ভূমিকা
this time, their parents had long passed on - however their
extended family were present to witness this union with the
staunch believer, Abu Talib presiding over the marriage
It had been five years since the Prophet began his open
mission of propagation of the Quran and the faith of al-Islam. In this period of time, he had already experienced many
‘super-natural’ happenings from God which clearly showed his
status as the final prophet - including the unique event of the
me’raj (asecension) to the celestial heavens. It is in this context of having various Divine interventions
in his life that the conception of his daugther takes shape and
gives us an indication of her greatness. One day, the arch-angel responsible for the descent of
revelation from God, the angel Jibraa’il, appeared to the
Prophet and said, “O Muhammad! God the Almighty sends
you greetings and orders you to seprate yourself from Khadijah
This was difficult for the Prophet as Khadijah was very
dear to him. However, because God’s order must always take
Fatima al-Zahra: The Spring of Inspiration
precedence, the Prophet did as he was told - after all, there
had to be some wisdom in this act of God. Before parting ways, in order to let Sayyida Khadijah
know the situation, the Prophet sent Ammar ibn Yasir to
convey the following message to his wife, telling her, “O
Khadijah! Do not presume that this separation from you for
the next forty days is due to a lack of love for you. Rather, my
Lord has commanded me to do this so that He may execute
His decree. Do not imagine anything except fairness and
felicity. God the Exalted praises you abundantly on a daily
basis in the presence of His esteemed angels. Thus, when it
turns dark at night, close your door and rest, and know that I
am staying in the house of Fatima binte Asad.”
Sayyida Khadijah was deeply saddened by this separation,
however fully submitted to the will of God. He had not let
the Prophet down before and for sure, this was yet another
grace being showered upon her husband. During this 40 day spiritual retreat, the Prophet spent his
time fasting and engaged in worship until the last days of
separation drew near.
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