ibn ʿUmayr with the same chain.

He (Ḥammād) added after her words, “the one with reddish gums,” the remark: “She perished in times long past.”

ʿĀʾishah said, “Thereupon his face changed in a way I had never seen except when revelation was descending upon him, or when storm-clouds gathered and he would wait to see whether they portended mercy or punishment.”

Only Aḥmad recorded this wording, and its chain is sound.

Imām Aḥmad (1) also related—through [ʿAlī] ibn Isḥāq, who said that ʿAbdullāh informed us; he said: Mujālid narrated to us from al-Shaʿbī, from Masrūq, from ʿĀʾishah—who said:

“Whenever the Prophet ﷺ mentioned Khadījah he would extol her with the finest praise. One day I became jealous and said, ‘How often you remember that woman with the reddish gums! Allah has given you someone better than her.’ He replied:

‘Allah has not given me anyone better than her. She believed in me when people disbelieved, declared me truthful when people denied me, shared her wealth with me when people withheld theirs, and Allah granted me children by her when I was denied children by other women.’ ”

This report too is unique to Aḥmad; its chain is acceptable. Mujālid is followed by a corroborating narration in Muslim, though he is a narrator about whom the well-known criticism exists. Allah knows best.

It is likely that his statement, “and Allah granted me children by her when I was denied children by other women,” was made before the birth of the Prophet’s son Ibrāhīm from Māriyah and indeed before her arrival in Madinah altogether. This is certain, for all of the Prophet’s children— as noted earlier and as will be mentioned again—were from Khadījah, except for Ibrāhīm, who was from Māriyah the Coptic, the Egyptian, may Allah be pleased with her.

A number of scholars have taken this ḥadīth as proof that Khadījah is superior to ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with them both. Others have questioned its chain, while still others interpret the Prophet’s words as meaning that Khadījah was superior specifically in her companionship, an interpretation that is plausible or even evident. The basis for that view is that ʿĀʾishah stood out for her youth, beauty, and delightful manner.

Moreover, when ʿĀʾishah said, “Allah has given you someone better than her,” she did not intend thereby to praise herself or claim superiority over Khadījah; such judgment belongs to Allah Almighty alone, as He says: “So do not claim yourselves to be pure; He knows best who is God-fearing” (al-Najm 32) and: “Have you not seen those who ascribe purity to themselves? Rather, Allah purifies whom He wills” (al-Nisāʾ 49).

This question has been debated among scholars ancient and modern. Certain Shīʿī transmitters and others confine themselves to chains that allow no woman to rival Khadījah: Allah sent His greeting of peace upon her; all of the Prophet’s children—save Ibrāhīm—were born of her; he did not marry any other woman during her lifetime, in honor of her; she embraced Islam at its very outset; she was among the most truthful; and at the dawn of the mission she offered her very self and her wealth for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

As for the Sunnis, some among them also go to extremes, affirming for each of these two noble women the well-known virtues that she possesses, but