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. As the 40th day ended, the angel Jibraa’il once again descended to the Prophet and said, “God sends His greetings to you and says that you must prepare yourself for The Prophet asked, “What is the gift from God?” Jibraa’il, who was unaware of what this gift was, was received by the angel Mikaa’il who descended with a tray covered with a cloth of fine silk woven with heavenly gold brocade. He placed it front of the Prophet and Jibraa’il said, “God commands you to break your fast tonight with this In seeking to better understand this historical event, the scholars have quoted the following story in which Imam Ali relates that, “The Prophet was staying at our house, and routinely at the time of breaking his fast, he