Khadijah's Caravan to Sham

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (radiyallahu 'anha) was a noblewoman and wealthy merchant of Quraysh who used to engage men to carry her trade goods to the markets of the north for a share of the profit. Having heard of the honesty and good character of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), already known among the Makkans as al-Amin, the trustworthy, she engaged him, by the account of Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Sa'd, to take her merchandise to Sham (greater Syria) in the company of her servant Maysara, the journey conventionally placed around 595 CE, when the Prophet was about twenty-five. The venture prospered and returned a greater profit than was usual, and Maysara reported to his mistress the trustworthiness, the fair dealing and the noble conduct he had seen on the road. This report, the sources say, moved Khadijah (RA) to seek marriage with him, which followed soon after (a separate scene). The journey belongs to the long northern caravan trade of Makkah, the regular commercial traffic between the Hijaz and the Roman Levant, the same route by which the Makkans reached Busra and the Syrian markets. This scene depicts the trade journey itself: the laden caravan of camels with its bundled goods and waterskins on the open road north, the dry acacia country and bare hills of the route. In keeping with the Sirah tier no person is shown, neither the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor Maysara nor Khadijah (RA); the meaning is carried by the caravan and the road.