Khadijah Accepts Islam

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid believed in the Messenger and affirmed what came to him from Allah. She supported him in his mission and was the first to believe in Allah and His Messenger and affirm what came from Him. Allah eased the burden on His Prophet through her: whenever he heard something painful, such as rejection or accusations of lying, and it saddened him, Allah relieved him when he returned to her. She strengthened him, comforted him, affirmed his truthfulness, and made the people’s opposition easier to bear. May Allah have mercy on her.

Ibn Ishaq related from ‘Abd Allah ibn Ja‘far that the Messenger of Allah said, “I have been commanded to give Khadijah glad tidings of a house of hollow pearls, in which there will be neither clamor nor weariness.” Ibn Hisham explains that “reeds” here means hollow pearls.

Ibn Hisham related from a trusted source that Gabriel came to the Messenger and said, “Convey greetings to Khadijah from her Lord.” The Messenger said, “Khadijah, Gabriel has come to convey greetings to you from your Lord.” She replied, “Allah is Peace, from Him comes peace, and peace be upon Gabriel.”

Ibn Ishaq said: Revelation paused for a time, which distressed and saddened the Messenger. Gabriel then came with Surah al-Duha, in which his Lord swears that He had neither abandoned nor hated him (93:1–3). “The Hereafter is better for you than the first life” (93:4) means that what awaits him with Allah is better than the honor granted him in this world. “Your Lord will give you, and you will be satisfied” (93:5) refers to victory in this life and reward in the next. The verses then recall that Allah found him an orphan and sheltered him, found him seeking guidance and guided him, and found him in need and enriched him (93:6–8), reminding him of the care and mercy with which Allah had supported him.

The report about the house of hollow pearls is transmitted here with a disconnected chain; Muslim records a connected version from ‘A’ishah. One manuscript adds a word in Ibn Hisham’s explanation of “reeds.”

Ibn Hisham says that saja means “became still.” Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt uses it of night settling into deep darkness; the word is also used of an eye whose eyelid has become still. Ibn Hisham explains “one in need” as poor, and gives examples from Arabic poetry. The word can also mean one who supports dependents, one who is afraid, or something that weighs a person down and exhausts him. He cites the Qur’anic usage “that is nearer to your not acting unjustly” (4:3), and notes further poetic examples and variant words.

The commentary glosses the poetic terms for the middle portion of the night, deep darkness, a poor and vulnerable person, and a traveller lost at night who calls out like a dog to locate nearby homes. It explains that an old garment may refer to a man’s two basic items of clothing. A final anecdote concerns the poet al-Farazdaq and a disputed word in a poem praising Sa‘id ibn al-‘As; the editor cites the related commentaries and literary sources.