A Mercy Case

Dearest God, send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad and his family

There is something I keep thinking about, and the more I think about it, the more profound and beautiful it becomes. It is the story of the first revelation. Muhammad was up on the mountain when it happened. He came rushing down to Makkah into the arms of his beloved wife of 15 years, Khadija. He was overwhelmed and afraid – a completely understandable response to what had just happened! He found comfort in his wife’s arms, and opened his heart to her.

Imagine if it happened to you. Imagine you burst in the door and told your spouse, “Cover me with a blanket!” Then you said that you had been in the presence of an angel who had delivered to you God’s Speech (kalām Allāh). You shared your awe and fear with honesty. What would your spouse say? I have to imagine that for most of us, our spouses would be highly skeptical, and rightfully so. They have lived with us for many years, and they have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. And that is one of the reasons why I am always blown away by Khadija’s response.

Khadija did not even hesitate. She was the closest person in the whole world to the man who had just outwardly become the last Messenger of Allah to humanity. She had shared so much with him before this night. So when he shared his experience with her, she immediately said, “God will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously, and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones.” She bore witness to the truth of his message because she had seen the sterling example of his character year after year. She knew he would not lie. She knew he would not concoct this story for personal gain. She knew he wasn’t seeking power, wealth, or pleasure. She knew he wasn’t a delusional person. He was a person of immense character, selflessness, and intelligence, and so she immediately became the first believer in him.

How poignant it is that his wife was the first convert. What greater testimony to his character can there be than the testimony of the one who had the greatest access to who he was behind closed doors! And how poignant it is that she highlighted the following attributes of his way of being:

• Keep good relations with your kith and kin (i.e. friends and family)
• Help the poor and destitute
• Serve your guests generously
• Assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones

The Sunnah (way/example) of the Prophet Muhammad is built on this foundation. Before he was ever a Prophet in this world, he was a man of humility, nobility and grace. Our mother Khadija has taught us about the Sunnah that came before the Sunnah, embodied in the way he lived for 15 years as a husband and father before he was called to Prophethood. She has highlighted the primary importance of being such a good person that those closest to us, including our own spouses, will testify on our behalf.

Khadija is hinting to us to be people of Muḥammadī character, so that we may be fit to understand, embrace, and realize the truths of the Muḥammadī revelation (i.e. the Qur’an and the Sunnah). She was a wife who did not need to be commanded, coerced, or duped using a religious justification; rather, she had no doubt in her heart as to her husband’s pure intentions. And Muhammad was a husband who valued his wife’s viewpoint and support so much that he relied on it to adapt to the process of becoming a Prophet. As he said later in life, “She believed in me when none else did. She embraced Islam when people disbelieved me. And she helped and comforted me in her person and wealth when there was none else to lend me a helping hand.”

Dearest God, send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad and his family