 The aim of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful, respected viewers, brothers and sisters in Islam made the peace and blessings of Allah SWT be upon you. Today we will continue our discussion regarding women in Islamic history. Today we will discuss the life of Sayyidah Khadija, alayhi salam. Islam did not rise except through Ali's sword and Khadija's wealth, a saying goes, Khadija Tulkubra, daughter of Khawailid bin Assad bin Abdul Uza ibn Qasay, belonged to the clan of Banu Hashim of the tribe of Banu Assad. She was a distant cousin of her husband, the messenger of Allah, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abdul-Muttalib, bin Hashim, bin Abd-Munaaf, bin Qasay, Allah's peace and blessings with him and his progeny. Qasay then is the ancestor of all the clans who belonged to Quraish. According to some historians, Quraish's real name was Fahir and he was the son of Malik, son of Madar, son of Kunana, son of Khuzama, son of Mudarika, son of Mudrika, son of Ilyas, son of Mazar, son of Nazar, son of Ma'ad, son of Adnan, son of Isma'il, son of Ibrahim, son of Sam, son of Noah, son of Ibrahim, son of Sam, son of Noah, peace and blessings of Allah with the prophets from among his ancestors. According to a number of sources, Khadija was born in 565 A.D. and died 11 years after the Hijrah, the migration of the Holy Prophet and his followers from Mecca to Medina, which took place in 623 A.D. She was at the time 58 years old, but some historians say that she lived to be 65. Khadija's mother, who died around 575 A.D., was Fatima, daughter of Za'ida, son of Al-Assam, son of Benu Amir, son of Luay, son of Ghalib, also a distant relative of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Khadija's father, who died around 585 A.D., belonged to the Abdul-Uza clan of the tribe of Quraish. Like many other Quraishis, she was a merchant, a successful businesswoman, whose fast wealth and business talents were inherited by Khadija and whom the later succeeded in faring with the father's wealth. They said that when Quraish's trade caravans gathered to embark upon their lengthy and arduous journey either to Syria during the summer or to Yemen during the winter, Khadija's caravan equaled the caravans of all other traders of Quraish put together. Although the society in which Khadija was born was terribly male chauvinistic, Khadija earned two titles, Amirah Quraish, Princess of Quraish, and Al-Tahra, the pure one, due to her impeccable personality and virtuous character, not to mention her honorable decent. She used to feed and clothe the poor, assist her relatives financially, and even provide for the marriage of those of her kin and who could not otherwise have had means to marry. Sayyida Khadija, peace be upon him, was a successful and esteemed businesswoman. She, peace be upon him, was born to a father who was a successful merchant in their Quraish tribe of Mecca. He inherited her father's skills in a time in history where society was male-dominated and dangerous. Upon her father's death, she took over the business and traded goods through the primary commerce centers at that time, from Mecca to Syria and to Yemen, hiring the most truthworthy men of character to brave the dangerous trade routes. Her business was larger than all of the Quraish trades combined and the most acclaimed with the reputation of fair dealing and high quality goods. She had a keen eye and was highly intuitive earning the moniker's, Emirat Quraish, Princess of Quraish, and Al-Tahra, the pure one, due to her stellar reputation. Khadija knew what she was doing, business-wise, never compromising her modesty or integrity to succeed in the male-dominated trades, hiring only those that could meet these standards. Khadija, the mother of Islam, was the first person on earth to accept Muhammad as the final prophet of God and accept the revelations that accumulated into the Holy Quran. She was greeted with salam, peace, by God himself as well as the angel Jibrail. She bequeathed her worldly goods and put herself in the face of danger to stand by the prophet Muhammad as Islam became established in the land. In Islam, whether rich or poor, one's financial condition is a test. Khadija gave her earnings to the poor and to the orphans, to the widows and the sick. She helped poor girls get married and provided their dowry. Khadija was one of the history's most remarkable women. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, once said that the four greatest women of mankind were Khadija Ben Khawailud, Fataba Ben Muhammad, his youngest daughter, Mary Ben Ta-Umaran, the Virgin Mary, and Asya Ben Tmuzahem, the wife of Pharaoh. Khadija continues to inspire people to this day who revere her for taking great care of the Prophet of Islam and for showing the world through her behavior what a pious, modest, and courageous woman can accomplish. The example she left for mankind remains timeless. Regardless of all the men who proposed to Sayyida Khadija, she stood her ground and refused anyone who asked for her hand. This is because she believed no one deserved her. But following her meeting, the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, she thought otherwise. Khadija was then convinced that she had finally found a man who was worthy of her, so much so that she initiated the marriage proposal herself. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, sat to detail all the business transactions in which he became involved on her behalf. But the wealthy and beautiful lady of Quraish was thinking more than about her distant cousin than about those transactions. Then she offered herself in marriage to him and they agreed that he then she offered herself in marriage to him and they agreed that he should speak to his uncles and she would speak to her uncle. Amr's son of Assad, since her father had died, it was Hamza, despite being relatively young, whom the Hashimids delegated to present them on this marriage occasion. Since he was most closely related to them through the clan of Assad, his sister Safiya had just married Khadija's brother Awam. It was Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, who delivered the marriage sermon saying, all praise is due to Allah, who has made us a progeny of Ibrahim, the seed of Isma'een, the descendants of Ma'ad, the substance of Mudar, and who made us the custodians of his house and the servants of his sacred present. It was Abu Talib, Muhammad's uncle, who delivered the marriage sermon saying, all praise is due to Allah, who has made us a progeny of Ibrahim, the seed of Isma'een, the descendants of Ma'ad, the substance of Mudar, and who made us the custodians of his house and the servants of his sacred present, making for us a house sought for pilgrimage and a shine of security. And he also gave us authority over the people. This nephew of mine, Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi assalam, cannot be compared with any other man. If you compare his wealth with that of others, you will not find him a man of wealth, for wealth is a vanishing shadow and a fickle thing. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is a man whose lineage you all know, and he has sought Khadija, daughter of Khawailad, for marriage, offering her such and such over the dowry of my own wealth. After his marriage, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, moved from his uncle's house to live with his wife and her house, which stood at the Smith's Market, an alley branching out of Metropolitan Mecca's long main bazaar behind the Masaa, the place where the pilgrims performed the seven circles during the Hajj or Umrah. In that house, Fatima al-Zahra, peace be upon him, was born, and the revelation descended upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, many times. This house, as well as the one in which the Prophet of Asnam sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi was born, which stood approximately 50 meters northwards, were both demolished by the ignorant and fanarqa-wahabi rulers of Saudi and 1413 AH. The grave sites of many family members and companions of the holy Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wasalam, were all demolished by the same Wahhabis in 1343 AH. Against the wish and despite the denouncation of the adherence of all other Muslim sects and schools of thought worldwide, the marriage was a very happy one, and it produced a lady who was one of the four perfect women in all of history of mankind, Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wasalam. Before her, Qasim and Abdullah were born, but they both died at infancy. By the time Khadija got married, she was quite a wealthy lady, so wealthy that she felt no need to keep training and increasing her wealth. Instead, she decided to retire, enjoy a comfortable life with her husband, who on his part preferred an aesthetic life to that of money making. The messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had no desire to accumulate wealth. That was not the purpose for which he, peace be in blessings of Allah with him, and his progeny was created. He was created to be the savior of mankind, from the darkness of ignorance, idol worship, polytheism, misery, poverty, injustice, oppression, and immortality. He very much loved to mediate. He very much loved to meditate. Through his meditation, deepened his grief at seeing his society sunk so low in immortality, lawlessness, and the absence of any sort of protection for those who were weak and oppressed. Khadija's period of happiness lasted no more than 15 years after which her husband, now the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, started his mission to invite people to the oneness of God, to equality between men and women, and to an end to the evils of the day. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was 40 years old when the first verses of the Holy Qur'an were revealed to him. They were the first verses of Surah Al-Alaq, chapter 96, and they were revealed during the month of Ramadan, 13 years before the Hijrah, at the cave of Hira Ad-Jabal and Noor, the mountain of light, and his favorite place for isolation and meditation, a place which is now visited by many pilgrims. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, went back home heavy-hearted, profoundly perplexed, deeply impressed by the sight of the archangel, Jibrail, and by the depth of meaning implied in those beautiful words. And the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful, proclaim, and the name of your Lord, and Chizer, who created everything. He created man of a mere clot, and congealed blood, proclaim, and your Lord is the most bountiful, who taught the use of the pen, who taught man that which he knew not. He felt feverish, so he asked to be wrapped, and once he felt better, he narrated what he had seen and heard to his faithful and supportive wife. By Allah had he just said, Allah shall never subject you to any indignity, for you always maintain your ties with those of your kin, and you are always generous in giving. You are diligent, and you seek what others regard as unattainable. You cool the eyes of your guest, and you lend your support to those who seek justice and redress. Stay firm, O cousin, for by Allah I know that he will not deal with you except most beautifully, and I testify that you are the awaited prophet in this nation, and your time, if Allah wills, has come. From this we can learn that Sayyidah Khadija, alaihi salam, was not only a successful businesswoman, but a successful wife as well. She stood by the Prophet's side the whole time during doubting him, without doubting him, and his message. Thank you for tuning in. Hope to see you next time.