As previously mentioned, there is very limited information available on the first 40 years of the life of the Prophet PBUH. Only two more incidents have been recorded from the pre-prophethood period, and the first of these is his marriage to Khadija RA:
How the Prophet PBUH Met Khadija RA
Now, how did the Prophet PBUH meet Khadija bint Khuwaylid (خديجة بنت خويلد) RA? As we said before, the Prophet PBUH was a shepherd. He would find people who owned a flock, tended them, and would get some wages. And it so happened Khadija's older sister had a flock —a herd of camels— and she was looking for someone to graze and take care of them outside of Makkah. So she hired two people — the Prophet PBUH and another young man.
After the Prophet PBUH had finished the grazing, they had to go back into town to collect the wages. The young man with the Prophet PBUH said, "Now that we are done, let's go and ask for our wages." But the Prophet PBUH said, "Why don't you go on my behalf — because I am too shy to go." So the person came to Khadija's sister —and it so happened Khadija was in the house at the time— Khadija asked, "Where is Muhammad?" The young man said, "He was too shy to come and ask it from you." So at this, Khadija's older sister remarked, "I have not seen any man who is more shy, honorable, noble, and chaste in his interactions, than Muhammad." And it's narrated that this is the first time Khadija heard of the Prophet PBUH — and it was in such a manner — so something entered her heart.
And note, Khadija RA was single at the time even though it was generally rare for an adult to remain single in their society. A lot of men did try to marry her because of her noble, pure Qureshi lineage, her substantial wealth, and the fact that jahili law dictates the wealth would be transferred to the husband — but she turned all of them down.
Later that year, Khadija had to send her caravan to Syria for commerce and trade. And as we know, she owned a lot of wealth: she had been married twice, and her second husband was a wealthy merchant, and the two of them did not have any children, nor did the husband have any siblings — so she inherited his small fortune when he passed away, even though it was not common in the time of Jahiliyyah for women to inherit. (Note: She did have sons from the first marriage, but not the second.) And over the course of the next few years, she kept on investing: she would order some goods to be purchased in the time of hajj, and she would sell them in Syria — and then purchase other goods from Syria, and sell them in Yemen — then purchase other goods from Yemen, and sell them in Makkah — so on and so forth. But because she was a woman, she could not go herself. So every single time, she had to hire a businessman. And note, in those days, you wouldn't hire such a person by a wage. You would make it a percentage profit, i.e., mudarabah (مضاربة). For example, "30% of all the profit will be yours, and 70% will be mine." (And note, this is legitimate even in Islam.) But because Khadija is sending a man who is not related to her & not looking after her best interest, usually, the person would steal, lie, and cheat. Thus she never managed to get the type of wealth that she deserved.
So when she heard the praise of the Prophet PBUH, she decided to choose him for the mudarabah, even though he was inexperienced when it came to business — he had never ever gone on a business trip himself — but because of his honesty, she decided to overlook this lack of experience and the lack of age (the Prophet PBUH was just around 24-25). And indeed, it's human nature that when a man is decent and elegant in his interaction with a woman, the rest of his nature is also good.
So Khadija, who was well known as the richest lady in Makkah, sent a message to the Prophet PBUH through her servant, asking him to take care of her caravan. So the Prophet PBUH went to Abu Talib and said, "O my uncle, Khadija has sent me such-and-such an offer — what do you think?" (And this shows us that the Prophet PBUH was a very respectful young man — he didn't just impetuously say yes, but asked his uncle for advice and permission.) And Abu Talib basically said, "O my nephew, she is well known to be the richest woman. Allah has blessed you with this opportunity. Do not say no to her." So the Prophet PBUH said yes, and Khadija agreed to give him 50% of the profits —as she felt a good incentive would lead to him doing a better job— so he PBUH accepted, and she sent one of her servants along, and the Prophet PBUH took the caravan to the city of Bosra. (Not to be confused with Basra [البصرة] of Iraq or Bursa [بورصة] of Türkiye.)
Bosra is a small town outside of Damascus by ~100 km and was the typical and most convenient location for the Arabs to do all the buying and selling. It had a huge marketplace — so many different people from all around used to go there for trade. Yemenites, Egyptians, etc. It is well known to be a town of economic transactions. And to this day, there are ruins of the marketplace. (Side note: During Umar's RA caliphate, he conquered Bosra, and he built one of the first masjids ever built in what is now Syria.)
So Khadija sent her servant Maysara (ميسرة) with the Prophet PBUH, and when they returned, Maysara told Khadija of the care and concern that the Prophet PBUH had shown, and of the honesty in his dealings and transactions. And it's also been narrated that she told her of the miracle of the cloud that always provided shelter for the Prophet PBUH. (Note: No doubt, this can happen by the will of Allah. However, as we mentioned during our discussion about the story of Buhayra, it's important to exercise caution when narrating pre-prophethood miracles in the absence of authentic reports.)
In any case, the Prophet PBUH made double or triple the profit anyone else made before — and this is of course for two reasons: (i) he is being honest, and (ii) because whatever he does has barakah — Allah blesses it. Indeed, as we have seen, even when the Prophet PBUH was with Halimah as a baby, everything got barakah. So there is no question that whatever the Prophet PBUH is doing, it will have extra blessings.
So the caravan came back with double, triple profits. This thus increased the emotions Khadija RA had for the Prophet PBUH. And note, there is nothing wrong with feeling such emotions — she is a single lady, and the Prophet PBUH is an eligible bachelor. Falling in love is not haram; it's what you do with that love that can make it halal or haram. Falling in love is a natural emotion. First Khadija RA heard the Prophet PBUH being praised so highly by her own sister, then she saw his honesty, then she saw the barakah, etc., so it's only natural. And thus, there is nothing wrong with her desire now to marry the Prophet PBUH. In fact, what lady would not have desired to marry the Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
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Marriage to Khadija RA
The precise details regarding how the marriage proposal came about vary, but it is widely agreed among scholars that Khadija RA was the one who instigated it and arranged for the Prophet PBUH to propose. Normally, the man proposes; however, if the woman expresses an interest, this is permissible even in Islam under certain guidelines.
In one version, it's said Khadija RA confided in an elderly servant named Nafisa (نفيسة) about her desire to marry the Prophet PBUH. And Nafisa took it upon herself and said, "Leave this to me. I will arrange it," so she approached the Prophet PBUH with the question, "O Muhammad, why don't you get married?" The Prophet PBUH simply smiled and said, "Who would marry me? I am an orphan and I am poor." Nafisa then posed the question, "What if Khadija wanted to marry you?" The Prophet PBUH fell silent, and then said, "Why would she want me?"—notice the Prophet PBUH didn't say no, but he was simply wondering why Khadija RA wanted him — so the implied message was that he was interested. So Nafisa went back and told Khadija RA of this, and the matter went to the next stage.
Ibn Ishaq said this marriage took place 3 months after he returned from Bosra, in the month of Safar. So for 3 months, there was this back-and-forth.
There are a number of versions as to how the marriage took place as well.
In one version, it is narrated with a very weak chain that Khadija's father opposed the marriage, so he was caused to become drunk, and it was made to appear to him that the marriage had taken place, so when he became sober, it was too late to say no. But this narration contradicts other known fact, as Ibn Hajar and others have pointed out: Khadija's father had died long ago — which makes sense, as had he been alive, he would have taken the money — therefore, it is clear that this version is not true.
The more authentic version is that her uncle Amr ibn Asad (عمرو بن أسد) became the wali (ولي - legal guardian), and the Prophet PBUH came with Abu Talib who delivered the khutbah (خطبة - sermon), as recorded in the early books: he began by praising Allah and extolling the lineage and the blessings of the Quraysh — that they are the caretakers of the Ka'bah, the blessed people of Makkah, etc.; and then said: "My nephew is the one who is no comparison with any other young man in all of Makkah, in his manners, nobility, and lineage. And he has proposed to your noble lady with a mahr (مهر - dower)[1] of 12 uqiyyah (أوقية) and a nash (نش) (of silver) (which amount to a modest and respectful sum of about $400)." And Khadija's uncle stood up and said, "This is a young man who cannot be refused — we accept the proposal."
And as we mentioned, Khadija had been married twice before. And her first marriage gave her a son named Hala ibn Abi Hala (هالة بن أبي هالة). (And when the risala of the Prophet PBUH began, Hala eventually accepted Islam, and he lived a noble life alongside the Prophet PBUH.)
Now, the question of Khadija RA's age at the time of her marriage to the Prophet PBUH has been a topic of much discussion among scholars. While the popular view holds that she was 40 years old and died at the age of 65, as reported by the classical scholar al-Waqidi, other reports suggest a different age. Scholars unanimously agree that the couple was married for 25 years and that the Prophet PBUH was 25 years old at the time of the marriage. However, the age of Khadija RA is subject to debate. From an academic standpoint, the widely accepted age of 40 presents two issues:
1. Al-Waqidi, who reports this age, is not to the caliber of other scholars who have reported a different age. Other scholars, such as al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Kathir, report that Khadija RA died at around 50 years of age, suggesting that she was likely between 25 and 35 years old at the time of marriage. Another early authority, Hisham ibn al-Kalbi, says: Khadija married the Prophet PBUH when she was 28 years old. And we have from al-Hakim, that Ibn Ishaq, the preeminent authority on seerah, also reports that she was 28 years old. So the people reporting she was 28 are more in quantity and in quality in terms of knowledge.
2. The Prophet PBUH and Khadija RA had at least 6 children (or maybe more). And a woman in her 40s, it is very difficult to imagine her having 6 children. Whereas a woman at 28, this is very reasonable and makes a lot more sense.
Therefore, based on the weight of evidence from multiple authoritative sources, it appears more academically sound to conclude that Khadija RA was likely 28 years old at the time of her marriage to the Prophet PBUH.
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What We Can Learn From the Prophet's PBUH Marriage to Khadija RA
1. It shows the importance of honesty and good akhlaq (أخلاق - manners/character) — it's appreciated by all of humanity. The noble conduct of the Prophet PBUH as a shepherd upgraded his position and pay grade. Because he was honest, trustworthy, modest, and humble, opportunities were created that gave him higher positions. This is the reality of the dunya. Character counts even much more than experience. Indeed, Khadija RA overlooked the Prophet's PBUH lack of experience.
2. It shows the intelligence and status of Khadija RA — she saw the Prophet PBUH as being an ideal and perfect husband. And this also shows the permissibility of, not just natural feelings of desire/attraction, but pursuing it in a permissible manner. It's not haram to be in love — it's what you do with it that makes it halal or haram.
3. Also, the Prophet PBUH needed support and comfort for his future mission, so Allah chose for him a woman who would give him this. Behind every successful man, there is a good woman. This is the fact of life — men need a loving and supporting woman in their lives. In public, they can put on a macho and strong persona — but in private, they need the comfort and the support of a loving wife. And Allah chose Khadija RA for the Prophet PBUH to be that loving and comforting wife.
4. The blessings of Khadija RA are just too numerous to mention. Of them:
- She was the first to believe in the Prophet PBUH and comforted him when the revelation began [see episode 10].
- She was the one who took him to see Waraqa ibn Nawfal [see episode 10].
- She was the only one in which Jibril would come in the household (Jibril did not enter the house of any other wives of the Prophet PBUH). Once, the Prophet PBUH told Khadija, "O Khadija, here is Jibril, and he is sending Allah's salam upon you, and he is giving you his salam, and is giving you the glad tidings of a house in Jannah where there will be no noise or any struggling." And Khadija RA responded in such an intelligent way — she didn't say "Wa'alaykassalam, ya Allah (وعليك السلام يا الله - peace be upon you, O Allah)," but rather, "Allah is al-Salam (السلام - the Peace/the Source of Peace), and may salam be upon Jibril, and may salam be upon you, ya Rasulullah." (Side note: Likewise, when something good happens to us, we're not supposed to say "Jazak'Allah, ya Allah [جزاك الله يا الله - may Allah reward You, O Allah]"—because Allah's jaza [جزاء - reward] comes to us, and we are nobody to give jaza back to Allah. [So say "alhamdulillah (الحمد لله - praise be to Allah)" instead.])
(A few months after Khadija's passing, one of the sahaba commented, "We did not see the Prophet PBUH smile for months" [see episode 19].)
- Aisha RA, who was the favorite wife of the Prophet PBUH in the Madinan phase, once said, "I was never more jealous of any woman than I was of Khadija, even though I never saw her, because I knew how much the Prophet PBUH loved her." And once, when the Prophet PBUH was talking about Khadija RA, Aisha RA had enough, so she uttered some things she shouldn't have uttered: "Ya Rasulullah, for how long are you going to mention an old [...] when Allah has given you a young fertile ground instead?" This remark left the Prophet PBUH displeased, and he replied, "No, by Allah. Allah has not given me anyone better than her. She was the first to believe in me when everyone rejected me. And she gave me of her money when everyone had abandoned me. And she supported me when the community gave me the cold shoulder. And Allah blessed me with children only through her." After this, Aisha RA learned her lesson and never mentioned Khadija RA again. One of the reasons why Aisha RA was so jealous of her was that whenever the Prophet PBUH received gifts, money, or meat, he would send part of it to Khadija's RA friends — showing how much he thought of her. Another time, Khadija's older sister came to visit the Prophet PBUH in Madinah —and Aisha was present— and when the sister was walking outside the door, the Prophet's PBUH demeanor changed, because her footsteps reminded him of Khadija's. And when the sister asked permission to enter, Aisha could see the paleness on the Prophet's PBUH face as all his memories of Khadija came flooding back. Of course the Prophet PBUH knew it wasn't Khadija, but his memories of her were so strong that even after so many years, he was almost moved to tears.
And we can go on and on with regards to her blessings.
5. This also shows that the Prophet PBUH was not a lustful man. If he wanted to, he could have married a younger lady who was a virgin. But rather, he married someone of nobility, even though she was twice widowed with children. And he remained faithful to her until she passed away.
6. All of the children of the Prophet PBUH were through Khadija. There were at least 6. The first child was al-Qasim (القاسم) — hence the Prophet's PBUH kunya (كنية - teknonym) was Abu al-Qasim (أبو القاسم). And it was said that al-Qasim was born in the days of Jahiliyyah, and he had reached the age where the boys could ride on the camel, i.e., 7-8 years old, and then he passed away. That's all we know. And then the Prophet PBUH had Zaynab (زينب), Ruqayyah (رقية), Ummi Kulthum (أم كلثوم), and Fatima (فاطمة). And then his final son with Khadija, Abdullah (عبد الله). Some people add two more, but the stronger position is that Abdullah had two nicknames: al-Tahir (الطاهر) and al-Tayyib (الطيب), i.e., the names of the supposed two extra children. And al-Tahir and al-Tayyib both mean "the Pure One." Abdullah was born after the revelation began, and he died in infancy. And the four daughters all lived to maturity and married; and three of them died in the Prophet's PBUH own lifetime [see episodes 41 & 84]. Only Fatima outlived him by a few months [see episode 101].
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Tangent: Wisdoms Behind the Prophet PBUH Losing His Children
It's interesting to comment that, subhan'Allah, the Prophet PBUH is facing the most traumatic problems after problems. Indeed, there is no greater difficulty than losing parents or children. And the Prophet PBUH had to go through both. Our Prophet PBUH is multiple times orphaned. And then he is multiple times losing his children — first al-Qasim, then Abdullah, and then Ibrahim (إبراهيم) who was born of his maidservant [see episode 97]. It's as if Allah SWT is giving him the most difficult tragedies imaginable. Why? There are a number of wisdoms we can glean:
1. Allah SWT is telling him that your purpose in life is to be tested and afflicted — because it is through these trials that one's relationship with Allah is established.
2. Living through these trials, true servitude is reached — you understand who you are and who is Allah SWT.
3. Living through these trials develops the utmost patience — and the Prophet PBUH needed this to fulfill his mission.
4. Allah SWT tested him through these hardships so that his heart becomes soft.
And note, even though Allah SWT tested him, He did not test him beyond his capacity — He blessed him with both sons and daughters to give him a taste of fatherhood, and to silence those who tried to mock him. Indeed, if the Prophet PBUH didn't have any children, people could have said many things. And subhan'Allah, when the Prophet PBUH lost his son Abdullah, al-As ibn Wa'il (العاص بن وائل) was so crude and callous that he cheered for joy, happy that the Prophet's PBUH progeny 'has been cut off.' Can you imagine the pain of losing a son, and on top of that your worst enemy is running through the streets of Makkah cheering for joy? So to this, Allah revealed Surah al-Kawthar (سورة الكوثر) —and the three short ayahs in the surah were so beloved to the Prophet PBUH—: "Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone]. Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off" [Quran, 108:1-3]. Allah SWT is saying, 'We have given you plenty, so do not worry, We have taken away one thing, but given you al-Kawthar (and al-Kawthar means many things: the Paradise, everything in Paradise, and the river of Paradise). Pray to Allah, and those who oppose you will be the ones who are cut off from everything.' And Allah has kept His promise — look at their legacy: the only people who mention the names of al-As ibn Wa'il and the like are those who hate and despise them. Look at how Allah has disgraced the enemies of the Prophet PBUH. What legacy have they left?
There are also theological wisdoms as to why the Prophet PBUH was not allowed to have sons: As we know, he PBUH was blessed with Ibrahim when he was 59 or 60, and the child lived for only around 18 months — and in Ibn Majah, the Prophet PBUH is recorded as having said, "Had Ibrahim lived, he would have been a prophet"—that is, it's not possible that the son of Rasulullah PBUH to not be a prophet — but because the Prophet PBUH was the last prophet, theologically, Allah had to seal the prophethood. So it's clear why the Prophet PBUH had no sons. And the Prophet PBUH knew this. (And subhan'Allah, look at what the ummah has done with the sons of the Prophet's PBUH *daughter*. What groups were formed exaggerating their status. Imagine if there was a direct *male* progeny — the ummah would have made them into prophets/gods walking on the earth. So it was actually a mercy and blessing from Allah that the sons of the Prophet PBUH did not live long.)
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Rebuilding of the Ka'bah
The incident of the rebuilding of the Ka'bah took place when the Prophet PBUH was around 35 years old — so 10 years after the marriage with Khadija RA.
The Ka'bah was damaged by a fire and a flood: a woman was cooking outside of her house close to the Ka'bah —and in those days, the houses were 5-10 feet away from the Ka'bah— and one of the embers sparked, and it set the cloth of the Ka'bah ablaze. So the Ka'bah was damaged — and at this stage, it was weakened, but not destroyed. But later on, a massive flood came into Makkah, and it destroyed the roof and some of the walls of the Ka'bah. So the Quraysh decided they needed to rebuild the entire Ka'bah, as the structure is now more or less gone.
And around the same time the Ka'bah was destroyed, there was news of a sale going on in the city of Juddah (جُدَّة) (now Jeddah):
The Caesar of Rome had sent supplies to one of the cities of Yemen to rebuild a church that was destroyed by the Persians. Caesar got the best wood, marble, craftsmen, etc., and sent them all to Yemen on a ship. But Allah had another plan — the books of seerah mention Allah sent a wind off the coast of Juddah causing the ship to crash. The ship was damaged, but it made it to Juddah. So all of the cargo —the most expensive marble, wood, etc.— is now in Juddah. Subhan'Allah, it's amazing when you think about it. And the people of the ship decided to sell the material, as they had to raise enough money to go back to Rome. So when the Quraysh heard about this, they gathered all of their wealth, went to Juddah, and they purchased all of this merchandise along with hiring the craftsmen who had been educated in the palaces of Caesar. They bring all of the goods back to Makkah.
Now they are wondering, "Should we destroy the House of Allah?" i.e., to rebuild a whole new structure. And according to one report in Ibn Ishaq, when they were debating what to do, a large snake came out of the Well of Zamzam, and whenever they approached, it hissed at them. But then Allah sent a big bird to pick up the snake and remove it. So they took this as a sign that they should approach the Ka'bah. But of course, the thought of destroying the House of Allah was still considered sacrilegious to them, so they were hesitant to take action, and were nudging each other, "Why don't you go first." Until finally, al-Walid ibn al-Mughira (الوليد بن المغيرة) (the nobleman of the Quraysh mentioned in the Quran, who will become one of the enemies of the Prophet PBUH later on), said, "I will do it," and he took an ax, went in front of the Ka'bah, and said, "O Allah, don't get alarmed or angry — we are just trying to help rebuild the Ka'bah," and he began breaking down one of the walls. And everybody just watched and nobody lifted a finger to help. They then started talking among themselves, "Why don't we use al-Walid as the 'litmus test.' If he survives the night, we will join him the next day." So they basically didn't help him until the next morning al-Walid ibn al-Mughira woke up just fine.
So the next day, everyone helped him tear the Ka'bah down and rebuild it. The task was divided among the subtribes of the Quraysh: they divided the subtribes into four groups, and each group took responsibility for one of the four walls. The Banu Abd Manaf (بنو عبد مناف), the prominent subtribe of the Quraysh which included the Banu Hashim, the tribe of Abdul Muttalib who was the legend among the Arabs, was assigned the most prestigious wall. And the second most prestigious was given to the Banu Makhzum which had al-Walid ibn al-Mughira, Abu Jahal (أبو جهل), et al.
And as we know, the Black Stone is situated at the corner of the Ka'bah, so it's connected to not one, but two walls — and these two walls are now under the responsibility of the two rivaling tribes, the Banu Abd Manaf and the Banu Makhzum. So when they got to the corner, trouble occurred — they both said, "The Black Stone belongs to our side. Not yours." And then the other tribes got involved as well and said, "Why should you get the privilege [of putting the Black Stone back in its place]?" So they all began to dispute until the fighting/anger between them reached such a level that the construction of the Ka'bah was stopped for five days.
On one of these days, the Banu Makhzum secretly put together an agreement with some other subtribes that they would fight to the death to put the Black Stone in — and they dipped their hands in camel blood as a promise/signature to make a pact. Subhan'Allah. Look at this Jahiliyyah — are you going to kill yourself and leave your wife widow and children orphan just for the pride and honor of putting the Black Stone in?!
They were almost about to reach into a big fight, until on the fifth day, Abu Umayya ibn al-Mughira (أبو أمية بن المغيرة), the oldest person alive in Makkah, said, "There will be no bloodshed. We are not going to fight over this. Let us just give it over to the next person who enters from the 'major area.'" Now this means it's going to be the luck of the draw — because whoever walks in will obviously choose his own tribe. But, as we know, the next person to enter turned out to be the Prophet PBUH. And what is amazing is when the Prophet PBUH walked in, each tribe was delighted, thinking the Prophet PBUH liked them the most and would choose their side. Subhan'Allah. This shows the beautiful character of the Prophet PBUH.
(Tangent: Fast forward a few decades later: In a hadith, it's narrated that Amr ibn al-As said, "The Prophet PBUH was so gentle and nice to me that I knew he loved me the most out of everybody [or so I believed], so one day, I asked him PBUH, 'Who do you love the most?' And the Prophet PBUH said instantly, 'Aisha.'" Amr said, "No. I meant amongst the men." The Prophet PBUH said, "Her father." Then Amr said, "After him?" The Prophet PBUH said, "Umar." And Amr kept on asking until he got the point —his name never came up— and so he stopped asking. This hadith shows that the way the Prophet PBUH dealt with everybody was so kind and gentle that they all felt the Prophet PBUH loved them the most. And this is wallahi amazing.)
And when the Prophet PBUH walked in, as we know, he said, "Bring me a sheet/garment"—and when it was brought, he himself put the Black Stone on the garment, and said, "Let every subtribe send its representative, and we will all put the Black Stone together." So they all lifted it, including the Banu Makhzum (so they fulfilled their promise) — and then the Prophet PBUH himself was the one who put the Black Stone into that particular location.
Now, it's important to note that the Quraysh didn't build the Ka'bah in the original structure before it was destroyed — they changed a few things. And Allah had willed this change would become permanent:
1. Either the marble or the wood (we don't know which), they didn't have enough supply to rebuild the original rectangular Ka'bah as it was built by Ibrahim AS —because they were using expensive materials for the foundations— so they built a square instead; and to mark the other two corners, they used two posts. It was not their intention to make it permanent, but of course Allah willed it would be.
2. According to one report, the Ka'bah at the time of the Prophet's PBUH early life was just around 10 feet high (the height of when you sit on a camel) — but upon rebuilding, the Quraysh doubled this height. And this began the concept of making the Ka'bah taller and taller, so in our time, it's much much higher.
3. Banu Abd Manaf made the door of the Ka'bah in the middle of the wall, not on the ground where people could go in, because they wanted to gain exclusivity and have access to who could go in and who couldn't. They had the keys and the ladder, so only those whom the Banu Abd Manaf approved could go into the Ka'bah. And to this day, the door is high in the center.
4. They built a water spout — logically, this was a necessity. And to this day, we have a water spout.
It's also worth mentioning that when the Prophet PBUH conquered Makkah 25 years later [see episode 83], he said to Aisha RA, "Were it not for the fact that your people are still new to Islam, I would have rebuilt the Ka'bah in its original structure of Ibrahim AS, and made the door accessible to everybody." But the Prophet PBUH didn't, as there were many new converts at the time of the Conquest, and it would have been too big a fitna for them to see the Ka'bah being destroyed and then rebuilt. However, a few decades later, after the Prophet PBUH had passed away, in the time of the early Umayyad dynasty, one group led by a pious sahabi, Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr RA, broke away from the Umayyad empire, and they founded their own mini-caliphate in Makkah. And when the aforementioned hadith reached Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, he destroyed the Ka'bah, made it into a rectangle shape, and he lowered the door down to the earth — just like the Prophet PBUH wanted. And this was happening in the time of the infamous Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (الحجاج بن يوسف), the most tyrant ruler ever seen in the ummah. And when Hajjaj overtook Makkah again from Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr by throwing catapults, it destroyed the Ka'bah. And as we know, he crucified Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr RA —a Companion, the son of a Companion, the brother of a Companion— in front of the Ka'bah. Subhan'Allah. Look at how evil this Hajjaj was. And Hajjaj then rebuilt the Ka'bah as it was before, i.e., square-shaped, with a raised door, etc. Then, it is reported that in the time of Imam Malik, the khalifa (خليفة - caliph) at the time asked Imam Malik, "Shall we rebuild the Ka'bah as it was built by Ibrahim AS?" But Imam Malik told him, "No. I don't want the Ka'bah to become a toy that kings come along and do what they want with it"—and this is what you call true fiqh (فقه - understanding). So from the time of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the Ka'bah has remained upon the foundations of the pre-Islamic structure, square-shaped with a raised door.
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Conclusion
Notice how everything is planned by Allah — the Arabs in the desert had no fancy wood or marble, yet Allah sent them the choicest materials from the palace of Caesar (so we could say Caesar himself is 'financing' the building of the Ka'bah), subhan'Allah. Indeed, Allah is the best of planners.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Muhammad Abdul Rahman, March 2023]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Muhammad Abdul Rahman, March 2023]
