Khadijah

This name derives from the Arabic “khadīja”, meaning “premature child”. Khadīja bint Khuwaylid (Khadija the great) (555–619 CE) was the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za’idah and belonged to the clan of Banu Quraish. Khadijah of the Maldives (Rehendhi Khadeejah) was the Sultana of the Maldives from 1347 to 1380. She is one of the earliest female rulers in a Muslim nation. Khadijah was the eldest daughter of Sultan Omar I of the Maldives. She was also the half-sister of Raadhafathi, who succeeded her after her (Khadijah’s) final reign. Her first accession to the throne was in 1347 after deposing her own brother, Sultan Ahmed Shihabuddine, which lasted until 1363.