The Monotheistic Cousins of Muḥammad’s Wife Khadīja

Muḥammad’s first wife Khadīja bint Khuwaylid belonged to a clan of the Quraysh tribe called Asad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā. This biographical detail is crucial in the analysis of the literary evidence about her and her family. Khadīja had a well-known paternal cousin who was Christian, namely Waraqa ibn Naw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Der Islam
Main Author: Lecker, Michael 1951- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: De Gruyter 2017
In: Der Islam
Further subjects:B Monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia Byzantium (and the Arabs) life of Muḥammad Khadīja (Prophet’s wife) Christianity in Arabia
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:Muḥammad’s first wife Khadīja bint Khuwaylid belonged to a clan of the Quraysh tribe called Asad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā. This biographical detail is crucial in the analysis of the literary evidence about her and her family. Khadīja had a well-known paternal cousin who was Christian, namely Waraqa ibn Nawfal. Another paternal cousin of hers who was Christian, ʿUthmān ibn al-Ḥuwayrith, attempted on the eve of the hijra to gain control of Mecca. The Christian faith of the cousins belongs in the discussion of Muḥammad’s spiritual environment and his preparation for the Call to prophethood. After all, Muḥammad and Khadīja, both of whom were descendants of Quṣayy ibn Kilāb, were married for a quarter of a century and he must have known her family very well. During the long marriage she was his only wife and she gave birth to all of his children with the exception of Ibrāhīm whose mother was a Copt slave girl. A third paternal cousin of Khadīja who is of interest for us here was the son of a Jewish slave girl who belonged to Muḥammad’s uncle ʿAbbās. The article is dedicated to Professor Uri Rubin on the occasion of his retirement. The main points were presented on December 4, 2012 in the Tel Aviv University during a colloquium held in his honor.
ISSN:1613-0928
Contains:In: Der Islam
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1515/islam-2017-0024