Mecca lies in a hollow between mountains of bare rock.
No fields, no orchards, no harvest to wait for.
A city that grows nothing cannot feed itself.
In his dua, Ibrâhîm calls it “a valley without cultivation.”
So why did anyone live there?
Because of the House.
Ibrâhîm and his son Ismâ'îl raised its foundations.
Pilgrims came from all over Arabia.
Around it, people were snatched away. Here, they were safe.
The tribe that lived around the Kaaba: Quraysh.
Khadija's tribe, and the Prophet's ﷺ.
It was divided into clans named after an ancestor.
“Banû” means “the sons of.”
Since nothing grew, the Qurayshites became merchants.
In winter, the caravans went south to Yemen.
In summer, north to Shâm.
The route Khadija's own goods would one day take.
Because Quraysh are accustomed, accustomed to the journey of winter and of summer,
let them worship the Lord of this House, He who fed them against hunger and made them safe from fear.
The surah does not praise Quraysh for their caravans. It reminds them where it all comes from.
Fed against hunger, in a valley with no harvest.
Safe from fear, in a land where people were taken.
The one who owns goods cannot always travel.
The one who travels does not always own goods.
For months, neither can check on the other.
In this city, two things count: what you own, and the trust you inspire.
In this city of merchants, Khadija would send her own goods to Shâm.
In this city of excess, she would be called “the Pure.”
In this city of idols, she would be the first to believe.
To understand Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her,
first see the city where she was born.
Tonight, think of something entrusted to you
that no one checks. Be worthy of it anyway.