The story of Khadija
Author: Saniyasnain Khan
Publisher: Goodword, Rs 375
The book attempts to accommodate the idea of democracy, secularism and feminism in Islam, says SHABISTA NAZ
In the digital age where peer pressure keeps schoolchildren hooked on to computer games and e-learning, there is scarcity of interest-arousing biographies, particularly on women. The secular curricula during schooling sometimes digress to such an extent that inculcating knowledge about religious personalities is considered medieval. All religions have suffered this tragedy in the modern age. But it is more so with Islam in the age of reason.
Moreover, for the modern interpreters of Islam, a religion which is known for the extremist form of patriarchy, the endeavour to show women as leaders in Muslim society is replete with danger from radical conservatives. Therefore, some of the intelligent interpreters of Islamic history have taken solace in Buddha’s middle path. While they try to describe the women as lead protagonists, they condescendingly conform to the rigid tenets of Islam.
In this context, The Story of Khadija: The First Muslim and the Wife of the Prophet Muhammad, by Saniyasnain Khan, may be considered an oasis in the parched valley of knowledge about women leaders in early Muslim society. Also, this biography is different from an earlier book on the same theme — Khadija: The First Muslim and the Wife of the Prophet Muhammad by Resit Haylamaz — in two ways. First, this biography is meant for leisure-time reading by schoolchildren. And second, it is written in a simpler language.
The book is designed to inform children, particularly Muslim kids, about the less known history of the first Muslim woman and her struggles in spreading the message of Islam. Khadija’s journey from riches to rags during the transition from tribal beliefs to the new religion has been dealt with great care in the book.
The biography starts with Khadija’s early life at parents’ house to her becoming a trader after inheriting her late husbands’ properties, and employing her future husband, Prophet Muhammad. However, except for the first two chapters, strangely the book digress and focuses more on Khadija’s third husband and his intrepid fight to spread the religion of peace. Even in the first two chapters, the biography fails to satiate the inquisitiveness about the childhood of Khadija. Another flaw in the biography is its inability to be a standalone book on the topic, as it requires an expert in Khadija’s life to fill the knowledge gap, more so to satisfy the enquiries of non-Muslim children about the idea of Khadija’s look — a proscription in Islam.
Nevertheless, the author seems to have taken pains to make the book comprehensible for children. It is a splendid effort to dispel the notion among Muslims and non-Muslims about the treatment of women, especially during the birth of Islam.
The reviewer is a research scholar writing a book on Democratisation in Kuwait