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[*SweetY*]

I researched many pages and from that i got various different information. Some say that Bibi Khadija was born in 565 AD and others say she was born in 555 AD and the Prophet (s.a.w) was borin in 570 AD. :? Every source has different information.. =S.. Anyone else find out anythign different?

[abuali]

Hmm...Muntazir...any authentic resources you can look up in Qum that we probably wont have access to?

[Muhammad Mahdi]

wikipedia says she was born between 565-570.

[Mazhar]

So that makes her btn 3-15yrs older than the prophet right?

[Muhammad Mahdi]

Wikipedia also states that according to shias, bibi Khadija was onlya few yrs older than the prophet. it is the sunni belief that she was a 40 yr old widow.

[qarrar]

wikipedia says she was born between 565-570.Wikipedia also states that according to shias, bibi Khadija was onlya few yrs older than the prophet. it is the sunni belief that she was a 40 yr old widow.

Ahh the obsession with Wikipedia. Well here’s a book by a Shia writer that states that Bibi Khadija was 40 at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (saw)

http://www.al-islam.org/khadija/

Short article based on the book:

http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=4296

[abuali]

I believe we can quote books by Shias disagreeing on various points in history.

The question is not whether they disagree...remember even Salman Rushdie claims to be Muslim!

The question is, the hadiths and information from which the age of Bibi Khadija is being deduced, are they valid and reliable...and the easiest way to ascertain that (without having to spend years and years studying Islamic history and pre-islam history), is to refer to our marja'e..

Any books/article by a prominent marja that can shed some light on this issue.

I believe majority of shias are of the belief that Bibi Khadija was much much younger than 40 and unmarried when she married the Holy Prophet. (Please correct me if this assumtion is wrong)

[Muhammad Mahdi]

I dont have any marja's book, but the 40 yr old theory is more prominent within the sunnis, according to some, as a way to lower her status.

[qarrar]

...but the 40 yr old theory is more prominent within the sunnis, according to some, as a way to lower her status.

Reference for the above statement please and I’d appreciate it if it’s from a hadith book

[qarrar]

...remember even Salman Rushdie claims to be Muslim!

In an interview with Newsnight BBC2 last year, when asked about his religion he stated that he only claimed to be a Muslim to save his own life and doesn’t practice the faith whatsoever. Isn’t it wrong to even state him as a purported Muslim whilst it is evidently clear that he is a kafir.

[Muhammad Mahdi]

...but the 40 yr old theory is more prominent within the sunnis, according to some, as a way to lower her status.

Reference for the above statement please and I’d appreciate it if it’s from a hadith book

Well, I will need to sit down and browse through the majalis collection on tabligh.

[qarrar]

Well, I will need to sit down and browse through the majalis collection on tabligh.

I am sure it will be worthwhile...

[Muhammad Mahdi]

I am sorry I dont have the time. Perhaps you would like to help?

[qarrar]

I am sorry I dont have the time. Perhaps you would like to help?

I am not claiming such, I am quite happy to believe that she was a 40 at the time of her marriage from the book referenced above. The onus is on you…

[Muhammad Mahdi]

Question


I'm a little confused on certain aspects around Bibi Khadija .

Some brothers told me she was only a couple of years older than the Prophet
(SAW) and not 15 years older than him like most of the books I have access to.
And that she was never previously married / never widowed etc.

Another thing I've also read in Shia literature is that Bibi Fatima(AS) was not
the only surviving child of The Prohet(SAW) and that she had 3 other sisters
Where did that come from ?

My understanding has always been that Shias have always believed that she
was the only surviving child.

This may not be a 'vital issue' but it's strange why we can't seem to get our
facts right on this matter.


----------------Answer--------------

Biismihi Ta'ala

Salaamun 'Alaykum


The figure of Khadija (A.S.) has not been adequately studied by historians,
as a result some of the details of her life are scanty. 'Allama Syed Muhsin
Amin has profiled her in the 6th vol. of A'yan al-Shi'a and has collected
the different reports about her. I will summarize his account.

Most reports suggest that she was born 15 years before 'Amu'l Fil, thus
she was about 15 years older than the Prophet (S.A.W). She died 2-3 years
before hijra (which occured in 622) in the same year as Abu Talib passed
away. However, some reports do not agree that she was much older than the
Prophet For example, al-Hakim in his al-Mustadrak states that she was 28
not 40 years old when she married the Prophet.

Most reports (like those of Ibn Ishaq, al-Mas'udi) indicate that she was
the mother of all the Prophet's children apart from Ibrahim (who was the
son of Mary the Copt). She bore the following children to the Prophet:
al-Qasim; Zaynab, Ruqqayya Umm Kulthum and Hazrat Fatima (A.S). Bibi
Fatima was the youngest daughter according to most reports. The daughters
accepted Islam and migrated with the Prophet to Medina.

Historians disagree as to whether she had married before marrying the
Prophet - For example Abu'l Faraj Isfahani states she had married twice
before marrying the Prophet whereas the author of Naqd al-Rijal (Ali b.
Ahmed al-Kufi al-'Alawi) states that she was not married before her
marriage to the Prophet. MOst reports seem to suggest that she was not
married before the marriage to the Prophet.

For more details, please refer to A'yan al-Shi'a volume 6. It is to be noted
that these are historical differences which do not pertain to matters of faith.

http://www.al-islam.org/organizations/a ... 00083.html