The Necessity of Taking Risks: The Legacy of Hazrat Khadija RA
Sep 15, 2023
As-Salaam-Alaikum. Welcome back to Muslim Women Invest. Today, we are going to be honoring the legacy of the first lady of Islam, Hazrat Khadija RA.
For people who don't know who Hazrat Khadija RA is, she was the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad. She has been a massive influence throughout my investing journey, and I hold her in a very special place in my heart.
I’m sharing about her today because I want Muslim women to remember the legacy she left behind for us, and the example we should be following as wives, mothers, and businesswomen.
Everything We Are Not
So, what exactly makes Hazrat Khadija RA such a legendary figure? What makes her someone we should strive to imitate?
She was everything we are not today.
Now, I know this is a bold statement, and I am ready for anyone to come and challenge me. But I believe it’s the truth.
She was financially independent. In fact, she financed the whole religion of Islam by helping her husband spread his message. She, a widow, actually proposed to her husband, who was fifteen years younger than her. She even had a flourishing business.
I bring this up because I believe that we have forgotten where we come from.
In today’s world, many people—I would argue a huge majority—are under the impression that Muslim women are passive, trapped, and voiceless. People believe Muslim women are stay-at-home mothers, all their decisions are made by men, they are not emancipated, and that other people need to come and save them.
I believe this stark misconception came about because we have collectively forgotten who we are, what our rights are, and all the beautiful legacies the women of the past—starting from Hazrat Khadija RA RA— have set for us.
We Can Have It All
I want to focus for a moment on Hazrat Khadija RA’s role as a businesswoman because that is a key component that is extremely important for us to remember.
We often think that we can either have a career or be good stay-at-home mothers, and that simply isn’t the case.
Now, I'm not saying that you can do it all at the same time—obviously, you can’t be in two places at once. But having a career does not automatically keep you from being present for your family.
You can have it all. And there are strategies that we can apply to accomplish that if we study the life of Hazrat Khadija RA.
Empathy, Decision-Making, and Taking Risks
Hazrat Khadija RA was the perfect example of what an ideal wife should be…and what a leader should be. There are certain qualities that I see in her that will stay relevant till the end of time, and they are certainly relevant for us now.
The particular qualities I want to discuss today are empathy, decision-making, and taking risks.
As a leader, you need to be empathetic. You need to be able to make decisions and make them quickly. And you can’t be afraid of taking risks.
In today's day and age, women overall—and Muslim women, especially—are risk-averse. But that’s not the example we’ve had set for us.
Hazrat Khadija RA not only took risks—she took tremendous risks. She proposed to a man fifteen years younger as a widow. She went against societal norms when she immediately accepted Islam, a brand-new religion. She cheerleaded her husband when nobody else did; in fact, she was the very first believer.
Do you see the keys to her success? Do you see the qualities that led to her being as revered as she is today? Risk-taking, decision-making, and having empathy.
Making the Right Decision…Even When It Hurts
Here’s something you need to know about decision-making: it’s never right or wrong. You need to kick your perfectionist tendencies to the curb, stop hesitating, and make a decision. That’s the only thing that will allow you to move forward.
Hazrat Khadija RA took the biggest risk of her life and her career by believing in a brand-new religion that her husband brought to her. That was a big decision she had to make. But she knew the kind of a person he was, and she immediately knew that he was not the kind of a person who was going to make something up.
She knew her husband to be truthful. So not only did she believe in him, she immediately accepted what he brought to her.
This shows the qualities of a leader. Leaders are wise and discerning; they're quick to see when something is true or right, and they will accept it. They will change course immediately to allow that thing in, and they won’t stay stuck on it for ages, waiting until the decision feels proven or perfect.
When you're unable to make a decision, it's going to be very hard to make progress. So we can see that Hazrat Khadija RA was not only financially independent and successful, but she was bold. She took some really bold steps in her life, and though they weren’t easy choices that felt good to make, they were the right ones.
Look at the repercussions of her decisions. They were eventually cut off from the tribe. She suffered because of her decisions, but ultimately, she made the best decision for herself and for her family. She had so much to lose, but she still had the courage to make the right decision.
Lead the Charge
I want you to look at your financial circumstances. As a woman, you have the power to change the financial trajectory of your household forever, even if you think you don’t.
You have the power to decide that you are going to bring financial literacy into the lives of the people that you love, even if it might not be well-received…and it might not be. Some people don't have the wisdom to see the benefit of it, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the decision to do it anyway.
You are going to take the first step. You are going to be the inspiration. You are going to bring about this change, because you have the power to do so, and this is taught to us practically by our mother, Hazrat Khadija RA. And when you follow her example, it will be the best decision of your life.
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