https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Safiyya_bint_HuyayySafiyya bint Huyayy - Revision history2026-08-18T16:27:19ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Safiyya_bint_Huyayy&diff=456853&oldid=prevMichaleYarbrough at 14:26, 29 March 20262026-03-29T14:26:28Z<p></p>
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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Muhammad's tenth wife}}<br />
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}<br />
{{Infobox royalty<br />
| embed = y<br />
| name = Safiyyah bint Huyayy<br />
| title = [[Mother of the Believers]]<br />
| birth_name = Safiyyah bint Huyayy<br />
| birth_date = {{circa|610–614 [[Common Era|CE]]}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Yathrib]], [[Hejaz]], [[Arabia]] {{small|(present-day [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]])}}<br />
| death_date = {{circa|664–672 CE}}<br />
| death_place = [[Medina]], Hejaz, [[Umayyad caliphate]] {{small|(present-day Saudi Arabia)}}<br />
| burial_place = [[Jannat al-Baqi]]<br />
| spouse = {{bulleted list|[[Sallam ibn Mishkam]] {{small|({{abbr|m.|married}} 624 - divorced. 625)}}|[[Kenana ibn al-Rabi]] {{small|({{abbr|m.|married}} 627 - died. 628)}}|[[Muhammad ibn Abdullah]] {{small|({{abbr|m.|married}} 628 - till his death in 632)}}}}<br />
| full name = صفية بنت حيي<br />
| house = {{ubl|[[Banu Nadir]] {{small|(by birth)}}|[[Ahl al-Bayt]] {{small|(by marriage to the prophet)}}}}<br />
| father = [[Huyayy ibn Akhtab]]<br />
| mother = [[Barra bint Samawal]]<br />
| religion = [[Islam]] <br> [[Judaism]] (formerly)<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Ṣafīyyah bint Ḥuyayy''' ({{lang-ar|صفية بنت حيي}}) was the tenth wife of [[Muhammad]].<ref>Safiyya bint Huyay, Fatima az-Zahra by Ahmad Thompson</ref> She was, along with all other [[Muhammad's wives|wives of Muhammad]], titled Umm-ul-Mu'mineen or the "Mother of Believers".<ref name ="Stowasser">Stowasser, Barbara. ''The Mothers of the Believers in the Hadith''. The Muslim World, Volume 82, Issue 1-2: 1-36.</ref><br />
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==Early life==<br />
Safiyyah was born in [[Medina]] to [[Huyayy ibn Akhtab]], the chief of the Jewish tribe [[Banu Nadir]]. Her mother, [[Barra binte Samawal|Barrah bint Samawal]], was from the [[Banu Qurayza]] tribe. Her maternal grandfather was [[Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya]], a celebrated [[pre-Islamic Arabia]]n Jewish poet from the [[Banu Harith]] tribe.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} According to a source, she was married off to [[Sallam ibn Mishkam]], who later divorced her.<ref name="EI"/><br />
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When the Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina in 625, her family settled in [[Khaybar]], an [[oasis]] near Medina.<ref name="EI"/> Her father and brother went from Khaybar to join the [[Mecca]]n and [[Bedouin]] forces besieging Muhammad in Medina during the [[Battle of the Trench]]. When the Meccans withdrew Muhammad besieged the Banu Qurayza. After the defeat of the Banu Qurayza in 627 Safiyya's father, a long-time opponent of Muhammad, was captured and executed by the Muslims.<ref name="ReferenceA">Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad: Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah.</ref><br />
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In 627 or early in 628, Safiyya was married to [[Kenana ibn al-Rabi]], treasurer of the Banu Nadir; she was about 17 years old at that time.<ref name="EI"/> Muslim sources claimed that Safiyya is said to have informed Kenana of a dream she had in which the moon had fallen from the heavens into her lap. Kenana interpreted it as a desire to marry Muhammad and struck her in the face, leaving a mark which was still visible when she first had contact with Muhammad.<ref name ="Stowasser" /><ref>"It is related that she bore the mark of a bruise upon her eye; when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) asked her tenderly the cause, she told him that, being yet Kenāna's bride, she saw in a dream as if the moon had fallen from the heavens into her lap; and that when she told it to Kenāna, he struck her violently, saying: 'What is this thy dream but that thou covetest the new king of the Ḥijāz, the Prophet, for thy husband!' The mark of the blow was the same which Moḥammad saw." cf. Muir (1912) pp. 378-379</ref><br />
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==Battle of Khaybar==<br />
{{Main|Battle of Khaybar}}<br />
In May 628, [[Muhammad]] and the [[Muslims]] [[Battle of Khaybar|invaded Khaybar]], and several [[Jews|Jewish]] tribes (including the [[Banu Nadir]]) were defeated and surrendered. Some of the Jewish tribes were allowed to remain in the city on the condition that they give half of their annual produce to the Muslims. The land itself became the property of the Muslim state.<ref name="Khaybar">{{cite encyclopedia | author = Veccia Vaglieri, L. |editor1=P.J. Bearman |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=[[Clifford Edmund Bosworth|C.E. Bosworth]] |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs | encyclopedia =[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] Online| title = Khaybar | publisher = Brill Academic Publishers | issn = 1573-3912}}</ref> This settlement, according to [[Norman Stillman|Stillman]], did not extend to the Banu Nadir tribe, who were given no mercy.<ref>Stillman (1979) p. 18</ref><br />
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Safiyya's then-husband, Kenana ibn al-Rabi, who had custody of the Banu Nadir treasure, was brought to Muhammad, who asked him where the treasure was. Kenana claimed ignorance, but then a Jew revealed that he often circled around a certain ruin. Muhammad ordered excavations in the area, and part of the treasure was found. When Muhammad asked where the rest was, Kenana refused to tell, and Muhammad ordered [[Zubayr ibn al-Awwam]] to torture him with hot steel applied to his chest until he was almost dead. Muhammad then took him to [[Muhammad ibn Maslamah|Muhammad ibn Maslama]], who beheaded him in revenge for his brother Mahmud,{{sfn|al-Ṭabarī|1997|p=122|loc=Vol. 8}}{{sfn|Zeitlin|2007|p=135–6}} who was killed in the battle.{{Sfn|al-Ṭabarī|1997|p=117|loc=Vol. 8}}<br />
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[[Dihyah al-Kalbi|Dihya al-Kalbi]], one of Muhammad's companions, asked Muhammad for a slave from among the captives, so he let him to take whomever he wanted, and Dihya went and took Safiyya. But someone informed Muhammad that Dihya had taken Safiyya, the chief mistress of [[Banu Qurayza]] and the Nadir and a woman of renowned beauty, and he thought she was fit only for Muhammad. So Muhammad ordered to call them.{{sfn|Garst|2018|loc=Of Women, Donkeys, and Black Dogs}}{{sfn|Bukhārī|1997|p=249|loc=Vol. 1, no. 371}} <br />
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When Safiyya was delivered, she was with another woman, and when the woman saw the headless corpses of the beheaded Banu Nadir men, she cried out wildly, smacked herself in the face, and poured sand on her own head.{{sfn| al-Ṭabarī|1997|p=122}}{{sfn|Zeitlin|2007|p=136}} Muhammad ordered that what he considered a "she-devil" be taken away.{{sfn|al-Ṭabarī|1997|p=122|loc=Vol. 8}} Muhammad then took Safiyya for himself and told Dihya to take any other slave girl from the captives.{{sfn|Garst|2018|loc=Of Women, Donkeys, and Black Dogs}}{{sfn|Bukhārī|1997|p=249|loc=Vol. 1, no. 371}} It was reported that Dihya got seven slaves in exchange.{{Sfn| Ibn Mājah|2007|p=298|loc=Vol. 3, no. 2272}} Muhammad then married her and took her to his bed that very night. She was 17 years old at the time and known to be exceptionally beautiful.{{sfn|Rodinson|1971|p=254}}{{sfn|Muslim|2007|p=58|loc=Vol. 4, no. 1365}}<br />
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==Marriage to Muhammad==<br />
According to [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]], Muhammad stayed for three days between Khaybar and Medina, where he consummated his marriage to Safiyya. His [[Sahabah|companions]] wondered if she was to be considered a slave ({{lang-ar|[[ma malakat aymanukum]]|script=Latn|italic=yes}}) or a wife. The former speculated that they would consider Safiyya as Muhammad's wife, and thus "Mother of the Believers".<br />
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Muhammad advised Safiyya to convert to Islam, she accepted and agreed to became Muhammad's wife.<ref>Ibn Saad, al-Tabaqat, pp.120-123.</ref> Safiyya did not bear any children to Muhammad.<ref>Peters, F. E., ''Muhammad and the Origins of Islam'', State University of New York Press, 1994, pp.179, {{ISBN|0-7914-1876-6}}. "At Medina he also married Umar's daughter Hafsa, Hind, Zaynab daughter of Jahsh, 16 Umm Salama, Juwayriyya, Ramla or Umm Habiba, Safiyya, and Maymuna. None of them bore him children, however, though he had a son, Ibrahim, by his [[Copt]]ic concubine Maria. Ibrahim died an infant."</ref><br />
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Regarding Safiyya's Jewish descent, Muhammad once said to his wife that if other women insulted her for her "Jewish heritage" and were jealous because of her beauty, she was to respond,<br />
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"My father (ancestor) Harun (Aaron) was a prophet, my uncle (his brother) Musa (Moses) was a prophet, and my husband (Muhammad) is a prophet."<ref>W.M. Watt, "Companion to the Qur'an, based on the Arberry translation", p. 237.</ref><br />
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==Legacy==<br />
After Muhammad's death, she became involved in the power politics of the early [[Muslim]] community, and acquired substantial influence by the time of her death.<ref name="EI">{{cite encyclopedia | author= Vacca, V | title=Safiyya | encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] | editor= [[P. J. Bearman]] |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=[[C. E. Bosworth]] |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=[[W. P. Heinrichs]] | publisher= Brill Academic Publishers | issn=1573-3912| page=817| volume=8|edition = 2nd| isbn = 9004098348| year = 1995}}</ref><br />
In 656, Safiyya sided with [[caliph]] [[Uthman ibn Affan]], and defended him at his last meeting with [[Ali]], [[Aisha]], and [[Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr]]. During the period when the [[Siege of Uthman|caliph was besieged]] at his residence, Safiyya made an unsuccessful attempt to reach him, and supplied him with food and water via a plank placed between her dwelling and his.<ref name="EI"/><br />
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Safiyya died in 670 or 672, during the reign of [[Muawiyah I]], and was buried in the [[Jannat al-Baqi]] graveyard.<ref>Al-Shati', 1971, p. 181</ref> She left an estate of 100,000 [[dirham]]s in land and goods, one-third of which she bequeathed to her sister's son, who followed [[Judaism]]. Her dwelling in Medina was bought by Muawiyya for 180,000 dirhams.<ref name="EI"/><br />
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Her dream was interpreted as a miracle, and her suffering and reputation for crying won her a place in [[Sufism|Sufi]] works. She is mentioned in all major books of [[hadith]] for relating a few traditions and a number of events in her life serve as legal precedents.<ref name="EI"/><br />
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==See also==<br />
{{Portal|Islam|Biography}}<br />
* [[Saffiyah (name)]]<br />
* [[Rayhana bint Zayd]]<br />
* [[Judaism's views on Muhammad]]<br />
* [[List of non-Arab Sahaba]]<br />
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==References and footnotes==<br />
{{Reflist|30em}}<br />
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==Bibliography==<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
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* {{Cite book |last=Ibn Mājah |first=Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yazīd |url=https://www.amazon.com/English-Translation-Sunan-Majah-Commentary/dp/B001AQ6JLM |title=English Translation of Sunan Ibn Majah with Commentary |date=2007 |publisher=Darussalam Publishers & Distributors |isbn=978-9960-9881-3-9 |location=Riyadh |language=English}}<br />
* {{Cite book |last=al-Ṭabarī |first=Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sD8_ePcl1UoC |title=The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 8: The Victory of Islam: Muhammad at Medina A.D. 626-630/A.H. 5-8 |date=1997|publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-3150-4 |language=en}}<br />
* {{Cite book |last=Bukhārī |first=Muḥammad ibn Ismāʻīl |title=Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī: The Translation of the Meanings of Sahih Al-Bukhari : Arabic-English |date=1997 |publisher=Darussalam Pub. & Distr. |isbn=9960-717-32-1 |volume=1 |language=Ar-En}}<br />
* {{Cite book |last=Garst |first=Karen L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJNcDwAAQBAJ |title=Women v. Religion: The Case Against Faith—and for Freedom |date=2018 |publisher=Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA) |isbn=978-1-63431-171-7 |language=en}}<br />
* {{Cite book |last=Zeitlin |first=Irving M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ScS1MjUzdYC |title=The Historical Muhammad |date=2007 |publisher=Polity |isbn=978-0-7456-3998-7 |language=en}}<br />
* {{Cite book |last=Rodinson |first=Maxime |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/200861 |title=Mohammed |date=1971 |publisher=Pantheon Books |isbn=978-0394509082 |language=en}}<br />
* {{Cite book |last=Muslim |first=Imam Abul-Husain |title=Sahih Muslim |date=2007 |publisher=Dar-us-Salam Publications Inc |isbn=978-9960-9919-0-0 |location=Riyadh |language=English}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Watt |first1=William Montgomerry |title=Companion to the Qur'an Based on the Arberry Translation |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415426008 |edition=English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V69atAEACAAJ |access-date=24 October 2021}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* Awde, Nicholas ''Women in Islam: An Anthology from the Qur'an and Hadits'', Routledge (UK) 2000, {{ISBN|0-7007-1012-4}}<br />
* [[John Esposito]] and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, ''Islam, Gender, and Social Change'', Oxford University Press, 1997, {{ISBN|0-19-511357-8}}<br />
* [[Leila Ahmed]], ''Women and Gender in Islam: Historical roots of a modern debate,'' Yale University Press, 1992<br />
* Valentine Moghadam (ed), ''Gender and National Identity''.<br />
*[[Karen Armstrong]], "[[The Battle for God]]: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam", London, HarperCollins/Routledge, 2001<br />
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{{Wives of Muhammad}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huyayy, Safiyyah Bint}}<br />
[[Category:601 births]]<br />
[[Category:661 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Banu Nadir]]<br />
[[Category:Converts to Islam from Judaism]]<br />
[[Category:Women companions of the Prophet]]<br />
[[Category:Muslim saints]]<br />
[[Category:Jewish Saudi Arabian history]]<br />
[[Category:7th-century Arabian Jews]]<br />
[[Category:Islam and Judaism]]<br />
[[Category:Wives of Muhammad]]<br />
[[Category:Women in medieval warfare]]<br />
[[Category:Women in war in the Middle East]]<br />
[[Category:Burials at Jannat al-Baqī]]</div>Ajay Kumar