The short answer
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, may Allah be pleased with her, was the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, according to Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah. In Sahih al-Bukhari 3, graded sahih, she reassures him after the first revelation and takes him to her cousin.
Who was Khadijah bint Khuwaylid?
Al-Dhahabi, in Siyar a'lam al-nubala', names her Khadijah bint Khuwaylid ibn Asad al-Asadiyya (also spelt Khadija), a mother of the believers. He calls her the first to believe in the Prophet and to believe him before anyone, and says she steadied him and took him to her cousin Waraqa 6.
In Arabic her name is written like this in Sahih al-Bukhari 3, with the endings of that sentence:
Sahih al-Bukhari 3
خَدِيجَةَ بِنْتِ خُوَيْلِدٍ
Khadījah bint Khuwaylid
Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid
1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3
What did Khadijah do before she married the Prophet?
Ibn Ishaq, in Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah, says she was a merchant woman of standing and wealth who hired men to trade with her money and gave them a share of the profit. Having heard of the Prophet's truthfulness, trustworthiness and character, she offered that he take her goods to Syria as a trader, with a servant of hers, on better terms than she gave other traders. He sold the goods, bought what he wished and returned to Makkah 7.
How did the marriage come about?
According to Ibn Ishaq, who adds the qualifier "as they claim", she sent for the Prophet, told him she wanted him for his kinship, his standing among his people, his trustworthiness, character and truthfulness, and offered herself 7. Ibn Hisham says he married her when he reached twenty-five, on the word of more than one scholar who reported from Abu 'Amr al-Madani. His uncle Hamza, may Allah be pleased with him, went with him and asked Khuwaylid ibn Asad for her, and he gave twenty young camels as her dowry. She was the first woman he married, and he married no other while she lived 8.
'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, says the Prophet did not marry in addition to Khadijah until she died (Sahih Muslim 2436, graded sahih).
4AuthenticSahih Muslim 2436
Who was Khadijah's first husband?
In a footnote, the editors of the al-Sirah edition note that she had been married to Abu Hala ibn Zurara al-Tamimi, who died before Islam, and then to 'Atiq ibn 'Abid al-Makhzumi 8. Al-Dhahabi gives the same order in a passage that quotes al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar: Abu Hala, then 'Atiq, then the Prophet 9. Only these two works were opened for this page, so it makes no claim about others.
How old was Khadijah when she married the Prophet?
The books give different ages. This page shows each and chooses none. The hadith cited here give no age for her at the marriage.
| Who says it | What is said |
|---|---|
| Ibn Hisham's editors, in a footnote | Forty; it is also said forty-five 8 |
| Al-Dhahabi, in a passage that quotes al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar | She was fifteen years older than the Prophet, who was twenty-five when the marriage was consummated 9 |
| Al-Dhahabi, quoting a report through al-Kalbi from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him | Twenty-eight. The edition's editors call this chain very weak 9 |
| Al-Dhahabi's editors, quoting al-Zarqani | Forty, as Ibn Sa'd relates it 9 |
Nor is his age settled. Ibn Hisham gives twenty-five, and his editors add that twenty-one, thirty and thirty-seven are also said 8.
What did Khadijah do at the first revelation?
'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, tells it in Sahih al-Bukhari 3 (graded sahih). These steps follow the Arabic of that report and add nothing from other tellings.
- He comes to her. He returned with the revelation, his heart trembling, and went in to Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.
- They cover him. He said, "Cover me, cover me." They covered him until the fear left him.
- He tells her. He told Khadijah what had happened and said he feared for himself.
- Her answer. Khadijah said no, by Allah, Allah would never disgrace him, and named what he did (the words are below).
- To Waraqa. She went with him to Waraqa ibn Nawfal, her cousin, a man who had become a Christian before Islam, wrote in Hebrew script, and was old and blind. She said to him, "Cousin, listen to your nephew."
- What Waraqa said. He asked what the Prophet had seen and was told. He said this was the Namus (the angel) whom Allah sent down upon Musa, peace be upon him, and that if he lived to the day the Prophet's people drove him out he would help him strongly. Not long after, Waraqa died, and the revelation paused.
Her answer to him, in the Arabic of the report:
Sahih al-Bukhari 3
كَلاَّ وَاللَّهِ مَا يُخْزِيكَ اللَّهُ أَبَدًا، إِنَّكَ لَتَصِلُ الرَّحِمَ، وَتَحْمِلُ الْكَلَّ، وَتَكْسِبُ الْمَعْدُومَ، وَتَقْرِي الضَّيْفَ، وَتُعِينُ عَلَى نَوَائِبِ الْحَقِّ
kallā wa-llāhi mā yukhzīka llāhu abadan, innaka la-taṣilu r-raḥim, wa-taḥmilu l-kall, wa-taksibu l-maʿdūm, wa-taqrī ḍ-ḍayf, wa-tuʿīnu ʿalā nawāʾibi l-ḥaqq
Never, by Allah. Allah will never disgrace you. You keep the ties of kinship. You carry the burden of those who cannot carry their own. You earn for those who have nothing. You honour the guest. You help in the hardships that strike in a rightful cause.
1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3
The report gives no date for these events. It records her actions as well as her words: she answers him, and takes him to Waraqa.
How did Khadijah support the Prophet?
Al-Dhahabi writes that she spent on him from her wealth while he traded for her 6. Al-Mubarakpuri, in al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, says she stayed with the Prophet for a quarter of a century, comforting him in his anxiety and standing by him with her person and her wealth 12. These are the biographers' summaries. None of the works cited gives a figure for her wealth.
Who were Khadijah's children?
Ibn Ishaq lists the children she bore: the sons al-Qasim, al-Tahir and al-Tayyib, and the daughters Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with them. All the Prophet's children were hers except Ibrahim, whose mother was Mariyah, may Allah be pleased with her. The sons died before Islam, he says, and the daughters accepted Islam and emigrated with him 10. The order of the children and the identity of the sons are among the points where the sources differ, below.
What honour is recorded for Khadijah?
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that Jibril, peace be upon him, came to the Prophet and said Khadijah was coming with a vessel. Jibril told the Prophet to convey to her, when she reached him, a greeting from her Lord and from Jibril, and to give her the glad tidings of a house in Paradise of qasab, with no noise and no fatigue in it (Sahih al-Bukhari 3820, graded sahih).
2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3820
The wording gives what the vessel held as idam, food or drink, so no single dish is claimed. The editors of the Siyar edition gloss qasab, in a footnote, as a hollowed pearl, wide like a lofty palace 6.
How was Khadijah remembered after her death?
'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, says she never saw Khadijah, but the Prophet mentioned her often. Sometimes he slaughtered a sheep, cut it into parts and sent them to Khadijah's friends. When 'Aisha said it was as if there were no other woman in the world, he said Khadijah had been "such and such", and that he had a child from her (Sahih al-Bukhari 3818, graded sahih).
3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3818
The report names none of the friends and sets no schedule for the gifts.
When did Khadijah die?
Sources differ here, and the table sets them side by side. No Common Era year is given here, because none of the works opened for this page gives one, and this page converts none.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Sahih al-Bukhari 3896 (a statement of 'Urwa, a successor, in the Sahih) | 'Urwa ibn al-Zubayr, a successor (of the generation after the companions), says she died three years before the Prophet left for Madinah 5 |
| Al-Mubarakpuri | In Ramadan, in the tenth year of the prophethood, about two or three months after Abu Talib's death (he gives the two views), aged sixty-five, when the Prophet was fifty 12 |
| Al-Dhahabi, quoting al-Waqidi | A month and five days before Abu Talib died 11 |
| Al-Dhahabi, quoting al-Hakim | Three days after Abu Talib died 11 |
| Al-Dhahabi, quoting 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her | Before the prayers were made obligatory. He adds that it is also said she died in Ramadan, aged sixty-five 11 |
Where do the sources differ about Khadijah?
Beyond her age and her death, the works opened for this page differ on these points. Each account is shown; none is chosen.
| Question | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Who gave her in marriage? | The al-Sirah text: the Prophet's uncle Hamza asked Khuwaylid ibn Asad for her. The editors add that some say Abu Talib went with him, and that others say her father had died and her uncle 'Amr ibn Asad, or her brother, gave her in marriage. Al-Waqidi, in al-Dhahabi, says her uncle 'Amr ibn Asad did, her father having died before the Fijar war. 8 9 |
| How did her offer reach him? | Ibn Ishaq says she sent for him herself. The editors add that others say it came through an intermediary, and that the two accounts can be combined. 7 |
| Which sons, and which came first? | Ibn Ishaq names al-Qasim, al-Tahir and al-Tayyib. Ibn Hisham gives the order al-Qasim, al-Tayyib, al-Tahir, and names Ruqayyah as the eldest daughter, though Ibn Ishaq lists Zaynab before her. The editors say al-Tahir and al-Tayyib are usually taken as two titles of one son, 'Abdullah. 10 |
| Did al-Qasim die before Islam? | Ibn Ishaq says the three sons died before Islam. The editors note a disagreement and cite al-Suhayli, from al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar, who says al-Qasim died as a nursing infant. 10 8 |
I had heard Khadijah's name, may Allah be pleased with her, mostly as a single story. Reading what the sources actually say about her life, and where the accounts differ, gave me a fuller picture.
Try it: three questions
Pick an answer; each one explains itself.
1Who narrates the account of Khadijah's reassurance, may Allah be pleased with her, in Sahih al-Bukhari 3?
Answer: 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, tells it, and Khadijah's words are quoted inside her account. It is not a first-person account by Khadijah. Source 1
2Which reports on this page say how old Khadijah was when she married?
Answer: The biographies, which differ. The hadith cited here give no age for her at the marriage. The biographies give different ages, and this page chooses none. Source 4
3Which report describes meat sent to her friends?
Answer: Sahih al-Bukhari 3818. In 3818 the Prophet sometimes slaughtered a sheep, cut it into parts and sent them to her friends. 3820 is the greeting from her Lord. Source 3
Questions people ask
Who was Khadijah bint Khuwaylid?
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, may Allah be pleased with her, was a merchant woman of Quraysh and the first woman the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, married, says Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah. He took no other wife while she lived (Sahih Muslim 2436, graded sahih). Sahih al-Bukhari 3, graded sahih, records how she reassured him after the first revelation.
How old was Khadijah when she married the Prophet?
The books give different ages and this page chooses none. The editors of Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah say Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, was forty and that forty-five is also said. The Siyar a'lam al-nubala' has a report of twenty-eight, whose chain its editors call very weak. Ibn Hisham puts the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, at twenty-five.
Who was Khadijah's first husband?
Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, had been married before she married the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The editors of Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah name Abu Hala ibn Zurara al-Tamimi, then 'Atiq ibn 'Abid al-Makhzumi, and the Siyar a'lam al-nubala' gives the same order. Only those two works were opened for this page.
What do "Khadijah RA" and "Hazrat Khadija" mean?
RA is short for the Arabic phrase radiya Allahu 'anha, may Allah be pleased with her, which this page writes out in full. Hazrat Khadija and Khadija are the same woman as Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, may Allah be pleased with her, the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
'Aisha described how revelation began: true dreams, then worship alone in the cave of Hira, where the angel came, told him to read three times, and gave him the opening verses of Surah Al-Alaq; he returned to Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her, who took him to Waraqa ibn Nawfal.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3 Book 1, Hadith 3
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 2
Abu Hurayrah reports that Jibril came to the Prophet and said Khadijah was coming with a vessel; when she arrived the Prophet was to convey to her a greeting from her Lord and from Jibril and the glad tidings of a house of qasab in Paradise with no noise and no fatigue in it.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3820 Book 63, Hadith 45
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 3
'Aisha reports that the Prophet often mentioned Khadijah, that he sometimes slaughtered a sheep, cut it up and sent it to Khadijah's friends, and that he said of her that he had a child from her.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3818 Book 63, Hadith 43
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 4
'Aisha says the Prophet did not marry in addition to Khadijah until she died.
Sahih Muslim 2436 Book 44, Hadith 111
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 5
'Urwa ibn al-Zubayr said Khadijah died three years before the Prophet left for Madinah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3896 Book 63, Hadith 121
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 6
Her name and lineage; the first to believe in the Prophet and to believe him; she steadied him and took him to Waraqa; the first woman he married; she spent on him from her wealth while he traded for her; the editors' gloss of qasab.
Al-Dhahabi, Siyar a'lam al-nubala', al-Risala edition, vol. 2, pp. 109 to 110 Read on 26 October 2026. Record: scholarly-dhahabi-khadijah-profile. Footnotes are the edition's editors', not the author's.
- 7
Her trade, the trip to Syria on better terms than other traders, and her offer of marriage ('as they claim'); the editors' note of the account through an intermediary.
Ibn Hisham (abridging Ibn Ishaq), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, pp. 187 to 189 Read on 26 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-khadijah-trade. Footnotes are the edition's editors', not the author's.
- 8
The Prophet at twenty-five; Hamza asking for her; the dowry of twenty young camels; the first woman he married. Editors' notes: other ages, her age, her earlier husbands, who gave her in marriage, al-Qasim.
Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, pp. 187 and 190, with the editors' footnotes Read on 26 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-khadijah-marriage. Footnotes are the edition's editors', not the author's.
- 9
Her uncle giving her in marriage (al-Waqidi); the twenty-eight report and the editors' assessment of its chain; twenty-five and fifteen years older; forty in the editors' note.
Al-Dhahabi, Siyar a'lam al-nubala', al-Risala edition, vol. 2, pp. 110 to 111, with the editors' footnotes Read on 26 October 2026. Record: scholarly-dhahabi-khadijah-age. Footnotes are the edition's editors', not the author's.
- 10
The children she bore, Ibn Hisham's order of the eldest, the sons' deaths before Islam, and the editors' note on al-Tahir and al-Tayyib.
Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, pp. 190 to 191 Read on 21 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-children. Footnotes are the edition's editors', not the author's.
- 11
'A'isha: before the prayers were made obligatory; Ramadan, al-Hajun, sixty-five; al-Waqidi and al-Hakim on the interval from Abu Talib's death.
Al-Dhahabi, Siyar a'lam al-nubala', al-Risala edition, vol. 2, pp. 111 to 112 Read on 26 October 2026. Record: scholarly-dhahabi-khadijah-death. Footnotes are the edition's editors', not the author's.
- 12
Ramadan in the tenth year of the prophethood, aged sixty-five; two or three months after Abu Talib (two views); a quarter of a century with the Prophet, supporting him with her person and her wealth.
Al-Mubarakpuri, al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, p. 104 Read on 26 October 2026. Record: scholarly-mubarakpuri-khadijah-death.
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