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Khadīja bt. Khuwaylid (a) (d. 4 BH/619), known as Khadīja al-Kubrā (a) and Umm al-Mu'minīn (the Mother of Believers), was the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (s) and the mother of Lady Fatima (a). She married Prophet Muhammad (s) 15 years before Bi'tha (595 CE) and was the first woman who converted to Islam. Khadija (a) dedicated her wealth to the expansion of Islam. Prophet Muhammad (s) did not choose another wife during his marital life with Khadija (a). The Prophet (s) always praised Khadija (a) during her life and after her demise.
She passed away in the year ten after Bi'that (4 BH) in Mecca. She is buried in al-Ma'lat Cemetery in Mount al-Hajun.
Her father was Khuwaylid b. Asad b. Abd al-Uzza b. Qusayy, and her mother was Fatima bt. Za'ida. Her birth is said to be fifteen years before 'Am al-Fil/(555 CE) in Mecca.
The information on the personality of Khadija (a) before Islam is minimal. According to sources, she was a wealthy merchant who worked in a mudaraba, she employed other people to work for her, and she gained some part of its profit.
Khadija (a) had high social status with ancestral nobility. As Ibn Sayyid al-Nas said: "She was an honorable and wise lady, and God granted her his blessing. She was middle class in lineage, but she was a very successful and noble lady."Also, al-Baladhuri said: "Al-Waqidi stated that Khadija (a) had ancestral nobility, and she was a successful merchant."
Khadija (a) was the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (s) and the first woman who converted to Islam.
The marriage of Khadija (a) was a controversial matter among Shi'a and Sunni scholars. Sunni scholars believe she married twice before Prophet Muhammad (s), and they mentioned the names of her children. Al-Baladhuri, in Ansab al-ashraf introduced Hind b. al-Nabash as Khadija's (a) husband before she married Muhammad (s). Also, Ibn al-Habib, in his book, al-Munammiq, introduced al-Nabash and named Khadija (a) as his wife before she married Prophet Muhammad (s).......
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