Reinterpreting Khadījah’s domestic and social agency through Fatima Mernissi’s gender perspective

Emphasizing Khadījah’s exemplary conduct and sacrifice risks obscuring distinctions between individual actions, kinship support, and social constraints in early Islamic history. This study examines Khadījah’s agency within marriage during the early prophetic period and the Quraysh boycott. It adopts a descriptive–interpretive qualitative approach, using library research and document analysis of three classical historical works and six secondary sources. The materials were analyzed thematically following Braun and Clarke and interpreted through the lens of Fatima Mernissi’s gender perspective. Interpretive credibility was pursued through source comparison, examination of relationships among historical accounts, and inferences calibrated to the strength of the evidence. Two themes emerged. First, within marriage, Khadījah’s agency was evident in her moral reassurance of the Prophet Muhammad, her initiative in bringing him to Waraqah ibn Nawfal, and her acceptance of the prophetic message. Second, during the boycott, social restrictions impeded access to necessities. An account of wheat delivery suggests that Khadījah requested supplies, according to another figure’s statement; relatives transported the grain, while others defended its delivery. Evidence of Khadījah’s actions varies across episodes; supportive circumstances and experiences of hardship do not, by themselves, establish individual initiative. Overall, her agency is understood as relational, involving personal initiative, social support, and constrained access to resources. The study advances historically grounded gender interpretation by distinguishing individual action, relational support, and structural barriers, offering reflections for family education and religious counseling without idealizing women’s sacrifice.