KHADIJAH

died 619, Mecca, Arabia [now Saudi Arabia] the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad (the founder of Islam), whom she met when she was the widow of a wealthy merchant and had become prosperous in the management of her own commercial dealings. Having hired Muhammad as a business agent, Khadijah soon came to see him as a suitable husband. She had been married twice before and had children from each marriage. According to most sources she was about 40 and Muhammad about 25 when they married. That she bore him at least six children, however, may suggest that she was younger. She gave Muhammad support and encouragement when he received his first revelations and remained loyal to him when many prominent Meccans began to oppose him. While she lived, Muhammad took no other wives.