WOMEN IN ISLAM

people who are willing to involve themselves in the scheme that God seeks to implement in the world. Such people are like a small cogwheel, which revolves only according to the motion of a bigger cogwheel, in this case, the will of God. This is undoubtedly a trying task but carries a vast reward. To perform this task is, in the words of the Quran, “to help God” (22:40). There can be no doubt about the excellence and superiority of those whom God deigns to make His helpers. THE STORY OF HAZRAT KHADIJAH Khadijah (555-619) was a noble lady of Makkah. She was well known all around for her good nature and wealth. Like the Prophet Muhammad, she belonged to the tribe of the Quraysh. They had a common great-grandfather who was called Qusayy ibn Kilab. This is how they both were a part of the same big family. Khadijah was a 40-year-old wealthy widow when she married Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet of Islam and Khadijah had six children, two boys and four girls. Both the boys, Qasim and Abdullah, died when they were still babies. The four daughters, Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum, and Fatima, grew up into beautiful young girls and were married when the time came. After his marriage to Khadijah, the Prophet started to spend more and more time thinking. There were many questions to which he tried to find an answer: “Who is the being that has made the earth, the heavens,