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{{Short description|Muhammad's tenth wife}}
{{Short description|Muhammad's tenth wife (610/614–664/672)}}
 
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{infobox person
| honorific_prefix  = [[Wives of Muhammad|Mother of the Believers]]
| name              = Safiyya bint Huyayy
| native_name        = {{nobold|{{lang|ar|{{Script/Arabic|صفية بنت حيي}}|rtl=yes}}}}
| native_name_lang  = ar
| birth_date        = {{circa|610–614 CE}}
| birth_place        = [[Medina#Yathrib|Yathrib]], Arabia
| death_date        = {{circa|664–672 CE}}
| death_place        = [[Medina]], [[Umayyad Caliphate]]
| resting_place      = [[Al-Baqi Cemetery]], Medina
| spouse            = <!--Using the actual marriage template here will throw an error, leave this as is-->[[Sallam ibn Mishkam]]<br />({{abbr|m.|married}} 624; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 625)<br />[[Kinana ibn al-Rabi]]<br />({{abbr|m.|married}} 627; died 628)<br />[[Muhammad]]<br />({{abbr|m.|married}} 628; died 632)
| mother            = [[Barra bint Samawal]]
| father            = [[Huyayy ibn Akhtab]]
| family            = [[Banu Nadir]] (by birth)<br />[[Ahl al-Bayt]] (by marriage)
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=March 2024}}
| embed        = y
| name        = Safiyyah bint Huyayy
| title        = [[Mother of the Believers]]
| birth_name  = Safiyyah bint Huyayy
| birth_date  = {{circa|610–614 [[Common Era|CE]]}}
| birth_place  = [[Yathrib]], [[Hejaz]], [[Arabia]] {{small|(present-day [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]])}}
| death_date  = {{circa|664–672 CE}}
| death_place  = [[Medina]], Hejaz, [[Umayyad caliphate]] {{small|(present-day Saudi Arabia)}}
| burial_place = [[Jannat al-Baqi]]
| 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)}}}}
| full name    = صفية بنت حيي
| house        = {{ubl|[[Banu Nadir]] {{small|(by birth)}}|[[Ahl al-Bayt]] {{small|(by marriage to the prophet)}}}}
| father      = [[Huyayy ibn Akhtab]]
| mother      = [[Barra bint Samawal]]
| religion    = [[Islam]] <br> [[Judaism]] (formerly)
}}


'''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>
'''Safiyya bint Huyayy'''{{Efn|{{langx|ar|صفية بنت حيي|translit=Ṣafiyya bint Ḥuyayy}}}} ({{Circa|610/614{{snd}}664/672}}) was the [[Wives of Muhammad|tenth wife of Muhammad]]. Born in [[Yathrib]] to the [[Banu Nadir]], one of the [[Jewish tribes of Arabia]], Safiyya's father [[Huyayy ibn Akhtab]] and husband [[Kinana ibn al-Rabi]] were killed at the [[Battle of Khaybar]] in 628, after which she was taken captive by the [[early Muslims]] and subsequently married to Muhammad. Like other wives of Muhammad, she is known to [[Muslims]] as a "Mother of the Believers" and is buried at the [[al-Baqi]] cemetery in [[Medina]].


==Early life==
==Early life==
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"/>
Safiyya bint Huyayy was born in [[Yathrib]], [[Arabia]] to [[Huyayy ibn Akhtab]], the chieftain of the Arabian Jewish tribe [[Banu Nadir]].<ref name="EI" /> Her mother [[Barra bint Samawal|Barra bint Samaw'al]] belonged to the [[Banu Qurayza]] clan.<ref name="EI" /> Safiyya's year of birth is uncertain with various sources recording it as around {{Circa|610}} and {{Circa|614}}.<ref name="EI" />


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>
According to a source, she was married off to [[Sallam ibn Mishkam]], who later divorced her.<ref name="EI" /> When the Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina in 625, her family settled in [[Khaybar]], an [[oasis]] 153 kilometers from 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 [[summary execution|executed]] by the Muslims.<ref name="ReferenceA">Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad: Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah.</ref>


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>
In 627 or early 628, Safiyya was married to [[Kinana 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 Kinana of a dream she had in which the moon had fallen from the heavens into her lap. Kinana 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">Stowasser, Barbara. ''The Mothers of the Believers in the Hadith''. The Muslim World, Volume 82, Issue 1-2: 1-36.</ref><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>


==Battle of Khaybar==
==Battle of Khaybar==
{{Main|Battle of Khaybar}}
{{Main|Battle of Khaybar}}
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>
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 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 offer, according to [[Norman Stillman|Stillman]], did not extend to the Banu Nadir tribe, who were given no mercy.<ref>Stillman (1979) p. 18</ref> As a result of the battle, Safiyya's then-husband, Kinana ibn al-Rabi, was killed.


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}}
[[Dihyah al-Kalbi|Dihya al-Kalbi]], one of Muhammad's companions, requested a slave from the captives, and Muhammad granted him the choice. Dihya thus went and took Safiyya. Witnessing this, another companion informed Muhammad, highlighting Safiyya's beauty and her status as the chief mistress of [[Banu Qurayza]] and the Nadir. The companion believed she was fit only for Muhammad, leading Muhammad to give the order to call them.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2lQvAQAAIAAJ |title=Harvard Human Rights Journal |date=1998 |publisher=Harvard Law School |volume=11 |pages=47 |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Bukhārī|1997|p=249|loc=Vol. 1, no. 371}}


[[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}}  
When Safiyya was delivered, she came along with another woman. The latter was distressed by the sight of the slain Jews, which prompted her to cry out and induce self-injury on her face. In response, Muhammad ordered her to be taken away.{{sfn|Zeitlin|2007|p=136}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=al-Ṭabarī |first=Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd |url=https://archive.org/details/tabari-eng/Tabari_Volume_08/page/121/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Tarikh al-Tabari |publisher=State University of New York Press |year= |isbn=0-7914-3150-9 |volume=8 |pages=122}}</ref> He directed that Safiyya be placed behind him, with his cloak covering her, indicating to the Muslims that he had chosen her for himself, and told Dihya to take any other slave girl from the captives.{{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 married Safiyya.{{sfn|Rodinson|1971|p=254}}{{sfn|Muslim|2007|p=58|loc=Vol. 4, no. 1365}}


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}}
== Marriage to Muhammad ==
According to [[Martin Lings]], Muhammad had given Safiyyah the choice of returning to the defeated Banu Nadir or becoming Muslim and marrying him, and Safiyyah opted for the latter choice.<ref>Martin Lings, Muhammad - His Life Based On The Earliest Sources (George Allen & Unwin, 1983), p. 269</ref> [[W. Montgomery Watt]] and Nomani believe that Muhammad married Safiyya as part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill.<ref>Nomani (1970), p. 424.</ref><ref>Watt (1964), p. 195</ref> John L. Esposito states that the marriage may have been political or to cement alliances.<ref>John L. Esposito, Islam - The Straight Path, pp. 19–20</ref><ref name="Mawsili, Musnad; p. 168">Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Musnad, vol. 13, p. 168, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad - Their Strives and Their Lives, p.172)</ref> Haykal opines that Muhammad's manumission of and marriage to Safiyaa was partly in order to alleviate her tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity, and compares these actions to previous conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had defeated.<ref>Muhammad Husayn Haykal, The Life of Muhammad (North American Trust Publications, 1976), p. 373</ref> According to some, by marrying Safiyyah, Muhammad aimed at ending the enmity and hostility between Jews and Islam.<ref name="Mawsili, Musnad; p. 168" /> 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><ref>Safiyya bint Huyay, Fatima az-Zahra by Ahmad Thompson</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> According to Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Safiyya came to appreciate the love and honor Muhammad gave her, and said, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah". Safiyyah remained loyal to Muhammad until he died.<ref>{{Citation |last=Smith |first=Charles D. |title=Haykal, Muhammad Husayn |date=2011-12-08 |work=African American Studies Center |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.48911 |access-date=2026-02-11 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530173-1}}</ref>


==Marriage to Muhammad==
=== Consummation ===
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".
Regarding the consummation of their marriage and her 'idda (waiting period), several authentic hadith addressed this topic.<ref name="icraa1">{{cite web |last1=Cheema |first1=Waqar Akbar |title=Two Issues Around Prophet Muhammad's Marriage With Safiyya bint Huyayy |url=https://www.icraa.org/two-issues-around-prophet-muhammads-marriage-with-safiyya/ |website=ICRAA.org |access-date=11 June 2024 |date=11 April 2020}}</ref>


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>
Her marriage was nullified after her husband was killed and she was taken as a slave, which is different from the typical case of a divorce or death of a woman's husband. Because of this, consummation was based on istibra' (assurance of being free of pregnancy via menses) rather than 'idda.<ref name="icraa1"></ref> Numerous authentic hadith reports describe this:


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,
{{Quote hadith |Ruwaifi‘ ibn Thabit al-Ansari |text=Should I tell you what I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say on the day of Hunain: …  it is not lawful for a man who believes in Allah and the Last Day to have intercourse with a captive woman till she is free from a menstrual course. |ref=<ref>Al-Sijistani, Abu Dawud, al-Sunan, Hadith 2158; graded as hasan by al-Albani and Shu‘aib al-Arna’ut</ref> |Sunni=as [[Hasan (hadith)|Hasan]] |SunniS=[[Sunan Abi Dawud|Abu Dawud]]}}


"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>
{{Quote hadith |Anas bin Malik |text=… the Prophet (ﷺ) selected her for himself, and set out with her, and when we reached a place called Sadd al-Sahba’, Safiya became lawful (i.e. clean from her menses) and the Messenger of Allah went to her in marriage. |ref=<ref>Al-Bukhari, al-Sahih, Hadith 2893, 4211, with al-‘Asqalani, Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari, (Beirut: Dar al-Ma‘rifa, 1379 AH) Vol.7, 480</ref> |Sunni=as [[Sahih]] |SunniS=[[Sahih Bukhari]]}}


{{Quote hadith |Anas bin Malik |text=The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) avoided (intimacy with) Safiyya till she was free from her menstrual course. |ar=  |ref=<ref name="hp1">{{cite web |last1=السنة |first1=جامع شروح |title=جامع السنة وشروحها - الصفحة الرئيسية |url=https://www.hadithportal.com/show.php?show=show_thkreej&selid=485928&hid=18867&cat=%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%AC%D9%85%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1%20%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A&chapter=&other_shorah=yes |website=جامع السنة وشروحها |access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref><ref>al-San‘ani, ‘Abdul Razzaq, al-Musannaf, Hadith 12898, 13109; al-Baihaqi, Abu Bakr, Sunan al-Kubra, (Cairo: Markaz Hijr, 2011) Hadith 15688; al-Haithami, Nur al-Din, Bughyah al-Bahith ‘an Zawa’id Musnad al-Harith, (Madina: Markaz Khidmat al-Sunnah, 1992) Hadith 502, 1005, with Ibn al-Turkamani, Abu al-Hasan, Al-Jawhar al-Naqi ‘ala Sunan al-Baihaqi, (Beirut: Dar al-Fekr, n.d.) Vol.7, 450</ref> |SunniS=[[Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq]] and [[Sunan al-Kubra (al-Bayhaqi)]] [[Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (Al-Tabarani)]]}}
==Legacy==
==Legacy==
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>
Safiyya is honored by Muslims as one of the "Mothers of the Believers".<ref name="Stowasser" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Naveed |first=Sarmad |date=2023-11-10 |title=Safiyya bint Huyayy, the Jewish Mother of All Muslims |url=https://www.reviewofreligions.org/44555/safiyya-bint-huyay-the-jewish-mother-of-all-muslims/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=The Review of Religions |language=en-GB}}</ref> 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> 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 [[Assassination 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"/>
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"/>


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"/>
Safiyya died in 670 or 672, during the reign of [[Mu'awiya 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 Mu'awiya for 180,000 dirhams.<ref name="EI"/>


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"/>
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"/>


==See also==
== Notes ==
{{Portal|Islam|Biography}}
{{notelist}}
* [[Saffiyah (name)]]
* [[Rayhana bint Zayd]]
* [[Judaism's views on Muhammad]]
* [[List of non-Arab Sahaba]]


==References and footnotes==
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist}}


==Bibliography==
=== Bibliography ===
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*{{Cite book |last=Rodgers |first=Russ |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nOxXXwAACAAJ |title=The Generalship of Muhammad: Battles and Campaigns of the Prophet of Allah |date=2012 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=978-0-8130-3766-0 |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last=Rodinson |first=Maxime |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttPdDwAAQBAJ |title=Muhammad |date=2 March 2021 |publisher=New York Review of Books |isbn=978-1-68137-493-2 |language=en}}
*{{Cite book |last=Bukay |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AR4uDwAAQBAJ |title=Islam and the Infidels: The Politics of Jihad, Da'wah, and Hijrah |date=12 July 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-51150-6 |language=en}}
* {{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}}
* {{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}}
* {{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}}
* {{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}}
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{{refend}}
{{refend}}


==Further reading==
=== Further reading ===
* Awde, Nicholas ''Women in Islam: An Anthology from the Qur'an and Hadits'', Routledge (UK) 2000, {{ISBN|0-7007-1012-4}}
* Awde, Nicholas ''Women in Islam: An Anthology from the Qur'an and Hadits'', Routledge (UK) 2000, {{ISBN|0-7007-1012-4}}
* [[John Esposito]] and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, ''Islam, Gender, and Social Change'', Oxford University Press, 1997, {{ISBN|0-19-511357-8}}
* [[John Esposito]] and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, ''Islam, Gender, and Social Change'', Oxford University Press, 1997, {{ISBN|0-19-511357-8}}
Line 86: Line 85:
*[[Karen Armstrong]], "[[The Battle for God]]: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam", London, HarperCollins/Routledge, 2001
*[[Karen Armstrong]], "[[The Battle for God]]: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam", London, HarperCollins/Routledge, 2001


{{Portal|Islam|Biography}}
{{Wives of Muhammad}}
{{Wives of Muhammad}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Huyayy, Safiyyah Bint}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Safiyyah Bint Huyayy}}
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[[Category:Converts to Islam from Judaism]]
[[Category:Women companions of the Prophet]]
[[Category:Women companions of the Prophet]]
[[Category:Muslim saints]]
[[Category:Jewish Saudi Arabian history]]
[[Category:Jewish Saudi Arabian history]]
[[Category:7th-century Arabian Jews]]
[[Category:7th-century Arabian Jews]]
[[Category:Islam and Judaism]]
[[Category:Islam and Judaism]]
[[Category:Wives of Muhammad]]
[[Category:Wives of Muhammad]]
[[Category:Women in medieval warfare]]
[[Category:Women in medieval Asian warfare]]
[[Category:Women in war in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Women in war in West Asia]]
[[Category:Burials at Jannat al-Baqī]]
[[Category:Burials at Jannat al-Baqī]]
[[Category:7th-century Arab slaves]]
[[Category:7th-century women]]

Latest revision as of 19:56, 29 March 2026

Mother of the Believers

Safiyya bint Huyayy
{{safesubst:ifsubst|1=|2= Page Template:Script/styles arabic.css has no content.}صفية بنت حيي</ span>‎‎
Bornc. 610–614 CE
Yathrib, Arabia
Diedc. 664–672 CE
Medina, Umayyad Caliphate
Resting placeAl-Baqi Cemetery, Medina
Spouse(s)Sallam ibn Mishkam
(m. 624; div. 625)
Kinana ibn al-Rabi
(m. 627; died 628)
Muhammad
(m. 628; died 632)
Parents
FamilyBanu Nadir (by birth)
Ahl al-Bayt (by marriage)

Safiyya bint Huyayy[lower-alpha 1] (c. 610/614 – 664/672) was the tenth wife of Muhammad. Born in Yathrib to the Banu Nadir, one of the Jewish tribes of Arabia, Safiyya's father Huyayy ibn Akhtab and husband Kinana ibn al-Rabi were killed at the Battle of Khaybar in 628, after which she was taken captive by the early Muslims and subsequently married to Muhammad. Like other wives of Muhammad, she is known to Muslims as a "Mother of the Believers" and is buried at the al-Baqi cemetery in Medina.

Early life[edit | edit source]

Safiyya bint Huyayy was born in Yathrib, Arabia to Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the chieftain of the Arabian Jewish tribe Banu Nadir.[1] Her mother Barra bint Samaw'al belonged to the Banu Qurayza clan.[1] Safiyya's year of birth is uncertain with various sources recording it as around c. 610 and c. 614.[1]

According to a source, she was married off to Sallam ibn Mishkam, who later divorced her.[1] When the Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina in 625, her family settled in Khaybar, an oasis 153 kilometers from Medina.[1] Her father and brother went from Khaybar to join the Meccan 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.[2]

In 627 or early 628, Safiyya was married to Kinana ibn al-Rabi, treasurer of the Banu Nadir; she was about 17 years old at that time.[1] Muslim sources claimed that Safiyya is said to have informed Kinana of a dream she had in which the moon had fallen from the heavens into her lap. Kinana 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.[3][4]

Battle of Khaybar[edit | edit source]

Main article: Battle of Khaybar

In May 628, Muhammad and the Muslims invaded Khaybar, and several 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 property of the Muslim state.[5] This settlement offer, according to Stillman, did not extend to the Banu Nadir tribe, who were given no mercy.[6] As a result of the battle, Safiyya's then-husband, Kinana ibn al-Rabi, was killed.

Dihya al-Kalbi, one of Muhammad's companions, requested a slave from the captives, and Muhammad granted him the choice. Dihya thus went and took Safiyya. Witnessing this, another companion informed Muhammad, highlighting Safiyya's beauty and her status as the chief mistress of Banu Qurayza and the Nadir. The companion believed she was fit only for Muhammad, leading Muhammad to give the order to call them.[7][8]

When Safiyya was delivered, she came along with another woman. The latter was distressed by the sight of the slain Jews, which prompted her to cry out and induce self-injury on her face. In response, Muhammad ordered her to be taken away.[9][10] He directed that Safiyya be placed behind him, with his cloak covering her, indicating to the Muslims that he had chosen her for himself, and told Dihya to take any other slave girl from the captives.[8] It was reported that Dihya got seven slaves in exchange.[11] Muhammad married Safiyya.[12][13]

Marriage to Muhammad[edit | edit source]

According to Martin Lings, Muhammad had given Safiyyah the choice of returning to the defeated Banu Nadir or becoming Muslim and marrying him, and Safiyyah opted for the latter choice.[14] W. Montgomery Watt and Nomani believe that Muhammad married Safiyya as part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill.[15][16] John L. Esposito states that the marriage may have been political or to cement alliances.[17][18] Haykal opines that Muhammad's manumission of and marriage to Safiyaa was partly in order to alleviate her tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity, and compares these actions to previous conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had defeated.[19] According to some, by marrying Safiyyah, Muhammad aimed at ending the enmity and hostility between Jews and Islam.[18] Muhammad advised Safiyya to convert to Islam, she accepted and agreed to became Muhammad's wife.[20][21] Safiyya did not bear any children to Muhammad.[22] According to Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Safiyya came to appreciate the love and honor Muhammad gave her, and said, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah". Safiyyah remained loyal to Muhammad until he died.[23]

Consummation[edit | edit source]

Regarding the consummation of their marriage and her 'idda (waiting period), several authentic hadith addressed this topic.[24]

Her marriage was nullified after her husband was killed and she was taken as a slave, which is different from the typical case of a divorce or death of a woman's husband. Because of this, consummation was based on istibra' (assurance of being free of pregnancy via menses) rather than 'idda.[24] Numerous authentic hadith reports describe this:

Template:Quote hadith

Template:Quote hadith

Template:Quote hadith

Legacy[edit | edit source]

Safiyya is honored by Muslims as one of the "Mothers of the Believers".[3][25] 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.[1] 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 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.[1]

Safiyya died in 670 or 672, during the reign of Mu'awiya I, and was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi graveyard.[26] She left an estate of 100,000 dirhams 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 Mu'awiya for 180,000 dirhams.[1]

Her dream was interpreted as a miracle, and her suffering and reputation for crying won her a place in 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.[1]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Script error: The function "langx" does not exist.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Vacca, V (1995). "Safiyya". In P. J. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C. E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W. P. Heinrichs (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 8 (2nd ed.). Brill Academic Publishers. p. 817. ISBN 9004098348. ISSN 1573-3912.
  2. ↑ Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad: Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Stowasser, Barbara. The Mothers of the Believers in the Hadith. The Muslim World, Volume 82, Issue 1-2: 1-36.
  4. ↑ "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
  5. ↑ Veccia Vaglieri, L. "Khaybar". In P.J. Bearman; Th. Bianquis; C.E. Bosworth; E. van Donzel; W.P. Heinrichs (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.
  6. ↑ Stillman (1979) p. 18
  7. ↑ Harvard Human Rights Journal. Vol. 11. Harvard Law School. 1998. p. 47.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bukhārī 1997, p. 249, Vol. 1, no. 371.
  9. ↑ Zeitlin 2007, p. 136.
  10. ↑ al-Ṭabarī, Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd. Tarikh al-Tabari. Vol. 8. State University of New York Press. p. 122. ISBN 0-7914-3150-9.
  11. ↑ Ibn Mājah 2007, p. 298, Vol. 3, no. 2272.
  12. ↑ Rodinson 1971, p. 254.
  13. ↑ Muslim 2007, p. 58, Vol. 4, no. 1365.
  14. ↑ Martin Lings, Muhammad - His Life Based On The Earliest Sources (George Allen & Unwin, 1983), p. 269
  15. ↑ Nomani (1970), p. 424.
  16. ↑ Watt (1964), p. 195
  17. ↑ John L. Esposito, Islam - The Straight Path, pp. 19–20
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Musnad, vol. 13, p. 168, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad - Their Strives and Their Lives, p.172)
  19. ↑ Muhammad Husayn Haykal, The Life of Muhammad (North American Trust Publications, 1976), p. 373
  20. ↑ Ibn Saad, al-Tabaqat, pp.120-123.
  21. ↑ Safiyya bint Huyay, Fatima az-Zahra by Ahmad Thompson
  22. ↑ 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 Coptic concubine Maria. Ibrahim died an infant."
  23. ↑ Smith, Charles D. (8 December 2011), "Haykal, Muhammad Husayn", African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-530173-1, retrieved 11 February 2026{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Cheema, Waqar Akbar (11 April 2020). "Two Issues Around Prophet Muhammad's Marriage With Safiyya bint Huyayy". ICRAA.org. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  25. ↑ Naveed, Sarmad (10 November 2023). "Safiyya bint Huyayy, the Jewish Mother of All Muslims". The Review of Religions. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  26. ↑ Al-Shati', 1971, p. 181

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

Further reading[edit | edit source]

  • Awde, Nicholas Women in Islam: An Anthology from the Qur'an and Hadits, Routledge (UK) 2000, ISBN 0-7007-1012-4
  • John Esposito and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Islam, Gender, and Social Change, Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-19-511357-8
  • Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical roots of a modern debate, Yale University Press, 1992
  • Valentine Moghadam (ed), Gender and National Identity.
  • Karen Armstrong, "The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam", London, HarperCollins/Routledge, 2001

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