Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
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versed as they were in the scriptures, were bound to
have knowledge of revelation and prophethood.
She went first to a
rahib
(hermit) who lived near
Mecca. On seeing her, the priest asked, “O noble
lady of the Quraysh, what has brought you here?”
Khadijah replied, “I have come here to ask you
about Gabriel.” To this the
rahib
said, “Glory be to
God, he is God’s pure angel. He visits prophets: he
came to Jesus and Moses.” Then Khadijah went to
another Christian called Addas. She put the same
question to him, and he too told her that Gabriel
was an angel of God, the very same who had been
with Moses when God drowned the Pharaoh. He
had also come to Jesus, and through him God had
helped Jesus.
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Then Khadijah hastened to Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a
Christian convert who had translated part of the
Bible into Arabic. When she had finished telling
him of what Muhammad had seen and heard,
Waraqah exclaimed, “Holy, holy! By the Master of
my soul, if your report be true, O Khadijah, this
must be the great spirit who spoke to Moses. This
means that Muhammad must be the Prophet of this
nation.”
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On a subsequent visit, Khadijah brought
