they entered upon Khuwaylid and asked for her hand. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—gave her a dowry of twenty young she-camels. He took no other wife until she passed away, and he married her when he was twenty-five years old.

Ahmad records in his Musnad: “Abu Kamil narrated to us; Hammad narrated to us; from ‘Ammar ibn Abi ‘Ammar; from Ibn ‘Abbas—Hammad was of the opinion that this is the correct chain—that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, mentioned Khadijah, but her father was disinclined to marry her to him. Khadijah therefore prepared food and drink, invited her father and a group of Quraysh, and they ate and drank until they became intoxicated. She then said to her father, ‘Muhammad is seeking my hand; so marry me to him.’ Her father married her to him, and she perfumed the Prophet and clothed him in a mantle, according to their custom. When her father sobered up he looked at himself—now perfumed and dressed—and exclaimed, ‘What is this?’ She replied, ‘You have married me to Muhammad.’ He said, ‘Shall I wed you to the orphan of Abu Talib? Never, by my life!’ She retorted, ‘Have you no shame? Would you disgrace yourself before Quraysh by admitting you were drunk?’ She persisted with him until he relented.”

Part of this account is also transmitted by al-A‘mash, from Abu Khalid al-Walibi, from Jabir ibn Samurah—or someone else.

All of the Prophet’s children were born to Khadijah except Ibrahim. They were: al-Qasim, al-Tayyib, and al-Tahir, who all died in infancy before prophethood; and Ruqayyah, Zaynab, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah—may Allah be pleased with them. Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were married to ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan; Zaynab to Abu al-‘As ibn al-Rabi‘ ibn ‘Abd Shams; and Fatimah to ‘Ali—may Allah be pleased with them all.

The Rebuilding of the Kaʿbah

Ibn Ishaq said: When he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—reached the age of thirty-five, Quraysh gathered