Chief of the Prophets — Page 39
Chapter Three 39 attributes, and also personally having observed him at the time when she invested her money in trade through him, she sent a marriage proposal to Muḥammad sa. Muḥammad sa after consulting his uncle, Abū Ṭālib accepted it. At the time of this blessed marriage, Muḥammad sa was exactly 25 years old, and Khadījah ra was 40 years old. Children of Muḥammad sa All the children of Muḥammad sa were from Khadījah ra except Ibrāhīm, who was born to Māriyyah al-Qibṭiyyah ra. His three sons were Qāsim 1 , Ṭāhir, and Ṭayyab. In some traditions ‘Abdullāh, a fourth son is also mentioned, though it is generally thought that ‘Abdullāh was the second name given to Ṭayyab. Among his daughters were Zainab ra , Ruqayyah ra , Ummi Kulthūm ra , and Fāṭimah ra. All the boys died young, and all the girls reached their youth and accepted his prophethood, but none of them had any children except Fāṭimah ra who was married to ‘Alī bin Abī Ṭālib ra. Rebuilding of Ka‘bah According to historians, the Ka‘bah was partially damaged in those times. The Quraish being its custodians, were responsibile for the rebuilding of the Ka‘bah, but they were fearful of the idea of demolition. Finally, Walīd bin Mughīrah started the reconstruction and everyone later joined him. While demolishing, when they reached the foundation laid down by Abraham as , they stopped there and started new construction over it. When it was time to place the Black Stone 2 at its position, every tribe wanted to win this honour. A dispute arose and the construction work was halted for several days. Finally, at the suggestion of Abū Umayyah bin Mughīrah, it was decided that whosoever would be the first to enter into the Ka‘bah the following day would be made the arbitrator of the dispute. The decree of God was such that Muḥammad sa was the first one to 1 Muḥammad sa came to be known by the name of Abul Qāsim (Father of Qāsim) because of his son, Qāsim. 2 The Black Stone is a revered stone affixed into one corner of the Ka‘bah. [Publisher]