An In-Depth Analysis of the Orientalists' Opinions about Hadrat Khadija’s Life

The life and character of the Prophet Muhammad (S) as the Prophet of Islam, has always been interested by the Orientalists. Hadrat Khadija (as), as the first wife and first Muslim woman in the Meccan era, in the Prophet’s family, had a noticeable role in the initial stage of the invitation of the Allah's Messenger. Accordingly, the various dimensions of Hadrat Khadija’s (as) life had a lot of manifestation in Orientalists’ works. The most Orientalists’ opinions have been analyzed around five topics, familiarity of Hadrat Khadija (as) with the Prophet (S), her marriage to the Prophet (S), the event of an appointment (Be'sat), her support for the Messenger of Allah (S) and the demise of Hadrat Khadija (as) and its consequences. Using a desk research and referring to the early historical sources, and considering the natural differences between the Islamic and western culture and the conditions and ruling spirit over the Orientalist studies, this paper analyzes the unconfirmed claims of the Orientalist in this respect, though, naturally, some views are verifiable and consistent with the early historical sources.