Author: Fakhar-ul- Hassan
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
'And found you in want and made you to be free from want (through Khadija's wealth)' (Al-Quran).
Lady Khadija (s.a.), the wife, the companion and the friend of Muhammad Mustafa (pbuhhf), the Messenger of Allah, and the benefactress of Islam and Muslims, fell ill. Her illness was brief and fatal. All her days she had lived in the midst of abundance and luxury but the three years of exile had been a time of excessive austerity for her, which inevitably took its toll.
She was the first woman to declare that the Creator was one, and that Muhammad (pbuhhf) was His Messenger. The glory and honor of being the first female believer in the whole world, is hers to all eternity.
"Islam did not rise except through Ali (a.s.)'s sword and Khadija (s.a.)'s wealth," (Hadith). When Islam came under mounting pressure from its enemies, Khadija (s.a.) sacrificed her comforts, her wealth and her home for it; and now it would appear that she sacrificed her life, too, in the way of Islam. Without a doubt, if she had lived in her palatial house in Mecca, surrounded by her maidservants, she might have lived for many more years. But she preferred to stand by her husband and his clan, and to share the hardships of life with them. During the siege, she had to endure not only the pangs of hunger and thirst but also the extremes of heat in summer and cold in winter; yet
she never complained to her husband about them. Whether times were good or bad, whether she had plenty or nothing, she was always cheerful. Austerity and privation never soured her. It was this temperament that was an unfailing source of comfort, courage, and strength for her husband during the blackest and trying moments of his life.
Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (pbuhhf) never took another wife as long as Khadija (s.a.) lived. Lady Khadija (pbuh) was not just an ordinary wife for Prophet Muhammad (pbuhhf), as she occupied a special place in his heart due to her sacrifices. Thus, whenever appropriate, Prophet Muhammad (pbuhhf) would reiterate her virtues after her demise.
Once Aisha, the daughter of Abu-Bakr, got agitated and said: "Why do you constantly praise her when she was just an old Arab woman, while Allah has granted you (a wife) better than her?"
Prophet Muhammad (pbuhhf), the symbol of patience and tolerance, was deeply hurt and angered by her words. He replied:
"No! Allah has never granted me (a wife) better than her. When all the people denied my prophetic mission, it was Khadija (s.a.) who believed me. In the times when the people disbelieved my words, it was Khadija who called me the truthful. In the times when people besieged me in financial difficulty, it was Khadija who helped me with her wealth. And it was her who brought me a child, like Fatimah (pbuh) …"
Lady Khadija (s.a.) died on the 10th of Ramadan, 619 AD. During Khadija (s.a.)'s last days, she was confined to
bed. One day, the Prophet of Allah said to her:
"What you are encountering, is because of us, Khadija! When you meet your peers, convey my greeting to them!"
Khadija (s.a.) asked: "Who are they; O Prophet of Allah?"
He answered: "Mary, Kalthum (Moses's sister), and Assia-Pharaoh's wife."
She then said: "May you live in harmony and have sons, O Prophet of Allah."
The Messenger of Allah used to say: "I was commanded to give Khadija the good news of a dwelling in Paradise, made of brocade where there is neither clamoring nor strain." (Masnad Ahmad)
Ibn Al-Athir said that the brocade mentioned in this tradition, is a palace, like hallow pearls.
Lady Khadija (s.a.) was once crying in the presence of Asma Bint Umais, who said to her:
"Why are you crying while you are the Mistress of all women, and the Prophet's wife, who will enter Paradise as he has said?"
Khadija (s.a.) replied: "l am not crying (for fear of death), rather, I am crying because every woman needs a close friend on her wedding to help her in certain issues; Fatima is still very young and I am afraid that she will be alone on her wedding!"
Asma said: "O my mistress, I vow, by Allah, that if I am alive then, I will take your place..."
The final words of Lady Khadija (pbuh) before her death were not of less value than all the difficulties she had faced in the way of Prophet Muhammad (pobuhhf). Lady Khadija (s.a.) told Prophet Muhammad
(pbuhhf):
"O Messenger of Allah! I was negligent about you, and I did not accomplish what you deserved. Forgive me, and if there is something I can wish for now, it is your satisfaction."
Uttering her last words, she took her final breaths full of faith and being humble…
She was shrouded in the aba of her crying husband and buried at Hajun in the Jannat al-Mu’alla Cemetery (which alas was desecrated and destroyed by the Saudi Arabian authorities in 1925), the Messenger of Allah stepped down into her grave to bless it. Meanwhile, Fatima (s.a.) kept close to her father and asked him:
"Messenger of Allah, where is my mother?"
At that point, Gabriel descended and revealed the following to the Prophet "Your Lord commands you to inform Fatima (s.a.) that He sends His blessings upon her and says: Your mother is in a house of brocade, its corners are made of gold, and its poles are of rubies. It is located between Assia's (Pharaoh's wife) and Mary’s houses."
Fatima (s.a.) then said: "Surely Allah is As-Salam (the peace), and peace is from Him and towards Him."
Another mournful event that inflicted Prophet, was his uncle and guardian Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.)’s death.
These two tragic events had a great effect on the messenger's life; the death of Abu Talib (a.s.) caused the Prophet (pbuhhf) to immigrate to Medina, for he had lost the strongest supporter and advocate of the religion from among his uncles. The deaths of two friends - Khadija (s.a.) and Abu Talib (a.s.),
- were the greatest shocks that the Messenger of Allah (pbuhhf) had to endure in the fiftieth year of his life. The two lamps of their glorious lives were extinguished. He was overwhelmed with sorrow. He called the year of their death as, "The Year of Sorrow" (Aam-ul-Huzn).