Khadija bint Khuwaylid (555-620) was the first wife of Muhammad and the first person to convert to Islam.
Biography[]
Khadija bint Khuwaylid was born in 555, the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad. She married the merchant Muhammad in 595, having married two previous times. Khadija was a brilliant merchant, with her convoys being richer than all of the other traders of the Quraysh put together. She used her money to feed and clothe the poor, and Khadija was introduced to the benevolent Muhammad in 595, marrying him after sending her friend Nafisa to deliver the proposal. They had six children, with all of the males dying in childhood. However, Ali and Zayd ibn Haritha grew up in her care, with Zayd being a slave who was later adopted by Muhammad after becoming a close friend of his. She was the first person to convert to Islam after Muhammad received revelations from the archangel Gabriel in the cave of Hira, and she helped Muhammad to believe in his message and spread Islam. She died in 620, ten years after Muhammad became prophet. After her death, Muhammad would become a polygamist, with Khadija being his monogamous wife for years.