Group+2.5+Khadija+(Muhammad's+first+wife)

__**Introduction**__
By: Angelo Zoccoli

Khadija was born as the daughter of Khuwalid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za’idah. She was also the first wife of Muhammad and known for being the first follower of the Islamic faith. Khadija played  a vital role in the rise of Islam through times when many had disbelief. Her efforts helped Islam survive through a 3 year blockade by giving all of her wealth and all of her effort and time into the Islamic faith. Known to be one of the four perfect women in the history of the Islamic faith, Khadija showed kindness to everyone and was free of jealousy and envy. Her one goal after her marriage with Muhammad was to focus all of her time on keeping Muhammad happy so that he could spread the word of Allah to non-believers of the time. Because of the part she played, Khadija is an indispensable asset in the development of Islam.

__Life Before Marriage __
By: Keith Wiley

Khadija was born into one of the wealthiest and most noble families in Mecca, only second to the Bani Hashim clan because of its affiliation with the holy prophet, Muhammad. The two clans hold the common ancestor Qusayy, which makes Khadija and Muhammad distant cousins. After the death of her father Khuwaylid, she inherited a large sum of money made from her father’s business as a merchant. Though this was her initial source of wealth, it will become apparent that she wields the same skill as her father, that is the skill to make money. She was very humble in the sense that she knew that large amounts of money can poison a mind to idleness, so she used her intelligence to create an empire. Before the Prophet introduced Islam to Arabia, the majority of the population were polytheists and worshipped over 360 different gods and idols, but unlike the rest of the people, Khadija was a monotheist. This will prove significant after she falls in love with Muhammad.

After her father died and before she met Muhammad, she would help many of those less fortunate, like poor people, the disabled and orphans, by funding them with the fortunes she received. She even found husbands for those women who would have otherwise never married. For this reason she earned a number of different epithets like al-Tahira (the Pure One), al-Kubra (the Great), and Ameerat-Quraish (Princess of Quraish). She was sought after by a vast number of noble men, but after being widowed twice because of the wars in Arabia, she had no intentions of marrying again, that is of course before she met Muhammad Mustafa.

She went about trade by hiring men to travel back and forth between areas, which would vary according to the season. In 595 A.D., Muhammad was recommended by Abu Talib, Muhammad’s uncle as well as a relative of Khadija, to make a journey to Syria for trade purposes. When he returned, he brought back twice the expected amount of money. She would employ him once again to go to Yemen and offered him three times the usual amount and though the exact amount brought back is not known, it can be reasoned that it was equally as profitable for both sides. By Muhammad’s success of trade and the information he had brought back with him from the foreign nations, Khadija would propose to him, for he was the only man she deemed worthy enough for her hand in marriage.

**__Khadija’s Life__** **__with Muhammad__**
By: Angelo Zoccoli

Khadija played a vital role in the development and rise of Islam alongside her husband, Muhammad. The love that Khadija and Muhammad shared throughout their marriage strengthened each other and allowed Muhammad to be persistent and never give up hope in a predominantly polytheistic time. In Khadija’s early childhood, her parents had died and she was orphaned. Deprived of love throughout her childhood, she made up by sharing her love eternally with Muhammad. During the marriage, she never showed an interest for unnecessary needs. Her only interest was to secure the happiness and comfort of her husband.  During Muhammad’s time of sharing the gift of Islam with the world, many pagans would harass him and deny the gift of which Muhammad was sharing with them, telling him that there was no such thing as one god but that there were many gods. Muhammad’s hope and moral would be low, but when he came back home, Khadija would be waiting for him and comfort him and give Muhammad the strength that he needed to persevere. Khadija added commitment and power along with Muhammad’s tenacity for Islam and in a way was a morale booster for Muhammad in order for the advancement of Islam.

In year 10 of the Proclamation, Khadija died, being married to Muhammad for 25 years. Muhammad had made it a point to show the same kindness and affection that Khadija had showed him to the people of the world and continue with his advancement of Islam.

Before Khadija met Muhammad, she was already wealthy, governing trading caravans, as was the family business. Once she was married to Muhammad, she decided to give up the business and devote all of her time to her new husband. Because Khadija already had wealth, this put no stress on Muhammad to have a good job and bring home money and food for the family. Instead because of the wealth, this allowed Muhammad to give himself fully to the word of Allah and spread his word around to the people and promote Islam. Khadija is known as the first to accept and follow the teachings of Islam. Because of Khadija’s wholehearted acceptance of Muhammad’s beliefs and how much she helped Muhammad through the hardships of spreading the word, she is described as the “fulcrum that Muhammad needed, “according to A Yusuf Ali. This means that she was the person that balanced out all of the disbelief that people had to say about Muhammad’s new teachings. She did this by standing by all of his beliefs and never doubting him. Also by having a wealthy background and allowing Muhammad to focus most of his time on spreading the word of Allah. In a way, Khadija could be seen as Muhammad’s accomplice in getting the word of Islam out. With her help through Muhammad’s hardships, he was able to spread the Islamic faith and accomplish his mission set forth by Allah.

Khadija, to Muhammad, was the only woman that he could have ever loved. She was sent to him through Allah and it was his destiny. Even after her death, the love that was between them never died and actually kept growing. Many of Muhammad’s later wives became jealous whenever Muhammad would tell stories of her. Khadija is also known as one of four perfect women in the history of the world, (in the eyes of Islam). She was awarded this merit by Muhammad himself, saying that Khadija was a woman who found fulfillment, pleasure, and satisfaction in giving. In his eyes, she was the image of a perfect soul.


 * __Khadija's Islamic Views and Her Power Upon Muslim Women__**

By: Kathryn Walker

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Khadija began following Islam after Muhammad brought her into the religion, showing her and guiding her through his own views and ways. The main thing he taught her was the prayers of Islam. She followed the Islamic religion that Muhammad taught her, viewing him as the leader of the religion. Khadija was Muhammad’s main support, always believing in his faith. She was known as the first muslima, the first one to accept Muhammad as God’s interpreter to mankind. He taught her the route of the religion, which is giving full respect, obedience, and love to the God Allah. Khadija and Muhammad’s prayers were always thanking Allah for giving them the opportunity to practice Islam. Khadijah thought of the prayers of Islam as a gateway to Allah in which his judgment could give grace and blessing, which would provide acceptance and renewal. Khadija is recognized as the “princess of Islam” and also the “mother of the believers”. =====

Khadija held a strong status in acting as the role model for Muslim women. She stood as a figure that also had faith in her religion and supported her husband Muhammad in everything that he did. She is also known as the first believer after the Prophet Muhammad. There are many things in present society that are influenced after Khadija. An Emmy award winner, Ari Zonnevald wrote a song about Khadijah discussing her dedication to the Islam religion, which showed her influence to Muslim women. Also Jidda Chamber's Womens Business Center located in Saudi Arabia was named after the role model, Khadija to represent the strength of Muslim women in the community. There are many other examples where Khadijah bint Khouwalid has been recognized as a strong womens role model in present society. Khadijah has a strong influence upon the Islamic religion because she was the first and main supporter of Prophet Muhammad. She is a great role model to women is general because she was strongly faithful to her religion, was a business owner, made contracts and owned her own property.

Khadijah was a princess prior to her marriage to the Prophet Muhammad. She was known as Princess of Makka. Later she was known as the Princess of Islam. She also is known as the Mother of Believers. Khadijah bint Khouwalid holds a strong position in the history of the Islamic religion. Her title as the Mother of Believers represents all the help and support she gave to all, her love was unconditional. She is held as a strong role model to Muslim women for all to follow.


 * __References__**
 * Life Before Marriage**
 * Razwy, Syed A.A. __Khadija tul Kubra.__ New York: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an. [] **
 * Al-jibouri, Yasin T. __Khadija Daughter of Khuwaylid.__ 12/5/94. [|http://www.al-islam.org/biographies/khadija.] **

Razwy, Syed A.A. __Khadija tul Kubra.__ New York: Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an. [] Booth, Marilyn. “Women in Islam.”I__nternational Journal of Middle East Studies.__ [] Quran Majid, translation and commentary by A. Yusuf Ali Al-jibouri, Yasin T. __Khadija Daughter of Khuwaylid.__ 12/5/94. [|http://www.al-islam.org/biographies/khadija.] Ja'afary, Ali. __Sayeed Khadija: A Superb and Sublime Believer__.10/2/06.[]
 * Khadija's life with Muhammad sources:**

Hadged, Amal. "WISE Women." //Azizah// 4.4 (2007): 53. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <http://proquest.umi.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/pqdweb?index=0&did=1369320651&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1300117620&clientId=3552>. Johnson, Heather. "There are Worse Things Than Being Alone: Polygamy in Islam, Past, Present, and Future." //William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law//. 11.3 (2005): 10-16. Print. House, Karen. "Saudi Arabia Confronts Change: For Saudi Women, A Whiff of Change; As country tiptoes into 21st century, segregation vies with growing opportunities." //Wall Street Journal// 07 04 2007: A.1. Web. 14 Mar 2011. <http://proquest.umi.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/pqdweb?index=1&did=1251080771&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1300146764&clientId=3552>.
 * Islamic views and influences upon Muslim women sources:**

[] [] http://www.victorynewsmagazine.com/images/khadijatulkubrasketch2.jpg [] http://msmnorthwest.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/quran.jpg
 * __Pictures__**