Khadijah Flashcards
Intro
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, “the best of women’’ (hadith), was Muhammad’s first wife, demonstrating Allah’s will for humanityt to adherents through her contribution to the expression and development of Islam and continuing impact. As the first individual to claim the Shahada, “there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”, Khadijah lived the Aqida, and taught submission to Allah as exampled by Muhammad, calling others to act as Caliphs (stewards). In this way, Khadijah’s life is reflective of Allah’s will, by contributing to the significance of the Five Pillars of Islam in the lives of Muslims for, “Honourable women are devout, guarding the unseen just as Allah orders it to be’’ (Quran 4:34). Khadijah also recognised that it is only through following right action in the zahir (outer path), while simultaneously submitting to Allah through niyyah that adherents may receive entrance into Jannah (al-akhira), as they key to Jannah is accentuating Haya and amplifying it with Taqwa (god’s consciousness), ethical principles that form the foundation of Allah’s will for humanity
Best of All Women
Khadijah defied clearly bound stereotypes at the time by combining being a strong, independent, and successful business woman with that of a loving mother, highlighting the significant role women play in society, as Allah, “never fail(ed) to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female – you are equal to one another” (Qur’an 3:195). In this way, she provided ‘knowledge that is meaningful to adherents’, by contributing to the idea that women within Islam should be treated as individuals and transcended assumptions at the time. As a role model for Muslim women, Khadijah’s contributions changed society through her support of Muhammad, being the first individual to exemplify rusullah and the sacrifices she made to support her Ummah. Her influence raised the status of women and gave rights not found in pre-Islamic Arabia, including banning female infanticide (Sura 18:1-14). The impact of this can be seen in Mariam Khan’s book, “It’s not about the Burqa” which has the perspectives of several different Muslim women at the intersection of faith and feminism, and has been significantly inspired by Khadijah and her teachings. In her interview with Vogue Magazine in 2021 Khan expressed, “Sufiya Ahmed in her essay ‘The First Feminist’ writes about the first feminist role model in her life … Khadijah Bint Kuhwaylid” and “Khadijah is more than just a role model. She became a point of reference , a reminder that Muslim women are allowed to prosper and achieve for themselves”. Moreover, women were considered their husband’s property when married yet the union of Muhammad and Khadijah formed the foundations of what marriage is supposed to be. Rather than political alliances, they should embody equality, respect and peace. In this way, due to Khadija’s ‘knowledge’, peace in marriage is a sign (ayat) of Islam because of this, as “you may dwell in peace and tranquillity with your mate” (Quran 30:21).
Peace in Marriage
As peace is the foundation of marriage in Islam, being derived from ‘Islam’ meaning peace, it is central to all aspects of the religion and maintaining mizaan. Khadijah demonstrated that marriage is the most important tool for creating an ideal society and embracing tahwid, for example through her support of Muhammad through extreme adversity and her ethical conduct, including the importance of healthy shame (Haya). These teachings can be seen as impactful in the lives of adherents such as Queen Rania of Jordan, who often stresses the importance of healthy marriage and relationships as a key expression of faith. In her 2022 interview with Stellar on “religion and the role of women in faith” she stated, “there is no greater support in the world than a strong partnership … his majesty is my role model”. In this way, she embodies the values that Khadijah taught about the role of marriage for adherents, and further lives out the example of Khadijah in her imminent care for the Ummah. She taught that marriage is not only governed by laws but by Ihsan (striving for excellence) too, and that couples should thrive in mutual respect, love and kindness. This ‘knowledge that is meaning to adherents’ is seen in the Quran, “Oh you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will … live with them in kindness and equity” (Qur’an 4:19).
Mother of all Believers
Further imitating the example of Khadijah whom fed and took care of the Ummah throughout her exile, and exemplifying the importance of Maslahah and taqwa (god’s consciousness), Queen Rania too acts as a vicegerent (caliph) in her consistent lobbying for philanthropy, “the syrian refugee crisis is the largest humanitarian crisis and mass displacement of our time, and many have resorted to fear and islamophobia, instead of empathy and compassion”. In this way, Khadijah’s ‘knowledge that is meaningful’ to adherents, is not only seen as having a lasting contribution to Islam as a religion, but also continues to have an impact upon Muslims today, through her teachings regarding the importance of marriage as well as fostering the tawhid within the ummah. Known as the “mother of all believers”, the support that Khadijah gave to the ummah in Makkah was indispensable for the survival of Islam. Khadijah gave the sacred love of a mother needed to followers, as “the prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers” (Qur’an 33:6). For example, if a follower was hungry she would feed them first, sustaining herself off of grass only. Most Muslims in Mecca were poor - they had no source of income, no means of making a living in a city of economic life which was controlled by a cartel of idolaters. The members of the cartel had decreed that no one would pay a Muslim any wages for any work done by him, and no one would buy anything from him. They knew that material deprivation affects the body as well as the spirit, and aspired that when the resistance of the Muslims breaks down through economic attrition, they would repudiate Islam, and they would abandon Muhammad. A concurrent aim of this policy was to starve the Muslims. Thus, Khadijah fed the poor Muslims continually so that none of them went hungry providing shelter for them as a means of fostering the Islam tradition and ensuring Dawah. For her charity (zakat) was nothing new but the size and scope of commitment were; she spent her money prodigiously on the poor and the homeless of Mecca, and thus foiled the arms of the cartel. The impact of this today can be highlighted in the September 2024, BBC Article, “If we can’t speak, why live?”, which demonstrated how Afghan women are showing their dissidence by posting videos of themselves online, their faces covered, singing songs about greedom. “Let’s become one voice, let’s walk together holding hands and become free of this cruelty” are the lines of one such song. In this way, as Khadijah built the foundations upon which the women’s gained rights and could act in tahwid within the ummah, her impact clearly transcends boundaries.
Maslahah and Ummah
The impact of Khadijah’s teachings surrounding the importance of maslahah and fostering the ummah are evident, as people enduring suffering can find comfort in her full submission to Allah despite adversity. She demonstrated that despite inherent difficulties, Muslims should constantly work to enhance their trust in Allah (amana) and continue fulfilling his predestination for all adherents (al-qadr). This contribution can be seen in the world today through Muslim Aid, a global organisation channelling zakat from the global Muslim community to areas deprived of food, shelter, and emergency healthcare, such as their 2020 program in Gaza, Syria, and Yemen. As the concept of Ummah started with her support of Muhammad (Rusullah) as well as the financial & economic base that allowed Islam to flourish, she contributed by demonstrating that to submit is to place emphasis on Allah’s will (Al Qadr), “Religion succeeded and became manifest only through Ali’s sword and Khadijah’s property”(Hadith).
Ethical Conduct
Moreover, Khadija has a pivotal status in Muslim tradition being not only a role model of ethical conduct but also of female righteousness. Ethical conduct, exampled through Da’wah (an invitation to live according to Allah’s will) and Haya (moral code - state of overcoming nafs) underpins that “Haya and faith have been paired together, whereby if you remove one of them, the other is removed as well” (Hadith). Her impact in these teachings can be seen through the Rabata organisation, an online female Muslim’s platform which also emulates the same inherent principles as Khadija such as the value of Maslahah in the Ummah. Through their Ibadah app, women can track their worship and tahajjud, once again like Khadijah who ‘provided the meaningful knowledge’ that Salat must be conducted five times a day, and in this way reflecting submission by meeting Allah’s will for humanity (al-qadr). Thus, as Allah affirms “hold fast to the rope of God, all together, and be not divided” (Quran 3:103), Khadijah clearly imbues these teachings (kutubullah) in her life and actions by valuing the ummah, and has had a large contribution and impact on Islam as a faith tradition.
Al-Tahira
Due to her exemplary character, within Mecca Khadijah was referred to as “al-tahira”, the pure one which was unique when women existed in a male dominated society and were not seen as worthy of rights. This idiosyncrasy was bestowed on her by the Arabs known for deceit and corruption thus highlighting the impact of her good nature. Khadijah’s principles on ethical conduct can be clearly demonstrated by the 2021 Conversation article, “How Muslim women are mixing faith and modesty with fashiion”. The growth of Hashtag Hijab fashion, “aims to challenge the popular culture in which Islamically defined modesty and the veil are assumed to be ugly, oppressive and inimical to fashion”. Nuru Shamul is the first veiled Muslim woman to participate in the Miss Universe New Zealand beauty pageant contest, “As a Muslim woman we need to be modest and we should not be chasing validation from others by trying to look beautiful … it is beautiful to look modest”. Thus, clearly, Khadijah’s teachings upon modesty within the foundations of the Islamic tradition have provided, “knowledge that is meaningful” to adherents, by demonstrating, “haya and faith have been paired together whereby if one is removed, the other is removed as well” (Hadith).
