman from a well-known family asks you to marry her?'
He asked, `Who is this woman you are talking about?' Nafisa answered, `Khadidja'.
He said, `How is it possible? She has rejected the proposals of many of the Quraysh aristocrats and rich men. Would she marry me?' Nafisa said, `This union is possible and I will arrange it'.
When he became quite sure of Khadidja's inclination towards marriage with him, the Prophet talked to his uncles about the matter. They were very pleased with this good news, and they attempted to arrange the marriage for their blessed nephew. And finally this auspicious marriage was celebrated with special ceremonies.
The Prophet spent 25 years of his life with Khadidja, who was not only a loving wife for him, but also his best and most helpful mate. This period is considered to be the best period of his married life.
Khadidja, peace be upon her, was the first woman who believed in the Prophet's divine prophecy. She put all her wealth at his disposal to propagate and promote Islam. Six children were born of his marriage: two sons named Qasim and Tahir who passed away as infants in Makkah and four daughers named Ruqiyah, Zaynab, Umm Kulsum, and Fatima, who was the most prominent and honoured of them all.
Khadidja was so devoted to her husband and showed such great sympathy and self-sacrifice for him and for the promotion of his religion that not only did he love her dearly and respect her highly during her lifetime, but even after her death. Each time he remembered her, his blessed heart filled with sorrow and he wept at her loss. Khadidja's brilliant sun of life set at the age of 65, ten years after the actualization of the prophetic mission of the Prophet. In this way, the house of our Holy Prophet became deprived of the light of Khadidja's existence forever.
The Philosophy of the Marriages of the Holy Prophet of Islam
SOME EXAMPLES OF THE ACCUSATIONS BROUGHT AGAINST HIM BY CHRISTIANS
At the beginning of the 18th'century, Christian writers began a new crusade against Islam. Through writing and circulating books over-flowing with insults and false accusations, they intended to distract the people of the world from the divine religion of Islam and to turn them against the great leader of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (peace and the mercy of God be upon him and his descendants).
These myths, false writings, and prejudiced works of the Christian bigots originated in the Middle Ages, especially in the 15th century, when one John Andre Maure wrote a book against the Prophet's religion that was used by the later anti Islamic writers. And since other writers did not know the Arabic language, they contented themselves with copying out of his books on Islam.
Thus, the writers whose so-called sacred books openly accuse prophets of adultery have written about our great leader, `He followed passions and sensual desires and though he ordered his followers not to take more than four permanent wives, he himself had more wives' .
With this insult, they have tried to introduce our Holy Prophet as a sensual man to the unaware Christian readers, thus to stain his supreme character and to hinder the spread and propagation of Islam.
But this fantasy turned out to be vain. Before long, the honest Christian writers began to defend the Holy Prophet of Islam and to apologize for the accusations brought against the Qur'an and the Prophet of Islam.
It is clear to those of us who believe in the perfect innocence of prophets, that such insults are quite unbelievable and far from the truth, but it is necessary to make the facts clear to those who do not agree with us in this matter.
THE JUDGMENTOF HISTORY
It has been written by impartial truth-seeking historians, both Muslims and Christians, that the numerous marriages of the Holy Prophet of Islam, were by no means due to sensuality and sexual passions, for if this were so, he would never have married Khadija who was 40 years old and who had lost most of her beauty and vivacity in the houses of her two former husbands, when he himself was only 25, the age of the sexual passions of youth and when young men are preoccupied with choosing young wives.
The Prophet lived most sincerely and faithfully for 25 years with Khadija, and, though many beautiful Arab maidens and women were eagerly longing to marry him, not once did he take another wife during his married life with Khadija. No doubt if our Holy Prophet were interested in following sexual passions, he could not have refrained from mating with young women during this long period.
GROUNDLESS VIEWS OF BIGOTED CRITICS
What if such unjust people were asked, `Why did the Prophet spend his youth with an aged widow and not marry other women? Why did he take several women as wives in the last ten years of his life, which was the period of old age and when he was having to handle many problems regarding both the internal and external policies of Islam, it was not convenient for him to undertake the responsibilities of marital life?'
And what if they were asked, `Was it not extremely troublesome and difficult to take care of helpless women each having several orphans? Is it consistent with the pleasure-seeking nature of a man to bear the companionship of women with varied moods and manners?'
Surely they have no choice but to admit that the Prophet was never sensual and pleasure-seeking and that they have accused him out of hostility and bigotry.
John Davenport says, 'How is it possible for a sensual man to content himself with just one wife for 25 years in such a place where polygyny was common and prevalent .
