6. Reading. Develop your reading skills: As you read, try to find the information you listed above in the text.

Khadijah’s (RAA) contribution to the birth of Islam is enormous. She always supported her husband, Muhammad (SAAS). When Muhammad (SAAS) suffered, she comforted him. She helped him to establish the new religion. Marriage.

Khadijah was quite old when she married Muhammad (SAAS). She was forty and he was twenty-five. She knew that Muhammad (SAAS) was a very special man, but she did not know that he would become the Seal of All Prophets. The first few years of married life were very comfortable. Muhammad (SAAS) enjoyed family life with his wife and children. Khadijah was a rich businesswoman. She had a big house and everything she needed. She had a wonderful husband and lovely children. She was very happy. However, after Muhammad (SAAS) began to receive the revelations from Allah (SWT), things changed.

Things Become Difficult.

Life was hard. Every day, Muhammad (SAAS) went into Makkah to tell the people about Allah (SWT). He told them to stop worshipping idols. He told them that they must submit to Allah (SWT), the One True God, but the people always laughed at him. They thought that he was mad. Sometimes they got angry when Muhammad (SAAS) criticised their gods. They often shouted insults at him.

Often Muhammad (SAAS) returned home upset. Khadijah listened to his problems. She comforted and reassured him. She told him that people would listen to him eventually.

The Boycott.

Many people in Makkah hated the Muslims. They wanted the Muslims to leave Makkah. They told the Muslims to go and live in the Abu Talib quarter of Makkah. They would not allow the Muslims to work or trade in Makkah. They would not even talk to the Muslims. There was a boycott against Muslims.

Often Khadijah was hungry. It was difficult to get enough to eat and drink. She was also very old. She got tired easily and was often sick. Some of her children had already died, but she remained happy. She wanted to help her husband and her Muslim friends. She would not leave them.

The End.

The boycott lasted for three years. When it ended, she returned to Makkah with her husband and lived in a house next to the Sacred House of Worship. At that time, Khadijah was already sixty-five years old.

Three years later, Khadijah died. Within a short time Abu Talib, the Prophet’s (SAAS) guardian, uncle, and protector, also died. Muhammad (SAAS) was heartbroken. He called that year the Year of the Heavy Heart. Although he continued to work hard to spread Islam throughout the world, he never forgot his beloved Khadijah.

While she was alive, she was Muhammad’s (SAAS} only wife. She was the only wife to bear him children who outlived him. After her death, he had several wives, but he always thought about Khadijah. His young wife, ‘A’ishah (RAA), was sometimes jealous of Khadijah. She said to him, “Why are you thinking about this old woman? She is dead and yet you love her more!”

The Prophet (SAAS) was annoyed. He said, “She always believed in me”. On another occasion, during a festival, the Prophet (SAAS) had a sheep slaughtered. He sent some meat to some friends and relatives of Khadijah. When ‘A’ishah asked him why he did it, he replied, “Because I still love the people she loved”.

‘A’ishah knew how much her husband had loved Khadijah. She said, “I have never envied a woman as much as I envy Khadijah. The Prophet (SAAS) did not marry me until after her death”.

Khadijah played an important part in the establishment of Islam. She is surely Islam's greatest daughter and mother of the faithful.

III. Meaning Focus. a) True/False Statements. Read the text quickly and look at the following statements. Do you agree with these agreements? Why\ Why not?

1. Khadijah was much older than Muhammad (SAAS) when they married.

2. Khadijah always listened to Muhammad's (SAAS) problems and comforted him.

3. Despite the boycott, Khadijah and Muhammad (SAAS) still led a comfortable life.

4. After Khadijah’s death, Muhammad (SAAS) sent meat to Khadijah’s family because they were poor.

5. Muhammad (SAAS) did not marry ‘A’ishah until after the death of Khadijah.

b) Information Search.

Answer the questions using information from the text.

1. Which of the following statements is not true according to the text?

• Khadijah supported her husband.

• Khadijah comforted Muhammad (SAAS).

• Khadijah made a small contribution to the religion.

• Khadijah helped to establish Islam.

2. What is a boycott?

3. What happened during the Year of the Heavy Heart?

• The boycott ended.

• AbuTalib died.

• The Muslims returned to Makkah.

• Khadijah had her sixty-fifth birthday

4. Why was ‘A’ishah envious of Khadijah?

5. In the passage, why is Khadijah called Islam’s greatest daughter?

• Khadijah made an enormous contribution to the birth of Islam.

• Muhammad (SAAS) always thought about Khadijah, even after her death.

• Khadijah always comforted and reassured Muhammad (SAAS),

• Khadijah was the Prophet’s (SAAS) first wife.

c) Information Management.

The sentences below are about the life of Khadijah bint Khuwailid. Number them in the correct order.

………Muhammad (SAAS) told the Makkans to stop worshipping their idols.

………. Khadijah was often sick and some of her children had already died.

……….. Khadijah married Muhammad (SAAS) at the age of forty.

……….. The idolaters told the Muslims to go and live in AbuTalib's house.

……… Muhammad (SAAS) often thought about Khadijah, even after her death.

……….Khadijah died three years later.

………. Khadijah returned to Makkah with her husband.

………. Muhammad (SAAS) began to receive the revelations.

………. Within a short time, AbuTalib, the Prophet's (SAAS) protector, died.

………. Khadijah had a large house, a wonderful husband, and lovely children.

……….. Muhammad (SAAS) returned home every day feeling upset.

………. Muhammad (SAAS) called that year the Year of the Heavy Heart.

d) Learner Activity.

1. Work in groups. Imagine you are a Muslim friend of Khadijah who is living nearby at the time of the boycott.

2. Imagine you're going to tell a friend about how you've noticed Khadijah’s life change since she first got married. Decide what you’re going to say and select one person in the group to report your information to the class.

e) Vocabulary in Context. Match each word from the text with the correct meaning.

1. contribution a. refusal to do business with someone

2. enormous b. create, set up

3. supported c. wanted the same thing someone else has

4. suffered d. rather angry

5. comforted e. gave help and sympathy to someone

6. establish f. system of beliefs in a god

7. religion g. extremely big

8. idols h. killed (animals) for food

9. criticized i. very unkind remarks

10. insults j. experienced or felt pain or hardship

11. upset k. objects of religious worship, such as statues

12. boycott 1. pointed out faults or weaknesses

13. annoyed m. troubled, distressed

14. slaughtered n. soothed someone in pain or worry

15. envied o. giving of money, help given to a cause

Use some of the words from the previous task to complete the passage below. Use the words in their correct form.

Khadijah always gave her husband the (1)……….. and comfort he needed in the difficult early days when the new (2)……….. of Islam was becoming (3) ………… Though she was used to the (4)……….. life of a rich businesswoman, she was able to adapt to the more difficult times. When Muhammad (SAAS)(5) ……….. the Makkans for praying to (6)……….. , they (7) ……….. him, making him very (8)……….. . AfterKhadijah’s death, Muhammad’s (SAAS)young wife, ‘A’ishah, sometimes (9)………… him by showing how (10) ……….. she was of his love for Khadijah.