Mystics and Women of the Divine

Page 65

Khadija, who once had it all — wealth, honor, strength, grace, and a young husband — gave up everything for belief in Muhammad and a single Merciful God. Yet all the stories say she was calm, free of doubt, fearless and loving. The nourishment she gave to Muhammad was her willingness to turn her life upside down for him and for the Message spoken through him. But how does one survive, lit by proximity to a prophet, while faced with violent public disapproval and loss of status and fortune? It is said that the words of Revelation that came from Muhammad’s mouth sustained and guided her, as well as the community, through this dark time.

“Allah has not replaced her by a better. She believed in me when I was rejected; when they called me a liar, she proclaimed me truthful; when I was poor, she shared with me her wealth; and Allah granted me her children, though withholding those of other women.” “‘Paradise lies beneath the feet of the Mothers,’ said Muhammad.

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Excerpts from Untold:A History of the Wives of Prophet Muhamma Published by Monk sh Book Publishing Company

3B? <?FC?P?> CH G?oooo Khad a’s hair Talk to me Khad a. I can’t live up to what I say when I speak the Word. I’m a simple man. What am I to do? Leave the words to Allah and come down here. Let go your questions. You are truthful and good. That’s enough. Come to bed. It burns my bones — the anger of my neighbors. Today they tossed meat scraps on me in the street. I feel unsure. Husband, look at a single hair from my head. It can split a stream of water and divide the wind. When the best of slaves surrenders doubt, God’s music runs through him. Be a worthy slave. A dumbstruck moon, their skin in cool blue light, Muhammad stands before his wife, her long thick hair in his open palms. Raising it to his eyes, he weeps. She was also Muhammad’s closest con dant and the rst practitioner of Islam, “a complete woman,” in the true meaning of the term. History has only praise for her.


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