Wife #1 and the Black Turban

Pictured above: The late Ayatollah Khomeini looking very dashing in the black turban that signifies that he is a direct descendant of the Prophet

By all accounts, Mohammed (PBUH) was a very devout and pious man. Although there are no pictures of the prophet, the verbal descriptions are very flattering as well. He was meticulous about his grooming, perfuming his beard and brushing his teeth at least five times a day. No wonder the ladies couldn't resist.

In his lifetime, he married about a dozen wives. He was 25 years old when he married his first wife. Her name was Khadija, a rich businesswoman who was 10 years older than him and she proposed to him. It was to her that he ran after his revelation from Gabriel. She was his first convert.

Khadija gave him money, status and four daughters - his only children to survive infancy. The Ayatollah Khomeini, King Hussein and King Abdullah of Jordan and the thousands of sheiks and mullahs who today wear the black turban, (that signifies descent from the prophet) all trace their lineage to one of those daughters, Fatima.

Khadija was his only wife for 24 years until her death and it is rumored that she wore the turban in the family. It is interesting that it wasn't until after her death, that the prophet began to receive the revelations from God on the status of women. Therefore, Khadija, the first convert to Islam, was never required to veil or seclude herself.