Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 187
187 After marriage, when Ha z rat Khadijah ra realized that the Holy Prophet sa due to his sensitive nature, would not find much satisfaction in a relationship where he was dependent on a wealthy wife, she decided to give all her wealth to him so that he could spend it as he wished. So , she said to the Holy Prophet sa , ‘O my uncle’s son, (The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa had not been appointed prophet yet and it was customary among the Arabs for women to call their husbands ‘my uncle’s son. ’) I w ish to give you all my we alth and slaves. Please oblige my heart’s desire and accept this offer of mine. ’ The Holy Prophet sa said, ‘ Khadijah , it is easy to say something, but it later becomes difficult to keep such a promise. You know that I am strictly opposed to slavery, and you own many slaves. If you hand over all those slaves to me, I will immediately set them free. ’ In those days, the bulk of one’s wealth constituted of slaves. The Holy Prophet sa said, ‘ Khadijah , if I free all your slaves, will you keep your promise, and not get upset?’ Ha z rat Khadijah ra replied, ‘You may do as you wish, I have no objection. My happiness lies in your happiness. ’ Consequently, t he Holy Prophet sa gathered people in the Ka‘bah and announced, ‘O people, be my witness that Khadija h ra has given all her wealth to me and has given me the authority to use it however I wish. So today I set free all her slaves. They [are free to] go wherever they wish. ’ Thus , when the Holy Prophet sa needed wealth to fulfil l his mission, it was a woman who provided that wealth. When the Holy Prophet sa wished to worship , he would travel three or four miles away from the town to a small cave of rocks, which they called Hira , which sat on the peak of some mountains. Ha z rat Khadijah ra would give him food for three to four days which consisted of dates and parched barley meal. When that finished, the Holy Prophet sa would return and Ha z rat Khadijah ra would once again give food for three or four days, and the Holy Prophet sa would again go back to Hira to pray. Later , when the Holy Prophet sa received the first revelation , he grew greatly agitated. The Holy Prophet sa reasoned that a person, no matter how hard he trie d , would be un able to fulfill his obligations toward God Almighty. [He thought], ‘Let it not be the case that I too will be unable to fulfil l my duty towards God Almighty and thus invite Allah ’s displeasure. ’ The Holy Prophet sa went to see Ha z rat Khadijah ra and said to her, ‘ Khadijah ! T oday , [the angel] Gabriel came, and he gave the order from Allah to g o out and preach to the whole world the message of the