Khadija bint Khuwaylid was the Prophet's first wife. Write an account of her life in the period she knew the Prophet.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2017). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Khadija was a successful businesswoman in her own right; she was twice widowed and had children from her previous marriages;
2. she employed the Prophet (before prophethood) as a merchant for her; she sent her servant, Maysara, with him;
3. after hearing of his trading skills and honesty as a merchant, she sent a marriage proposal to him through Nafeesa; he accepted after consulting his uncle; she was 40 and he was 25;
4. they had six children together, her two sons dying in infancy;
5. when the Prophet (pbuh) received revelation he came to Khadija trembling; she reassured him that God would not humiliate him; she took him to see her cousin who told the Prophet (pbuh) about the angel and that he is a messenger of God;
6. she was the first to publicly accept Islam; she supported the Prophet (pbuh) financially;
7. she died after the boycott to Shib-i-Abi Talib;
8. the Prophet 's love for her caused jealousy among his other wives (A'isha); Jibr'il is said to have sent greetings of peace to her, through the Prophet (pbuh), from God and himself;
9. Khadija was Muhammad's first wife and he chose not to marry any other woman during her lifetime.
10. Candidates can offer various lessons and should give reasons for their answer.
11. They could say, e.g. that Muslims can learn that women can and should be allowed to work and can hold positions of stature in the workplace.
12. That men working for them should not feel that they are inferior in any way, as how well a person does their job is more important than who employs them.
13. Or that men and women can work together and can, and should, maintain integrity and respect between each other.