The Image of Khadīdjah in Early Sunni Historiography: A Study on the Narrations of Ibn Saʿd

The life of Hazrat Khadijeh in early sources that have been reported with historical differences has led to the formation of false claims about her. One of the sources that contains a detailed biography of Khadīdjah is Al-Ṭabaḳāt al-Kubrā by Muḥammad b. Saʿd Baṣrī (d.230AH). The present study, by examining the case of Khadijeh's life in this book, explains the differences between the reports of earlier historians and compare with Ibn Sa'd's points of view. The findings of this study indicate that Ibn Saʿd's report on some issues such as Khadīdjah's age and how she got married with The Prophet seems to be correct. In contrary, his narrations about the Prophet's skepticism at the time of the first revelation and the importance of marrying ʿĀyisha are distorted. It seems that Ibn Saʿd tries to ignore some of Khadīdjah's virtues to pave the way for placing ʿĀyisha at the head of the wives of the Holy Prophet