WOMEN IN ISLAM

the Prophet. In this way, innumerable Muslim women contributed to the Islamic cause. IDEAL WOMEN The Prophet once remarked that the best woman of the Jewish people was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the best woman of his people, Khadijah, the daughter of Khuwailid. More light is thrown on the superiority of these two women by the following two statements of the Prophet: “Aisha says that the only other wife of the Prophet she ever envied was Khadijah, even though she was not a contemporary of hers. ‘Whenever the Prophet sacrificed a goat,’ Aisha says, ‘he would tell me to send some meat to Khadijah’s friends.’ One day, I got annoyed. ‘Oh no, not Khadijah again,’ I exclaimed. The Prophet replied, ‘Her love has been imbibed into my heart.’” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 2435-2437) “Aisha says that the Prophet would not leave home without praising Khadijah. One day, he mentioned Khadijah, and I got annoyed. ‘She was just an old woman,’ I said. ‘God has given you better than her instead.’ This angered the Prophet, who said: ‘God knows, he has given me no better than her. She believed when others disbelieved. She had faith in me when others denied me. She gave me financial support when others left me in the cold. And God