Khadijah^R.A, daughter of Khuwaylid, of the clan of Asad, was first cousin to Waraqah. He was a Christian. His sister Qutaylah, was a distant cousin to the sons of Hashim.

Khadijah^R.A had married twice, but both of her husbands were dead. She was a trader, also known as "Tahira" (pure). She lived in one of the best houses in Makkah. When Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) went to her and consented to go on the journey, she assigned two of her close helpers to go with him. One was her nephew Khadeema and the other her servant Maysara.

Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) led the caravan and after entering Syria reached Basra. The Mani priest Bahira had met Abu Talib and Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) on his first trade mission. This time Bahira was not alive and another priest Nostorees was living in that hermitage.

History does not tell whether Nostorees belonged to the Mani sect or not. When Nostorees met Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he repeated Bahira’s words and stated that "Allah does not favour any particular nation. The presentation of the Jews as the best nation of the world symbolises the Jews own arrogance. All nations are equal before Allah irrespective of their origin". He also told Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) about the arrival of a Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the Peninsula who would convert the idol worshippers and replace their spurious faiths with a real and true religion.

Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) soon finished his dealings and returned to Makkah. He was given a red camel for his wages. In those days, a camel was priced at 400 Dirhams, a slave could be sold at 150 to 800 Dirhams according to his youth, old age and beauty. In the market of Makkah, a spear would cost 4 Dirhams, a camel’s saddle for 13 and a spade for six Dirhams. When compared the payment given to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was very good. Young Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was content with his wages of this journey. Khadijah^R.A was also satisfied with his work. She sent him again on another journey.

When Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) returned, he went to Khadijah^R.A for an audit. She had, by this time, taken an important decision. She was going to consider him for marriage.

Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was twenty-five years old. He was of medium stature and inclined to sliminess. His shoulders were broad and the rest of his body perfectly proportioned. His hair and beard were thick and black. His hair reached midway between the lobes of his ears and his shoulders, and his beard was of a length to match. He had a noble breadth of forehead and the ovals of his large eyes were wide. He had exceptionally long eye lashes and extensive brows, which were slightly arched but not joined. In most of the earliest descriptions his eyes are said to have been black.

His nose was aquiline and his mouth wide and finely shaped. A comeliness was always visible on his face. Although he let his beard grow, he never allowed the hair of his moustache to protrude over his upper lip. His skin was white, but tanned by the sun. Besides his natural beauty there was a light on his face - the same that had shone from his father, but in the son it was more powerful.

Muhammad’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) large eyes had immense depth and glorious shine. His hair spread shoulder length. He parted his hair, as was the custom. He used to smile when conversing and his pearl-like teeth and the beautifully carved lips produced an irresistible admiration in the heart of the on lookers. Besides beauty and gracefulness, there always emerged a charming odour from his body. The Arabs used highly developed perfumes. Besides applying perfumes to their bodies, the people of Makkah and Madinah scented their homes also. Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also liked scents very much and used the ones whose odour was not sharp and piercing. He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) always talked slowly and with serenity and expressed himself in such a way that the listener could easily count his words. Whatever he said charmed the listener who never forgot it.

When Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) handed over the profits to Khadijah^R.A, she wanted to know whether he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) intended to marry.

This marriage offered three obstacles. First, she was a widow of forty and had a daughter and a son, whereas Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was unmarried and only twenty-five. Second, she was a rich lady. Third, as was the old custom, both of their tribes had to give their consent, which was unlikely to come from Khadijah’s^R.A tribe.

As she herself could not talk about marriage directly with Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), she sent her slave Maysara to him. Maysara asked directly whether he would like to marry Khadijah^R.A.

He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was quite surprised and replied that she was a rich lady and many rich merchants of Makkah wished to marry her. She had refused them all. How could she intend to marry him?

Maysara told Khadijah^R.A that he was unable to make out whether Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was willing for marriage or not. For the second time, Khadijah^R.A decided to send a woman, named Nafeesa to talk more clearly with Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

Nafeesa belonged to the ‘Moldah’ sect. Her parents were not Arab, therefore, she was unaware of the social norms of the Arabs and could convey the message directly.

She saw Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in a street. She reached directly for him and asked, "You are a handsome and cultured man, why do not you become married?" He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "I cannot bear the burden of supporting a family".

Nafeesa said, "O Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), you are industrious and can share the responsibilities of your family". He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) answered, "My Uncle Abu Talib has now grown very old. He is also financially weak. When I was young he brought me up and now when I am grown up, the responsibilities lie upon my shoulders to alleviate the destitute of his family. Whatever I earn, I give to them".

After conversing for a while, she stated the purpose of her visit and added that if he accepted the proposal, Khadijah^{R A} had already consented. He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) fell in a deep thought. She further pleaded that as He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had an embracing nature and since Khadijah^R.A had too wished him well, he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) should not refuse her.

When he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) knew about Khadijah’s^R.A consent, he expressed his willingness to directly talk to her. The next day he discussed the issue with Khadijah^R.A who confirmed Nafeesa’s statements.

Even though Khadijah^R.A was willing to marry Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), she had to seek the approval of her tribe; "Banu Asad" before the marriage. When she approached them, Umro bin Asad, Chieftain of the tribe, said, "I am aware of Muhammad’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) honesty and trust-worthiness, but when the other tribes will come to know of this wedding, they will taunt us saying, "Was Makkah facing a dearth of husbands to let Khadijah^R.A marry Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)"?

It was customary in Arabia that the husband paid a dowry. The dowry paid by Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was five hundred Dirhams, which could not buy even two camels. At his wedding, Muhammad’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) governess Halimah came to Makkah. Khadijah^R.A gave her a gift of five camels. Some time later when she returned she was given a camel and forty sheep by Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) never forgot her and kept helping her throughout her life.

Their marriage was wondrously blessed with happiness. She bore him six children, two sons and four daughters. On the day of his marriage, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) set free Barakah, the faithful slave he had inherited from his father; and on the same day Khadijah^R.A made him a gift of one of her own slaves, a youth of fifteen named Zayd^R.A. As to Barakah, they married her to man of Madinah to whom she bore a son, after whom she became known as Umm-Ayman, the mother of Ayman.

After the wedding, when Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)’s economic position got better, he became guardian of his cousin "Ali^R.A bin Abu Talib". He also freed a Syrian Christian slave; "Zayd^R.A bin Harith" who was given to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) by Khadijah^R.A. Zayd^R.A however did not leave the service of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) even after his freedom.

The parents of Zayd^R.A did not know that their son was alive. When they heard that he was alive, they reached Makkah to take him back to Syria. He flatly refused and said that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was far dearer to him than his parents, therefore he would not accompany them.

Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) kept on helping the poor to remove their poverty till his last day. His (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) motto was that, "No one should be left hungry and shelterless in the world". No other holy book emphasises so vehemently the need to help the poor as Holy Qur’an does.

Some western writers who are not familiar with the social set-up of the pre-Islamic Arabs write that after marrying Khadijah^R.A, Muhammad’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) living standards changed. This is not true as till his last day there was not an iota of wealth in his life and after him, the Caliphs also followed simple and content lives. It was only later in the "Umayyad" period that kingly splendour and stature crept into the Islamic caliphate. However such was never endorsed by Islam nor practised by its followers.

Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was by nature thrifty in appetite. Whatever period of infancy and youth He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) spent in the desert, his major food remained camel’s milk. A Bedouin got his nourishment through milk. The Arab tribal life would have been extinct without the camel. The central deserts of the Arabian Peninsula were scarce in orchards of date trees or nakhal and therefore camel’s milk became a major part of the ordinary Bedouin’s diet.

Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used milk in the desert and ate bread and dates in the city alone, but he never ate both of these together. He either ate bread or dates. He used to say that to satisfy hunger, only one is enough, and if the other is being eaten as well, it would be lavishness.

He depended till his last day on only one food item and always ate while sitting on the ground. His table cloth consisted of a mat that was made from the bark of date trees. Apart from bread or dates, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to have another dish cooked for him. This was made by boiling wheat and lentils together. The day when he ate this food, he would not take bread or dates. Meat was a luxury. It was cooked only once a year in Makkah, for it was the custom to use meat only during the pilgrimage of Holy Ka’bah. Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) due to his love for simplicity had nothing resembling chairs and tables in his house. He always used to sit and rest by lying down on a mat.

After him, the caliphs also led similar lives. They too depended on uniformity of diet and that was the period when Islam overpowered three super powers like Iran, Syria and Egypt, within a short span of ten years and extended its domain over vast areas. With today’s lavish life-style adopted by the Arabs there is hardly any similarity between them and their ancestors. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to travel long distances for trade before marriage. He continued this business even after marrying Khadijah^R.A. That is why he could identify various tribes and give relevant information about a particular place. Khadijah^R.A bore two sons to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) chose the name "Qasim" for his first son and wished himself to be called "Abu-Qasim" (father of Qasim). Both sons of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) died in early childhood. Khadijah^R.A also bore four daughters to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), named Ruqayyah^{R A}, Zaynab^R.A, Umm-e-Kalthoom^R.A and Fatima^R.A. The first three daughters remained childless, leaving Fatima^R.A alone for parenthood.

After marrying Khadijah^R.A, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) became a member of her tribe and his interaction with its people developed. The people of Khadijah^R.A’s tribe were well known for their countenance, character, and sincerity of deeds. They were among the class of "Hanif".

"Hanif" were those people who day and night, reached for the truth and strove to worship an Almighty Being. Among them was a person "Waraqah bin Nawfal", a paternal cousin of Khadijah^R.A. After Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wedding, he became his trusted friend. Among others who became well acquainted with Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) were Abdullah bin Hajjash, Uthman^R.A bin Hawariyah and Zayd^R.A bin Omer. Whenever they and the other members of Khadijah^R.A’s clan met Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), religion was the topic most discussed. They invited Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to join the "Hanif" as well.

These discourses that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had with his wife’s tribesmen hold a great historical significance. We lack their knowledge apart from a few recorded by Arab historians like Ibn-e-Saad and Ainee. A thorough knowledge of these talks covering a decade (from 25th to 35th year) of Muhammad’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) life, could have made us understand the introspective changes of Muhammad’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) life.

According to these two historians whenever those people asked Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to search for the Truth, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) always replied, "There is no god but Allah".