Hazrat Khadija (R.A) & Just Clay

HAZRAT KHADIJA (R.A)
When none believed me, Khadijah (R.A) did. She made me a partner in her wealth."

Those are the words of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) about his wife the great Muslim lady, Hazrat `Khadija-tul-Kubra' (R.A).

Khadijah (R.A), married the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) when she was 40 and he was 25. They had six children: two sons, Qasim and Abdullah (also known as Tahir and Tayyib), and four daughters: Zainub, Ruqaiyyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah (Radhiyallahu-Anhum-Ajmaeen).

Khadijah (R.A) lived with the Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) for 25 years and was his only wife during that time. When the revelations came from Allah and Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) was made the Last Prophet, it was Khadijah (R.A) who accepted the faith and became the first Muslim. She was 55 years old at that time. Her acceptance of Islam greatly helped its spread among the Makkans.

She stood by the Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) all the time. In moments of trial and difficulty the Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) used to come to her and she consoled and comforted her husband and encouraged him. Khadijah's (R.A) wealth was used for the cause of Islam. The Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) remained busy in preaching Islam and his devoted and loving wife looked after the children and family affairs.

The Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) and Khadijah (R.A) had many sorrows. they had to bear the death of their sons Qasim and Abdullah (Radhiyallahu-Anhum) in their infancy and in the fifth year of Prophet hood (Hijrah) their daughter Ruqaiyyah (R.A) left them and migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) with her Husband, Hazrat Uthman bin Affan (Radhiyallahu-Anhu). Ruqaiyyah (R.A) left her parents at a very young age and returned after four years; that time was a long and painful separation for her parents, Khadijah (R.A) and Muhammad (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam).

During the Prophet hood, the Quraish did all they could to stop the Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) preaching Islam. Nothing worked. The Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam) continued his mission, relying on Allah. Hazrat Khadijah (R.A) was his source of encouragement and comfort. She also had to bear enormous strain and suffering during the boycott at Sha'bi (the valley of) Abu Talib for three years.

The great Muslim lady Khadijah (R.A) passed away on 10th Ramadhan in the tenth year of Hijrah, 620 CE, at the age of 65. Her death was a great loss to the Prophet (Sallallahu-Alayhi-Wasallam). He said:
"I cannot bear the scene, I believe that Allah has kept much good in it."

He loved Khadijah (R.A) so dearly that after her death he used to remember her often. Hazrat Khadijah's (R.A) status was such that the Angel Jibraeel (Alayhis-Salaam) used to bring salaam (greetings) for her from Almighty Allah.

Young Muslim Sisters should know how devoted Khadijah (R.A) was to her husband and how much she did for him for the cause of Allah. Any Muslim of today would feel proud to have such a wife. The world could be changed by great Muslim ladies like Hazrat Khadijah (R.A).
www.inter-islam.org

JUST CLAY
A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled up clay and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him.

As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock.

Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left, then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he just threw it away.

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it, we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by Allah.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask Allah to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in this world as Allah sees them.