Khadija bint Khuwaylid

Born around 554 into the Quraysh aristocracy, Khadija bint Khuwaylid built her own merchant operation and hired Muhammad to manage a trade caravan to Syria. Impressed by his work, she offered him marriage, which he accepted. The couple had two sons, Qasim and Abd Allah, and four daughters: Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum, and Fatima. After Muhammad's first revelation, Khadija became Islam's first convert and supported him until her death in November 619. Muhammad called it the "Year of Sorrow." She's buried at al-Mu'alla in Mecca, honored by Muslims as a Mother of the Believers and one of four "l…