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Prophets

Who was Khadīja bint Khuwaylid?

The Prophet's ﷺ first wife, first believer, and lifelong support. What the hadith literature records about her faith, her wealth spent in the cause, and the Prophet's ﷺ love for her.

10 passages from 6 books in the library

Khadīja bint Khuwaylid was the Prophet's ﷺ first wife and, in the cited tradition, counted among the foremost women of Paradise. Ibn Kathir lists her in The Prophets of Bani Israil alongside Fāṭima, Maryam, and Āsiya the wife of Pharaoh as the mistresses of Paradise's women. Al-Ghazali, in the Book of Marriage, affirms that "the Prophet's love for Khadīja is well known, testified by authentic hadiths," and records that he honoured her memory by maintaining the ties she had kept.

Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.

Where the answer comes from

The classical approach.

These passages are drawn from 6 books by Ibn Kathir, Ibn Battuta, and Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.

Read them closely. If a passage doesn't sit right, open the full book in the library and listen to the chapter around it. Context in the classical tradition is everything.

Cover of The Prophets of Bani Israil
The Prophets of Bani Israil
Ibn Kathir · Stories of the Prophets

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "of Paradise are Khadijah daughter of Khuwaylid, Fatima daughter of Muhammad, Maryam Mary daughter"

  2. "upon Khadijah while she was on her deathbed and said, O Khadijah, when you meet your co-wives,"

  3. "She is mentioned alongside Ashiya bint Muzahim, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, and Fatima, daughter"

  4. "daughter of Imran, Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh, Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid, and Fatima,"

Cover of Book 31: The Book of Repentance
Book 31: The Book of Repentance
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "would have done. Al-Tabarani narrates from the hadith of Khadijah. I said, O messenger of Allah,"

  2. "Its chain is interrupted between Abdullah ibn al-Harith and Khadijah. In the two sahihs from"

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