The Noble Lineage

There is no lineage in the earth higher than the lineage of Fatima, the principal of the women of the worlds.

Her father

The father of Fatima (a.s) is the master of the creation and the chief of mankind who had opened the horizons of intellect and light, and established the civilization that had saved man from the abysses of sins and superstitions that he had sunk in. Her father was a treasure from the treasures of Allah and a gift from Him for His people to teach them the Book and wisdom, though they were, before him, ignorant and in manifest error.

It was her father who had changed the history of man, where the weak were easy bites for the strong, girls were buried alive, and idols were worshipped instead of the One and Only Creator, into a shiny life where all people were equal, where there was no preference for man to woman, and where reason ruled over man instead of superstitions. It was her father who had freed man from ignorance, bad habits, and poverty.

It was enough for Fatima (a.s) that she was the daughter of the messenger of Allah, His beloved, and His last prophet, and it was enough for Fatima that she was the most beloved, and the closest to her father from among all his children and from among all people.

Her mother

The mother of Fatima (a.s) was Khadijah bint Khuwaylid who was called as “the mistress of the women of Quraysh” in the pre-Islamic era, and “the Mother of the Believers” in Islam. She was from a noble, honored, glorious house. She met with the Prophet (a.s.) in Qusay who was the fourth grandfather of the Prophet (a.s.) and the third grandfather of her, and this lineage ended to Prophet Abraham (a.s.). No woman from Quraysh was like her in her high position and lofty rank. She was the first spark in the great Islamic Revolution that spread light everywhere and destroyed the forts of atheism and polytheism.

Here, we talk in brief about some concerns of this great lady who was the mother of the best woman Allah had ever created in the earth; Fatima (a.s) the mother of the Prophet’s two grandsons al-Hasan al-Husayn whom the Prophet’s progeny stemmed only from.

The wealth of Khadijah

Lady Khadijah was so wealthy that no one of the merchants of Quraysh had wealth like hers. Historians say that the merchants of Mecca traded with the capitals of Lady Khadijah. They went to some countries like Sham to sell their goods there, and to bring clothes and some kinds of food that the people of Mecca needed. Therefore, her wealth grew bigger and bigger.

The Prophet (a.s.) trades with her money

Prophet Muhammad (before prophethood) suggested to his uncle Abu Talib, who loved him too much, that he wanted to trade with the money of Lady Khadijah, and Abu Talib agreed to his suggestion.

Al-Wafidi says that it was his uncle Abu Talib, who encouraged him to trade with the money of Lady Khadijah by saying to him, ‘O my nephew, I am a man of no money, and life is difficult for us, and severe years have struck us and left us neither with money nor with trade. These are the caravans of your people ready to go to Sham, and Khadijah sends men to trade with her money and get profits. If you go to her, she will prefer you to all others because she has been informed about your fidelity and purity, though I hate for you to go to Sham, and I fear for you from the Jews. I was informed that she had hired so-and-so for two camels, and we do not accept for you like what she had given to him. Do you want me to talk to her about you?’

The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘As you like, uncle.’

The Prophet (a.s.), or his uncle Abu Talib asked Lady Khadijah to trade with her capital, and she responded delightedly for she knew that Muhammad was honest and with high morals unlike the youth of Quraysh who were involved in play and pleasures.

She gave him some monies and sent with him her servant Maysarah. The Prophet (a.s.) went to Sham. He sold his goods in Sham, bought others from there, and came back. He made great profits that no one from those, who traded with the money of Lady Khadijah, had ever made before him. Maysarah was astonished by the wonders he saw in his travel with the Prophet (a.s.). He saw a cloud moving over them to make a shadow for the Prophet (a.s.), and he saw the Prophet’s special looks at the heaven that showed deep faith in Allah.

Lady Khadijah was pleased with the talk of her servant. She loved the Prophet (a.s.) and thought he would have a great future that would include all the earth.

The marriage of the Prophet with Khadijah

Lady Khadijah believed, with no bit of doubt, that Muhammad would be the prophet by whose mission the world would shine. It was he whom the prophets of Allah had brought good tidings about before. She proposed to him to marry her, and she gave him some money (so that he would give it to her as if it was his) to be as her dowry. The Prophet (a.s.) told his uncle Abu Talib who became very pleased for that, because he knew Khadijah and knew her high position and honor. He knew that she refused to get married to the masters and chiefs of Quraysh when they asked for her hand. Abu Talib, Hamza, and other uncles of the Prophet (a.s.) went to Khuwaylid, the father of Khadijah, who received them warmly and was pleased with this marriage.

The speech of Abu Talib

On the occasion of the engagement of the Prophet (a.s.) and Khadijah, Abu Talib made a speech saying,

“Praise be to Allah, Who has made us from the progeny of Abraham and the offspring of Ishmael, and made for us an inviolable country, and a House of pilgrimage, and made us the rulers over people. Then, Muhammad bin Abdullah, my nephew, is one that no one of the youth of Quraysh is compared to him unless he is preferred to him by his piety, virtue, determination, reason, discernment, and nobility, though he is of little money, but money is a transient shadow and a loan that shall be given back. He has a wish towards Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, and she has like that. Whatever dowry you would like I shall pay…”

Khuwaylid agreed, and Khadijah, who was forty years old, was carried in procession to the house of her husband Muhammad (a.s.) who was twenty-five years old then.

Lady Khadijah got married by her own option and freedom, turning her back to the traditions of her age that it was man who would propose to woman and not vice versa. Khadijah took her big wealth with her to the Prophet (a.s.) who spent it neither on himself nor on her, but on the Islamic mission. The wealth of Khadijah was one of the pillars that Islam depended on in its success.

The marital relation between the Prophet (a.s.) and Khadijah was based on love, kindness, and sincerity. It was the best marital life in Mecca. Khadijah was so sincere to the Prophet (a.s.) and the Prophet (a.s.) found with her all love and care that he had missed because of the death of his parents whom he had lost since his early childhood.