IDEAL WOMEN
The Prophet once remarked that the best woman of the Jewish people was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the best woman of his people, Khadijah, the daughter of Khuwailid.
More light is thrown on the superiority of these two women by the following two statements of the Prophet:
“Aisha says that the only other wife of the Prophet she ever envied was Khadijah, even though she was not a contemporary of hers. ‘Whenever the Prophet sacrificed a goat,’ Aisha says, ‘he would tell me to send some meat to Khadijah’s friends.’ One day, I got annoyed. ‘Oh no, not Khadijah again,’ I exclaimed. The Prophet replied, ‘Her love has been imbibed into my heart.’” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2435-2437)
“Aisha says that the Prophet would not leave home without praising Khadijah. One day, he mentioned Khadijah, and I got annoyed. ‘She was just an old woman,’ I said. ‘God has given you better than her instead.’ This angered the Prophet, who said: ‘God knows, he has given me no better than her. She believed when others disbelieved. She had faith in me when others denied me. She gave me financial support when others left me in the cold. And God gave me children by her, which He has not given me by my other wives.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3818)
Mary and Khadijah enjoy a unique historical status because they gave themselves entirely to God and attached their own will to the Almighty.
When the Judaic era was drawing to a close, a woman who would be fit to be the mother of a miraculous Prophet of the nature of Jesus, on whom be peace, was required. God had ordained that the final Prophet of the Jewish people should be born without a father. For this purpose, a woman whose innocence and chastity were beyond question was needed. The Virgin Mary lived up to this standard. By living a life of extraordinary chastity, she showed herself fit to be selected as the mother of Jesus.
The circumstances of the final Prophet, Muhammad, on whom be peace, were such that he needed a woman who would put her life and her property entirely in his hands and would never complain about anything. God selected Khadijah for this work because of her superlative qualities. She gave up everything—her life, her property, her leisure and her comfort—for the sake of the Prophet. She suffered tremendous affliction but never complained. These qualities made her worthy in God’s sight to be the Companion of His final prophet.
In every day and age, women and men who will devote themselves to the mission of Islam are needed, as well as people who are willing to involve themselves in the scheme that God seeks to implement in the world. Such people are like a small cogwheel, which revolves only according to the motion of a bigger cogwheel, in this case, the will of God. This is undoubtedly a trying task but carries a vast reward.
To perform this task is, in the words of the Quran, “to help God” (22:40). There can be no doubt about the excellence and superiority of those whom God deigns to make His helpers.
