Wife 1 of 11

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid

The Prophet's first wife, who believed in him when others doubted and was his closest support for about twenty-five years.

Tribe: Quraysh (Banu Asad)
Married: About 595 CE, roughly 15 years before the first revelation
Before this marriage: A respected merchant, previously widowed according to the sirah books
Children with the Prophet ﷺ: Al-Qasim, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, Fatimah and Abdullah
Died: About 3 years before the Hijrah (c. 619 CE), in Makkah
Buried: Al-Hajun, Makkah

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid of Quraysh was a noble and successful merchant of Makkah, known in the sirah books as al-Tahirah, 'the pure one'. She engaged Muhammad ﷺ to trade on her behalf and was struck by his honesty, and the sirah books record that she proposed marriage through a friend. They married about fifteen years before the first revelation, when he was around twenty-five.

When revelation first came in the cave of Hira, the Prophet ﷺ returned trembling and told her what had happened. She answered: 'Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep the ties of kinship, you bear the burdens of the weak, you give to those who have nothing, you honour the guest and you help people in the afflictions of life.' She then took him to her cousin Waraqa ibn Nawfal (Sahih al-Bukhari 3).

The Prophet ﷺ declared that the best of women were Maryam daughter of Imran and Khadijah (Sahih al-Bukhari 3432). Abu Hurayrah reported that Gabriel came and said that Khadijah was approaching with a vessel of food or drink; when she arrived, the Prophet ﷺ was to convey to her peace from her Lord and from Gabriel, and to give her glad tidings of a house of qasab in Paradise, free of noise and toil (Sahih al-Bukhari 3820).

Aisha said she never felt jealous of any wife as she did of Khadijah, who had died three years before the Prophet ﷺ married her, because she so often heard him mention her. He would even slaughter a sheep and send portions to Khadijah's friends (Sahih al-Bukhari 6004). The sirah books record that she bore all his children except Ibrahim and that she died about three years before the Hijrah, in the year known as the Year of Sorrow.

Her children with the Prophet ﷺ

Al-Qasim

القاسم

Al-Qasim was the first child born to Khadijah, in Makkah, before the revelation, and the Prophet ﷺ was known as Abu al-Qasim after him. He died in early childhood, at about two years of age according to most reports; the sirah books differ on whether this was before or after the first revelation.

Sirah books (early history)

Zaynab

زينب

Zaynab, the eldest daughter according to most scholars, married Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi'. When she emigrated to Madinah he stayed behind, and the Prophet ﷺ returned her to him on the basis of their first marriage, after six years in one report, two in another (Sunan Abi Dawud 2240; Jami at-Tirmidhi 1143). He praised him: 'He spoke to me and was truthful, and promised me and kept his promise' (Sahih al-Bukhari 3729). She died in 8 AH.

Ruqayyah

رقية

Ruqayyah married Uthman ibn Affan, and the sirah books record that they emigrated together to Abyssinia and later to Madinah. A narration in Sahih al-Bukhari says that Uthman missed Badr because his wife, a daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, was ill, and the Prophet ﷺ told him he would have the reward and the share of one who attended Badr (Sahih al-Bukhari 3130). The sirah books identify her as Ruqayyah, who died in 2 AH.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3130
Sirah books (early history)

Umm Kulthum

أم كلثوم

After Ruqayyah died, Uthman married her sister Umm Kulthum in about 3 AH, which is why he is known as Dhu al-Nurayn, 'the possessor of two lights'. She died in 9 AH. Anas reported attending the burial of a daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, who sat by the grave with his eyes shedding tears (Sahih al-Bukhari 1285); many scholars identify her as Umm Kulthum.

Sahih al-Bukhari 1285
Sirah books (early history)

Fatimah

فاطمة

Fatimah az-Zahra, the youngest of his daughters according to most scholars, married Ali ibn Abi Talib and was the mother of al-Hasan and al-Husayn. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Fatimah is a part of me; whoever angers her angers me' (Sahih al-Bukhari 3714). In his last illness he told her that she would be the first of his family to join him (Sahih al-Bukhari 3623). She lived six months after him, and Ali buried her (Sahih al-Bukhari 4240).

Abdullah (al-Tayyib, al-Tahir)

عبد الله (الطيب والطاهر)

Abdullah was born to Khadijah after the revelation began and died in infancy, according to the sirah books. He is known by the titles al-Tayyib and al-Tahir. Most scholars hold that these two titles belong to one son, while some count them as two sons. Like al-Qasim, he died in Makkah, and his death was one of the early losses the Prophet ﷺ bore with patience.

Sirah books (early history)

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How the sources are used

Hadith numbers follow the hadith library on this site, and each source opens its hadith there. Details that are not in the hadith collections are marked as coming from the sirah books.

General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.