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Choosing a Profession 
Having lost his parents and his grandfather, Muhammad , 
who was in the care of his uncle Abu Talib, came of age with 
practically no inheritance. At first, he tried to make a living 
tending goats for Banu Sa’d, but then upon his return to Makkah 
he tended goats for the Quraysh for a small sum. The choice of 
occupation was significant. Later, after becoming a prophet, 
Muhammad remarked, “There has been no prophet who has 
not tended sheep.” Noted for his trustworthiness, honesty and 
piety, he came to be called “Al-Ameen” (the Trustworthy). 
The journey to Syria on business for Khadeejah 
Mohammad’s reputation led Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid to 
entrust him with her merchandise to sell in Syria. As a wealthy 
business woman from a noble family of the Quraysh, she would 
hire men to conduct business on her behalf. And so it happened 
that the young Muhammad journeyed to Syria with her slave 
Maysarah. The trip was extremely successful and profitable, and 
upon his return to Makkah, Muhammad gave Khadeejah her 
profit. 
Marriage to Khadeejah 
Khadeejah was twice-widowed, having been married to Ateeq 
bin Ayed and then to Abu Hala. While married to Abu Hala, she 
bore a son. Following her second husband’s death, she received 
several proposals from various chiefs of the Quraysh, all of which 
she refused. Now, however, impressed by Maysarah’s description 

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of Muhammad’s character, she broached the topic of marriage to 
Muhammad through her friend, Nafeesah. 
Being open to the idea, he consulted his uncles, who sent the 
proposal to Amr bin Asad, Khadeejah’s uncle. Amr accepted on 
his niece’s behalf, and Muhammad gave twenty camels as 
dowry (some sources mention that he gave her six camels). They 
were married in the presence of the Banu Hashim and the chiefs 
of the Quraysh. Praising and glorifying Allah, Abu Talib recited 
the wedding sermon and formalised the union. Thus within two 
months and some days within Muhammad’s return from Syria, he 
and Khadeejah were married. He was twenty-five and she was 
either twenty-eight or forty. 
Khadeejah was Muhammad’s first wife. He married none 
other during her lifetime. She bore all his children except for 
Ibraheem, who was born to Maria Qibtiya (Mary the Copt). They 
were named (in order of birth) Qasim, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm 
Kulthoom, Fatimah, Abdullah and Ibraheem (scholars however 
disagree about the exact number and order of births). All the sons 
of their father passed away during childhood, but all the daughters 
lived to see their father become a prophet. Each daughter 
embraced Islam and migrated to Madinah, and all but Fatimah 
died during the lifetime of the Prophet . Fatimah died six 
months after her father’s death.