Who Was the First Muslim?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
Who was the first Muslim? Was it the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, or was it Sayyida Khadija? It is stated by some that Sayyida Khadijah was the first Muslim. I’m finding it hard to digest that Sayyida Khadija was a Muslim before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Answer
Although this discussion is usually framed in terms of who was the first to believe from the followers of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), he was undoubtedly the first Believer.
This is clear as he was a believer in tawhid (monotheism) and the religion of the Prophet Ibrahim (peace and blessings be on him) before the revelation came, and he was given a command to submit before anyone else [Quran, 39:12; Alusi, Ruh al-Ma’ani]
This command was not necessarily a verse right at the beginning of revelation, as there are other forms of revelation. This is the clearest understanding of this issue.
As for the followers of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), the issue has been debated by scholars and various positions have been suggested. The clearest seems to be that his wife, sayyida Khadija, was the first of the umma to believe. This makes the most sense when one follows the flow of the events from the first revelation and beyond. [Wasiti, Majma’ al-Ahbab]
May Allah fill our hearts with love for these blessed people and give us a place of closeness to them in the next world. Amin.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.
