Khadija bint Khuwaylid
Khadija bint Khuwaylid (c. 555 – November 619 CE) was the first wife and the first follower of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Khadija was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad, a notable of the Quraysh tribe in Makkah and a successful merchant.
Khadija is often referred to by Muslims as The Mother of Believers. In Islam, she is an important female figure as one of the four 'ladies of heaven', alongside Asiya, Maryam, and her daughter Fatimah. Muhammad was monogamously married to her for 25 years.
Khadija’s mother, Fatima bint Za'idah, who died in 575, was a member of the Amir ibn Luayy clan of the Quraysh and a third cousin of Muhammad's mother.
Khadija’s father, Khuwaylid ibn Asad, was a merchant and leader. According to some accounts, he died c. 585 in the Sacrilegious War, but according to others, he was still alive when Khadija married Muhammad in 595. Khuwaylid also had a sister named Ume Habib binte Asad.
Resources
The First Follower
Khadija, the first believer, embraced Islam with unwavering faith, setting an inspirational precedent.