Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib (; ; 53 BH to 18 AH) was a

companion Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

and aunt of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

Early life

Safiyya was the daughter of Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim and

Halah bint Wuhayb Hālah bint Wuhayb ibn ʿAbd Manāf ibn Zuhrah (), was one of Abd al-Muttalib's wives. Biography Historian Ibn Sa'd wrote in Tabaqat that, Halah married Abd al-Muttalib the same day as her cousin Amina, the mother of Muhammad, married Abd ...

ibn Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah,Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Tabaqat'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. hence the full sister of

Hamza The hamza ( ') () is an Arabic script character that, in the Arabic alphabet, denotes a glottal stop and, in non-Arabic languages, indicates a diphthong, vowel, or other features, depending on the language. Derived from the letter '' ʿayn'' ( ...

and an aunt of

and

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

. She was also the maternal aunt of Uthman's mother

Arwa bint Kurayz Arwā bint Kurayz () was the mother of Uthman ibn Affan, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the third of the ''Rashidun'' or "Rightly Guided Caliphs". Ancestry Arwa was the daughter of Kurayz ibn Rabi'ah ibn Habib ibn Abd Shams ...

. She was about ten years old when her father died, and an elegy for him is attributed to her. ''I could not sleep for the voices of the keening women,'' ''Bewailing a man on the crown of life's road ...'' ''The generous Shayba, full of merits ...'' ''A very rain when camels had no milk ...'' ''Could men be immortal through ancient glory,'' ''(Alas immortality is unobtainable!)'' ''He would make his last night endure for ever'' ''Through his surpassing glory and long descent.''

Marriages

She was first married to Harith ibn Harb, and their son was Safi ibn Harith. They were apparently divorced by 593.Muhammad ibn Ishaq, ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Her second husband was

Awwam ibn Khuwaylid ʿAwwām ibn Khuwaylid () was an Arab Qurayshi soldier who died in the Fijar Wars. According to a Shia narration, his father Khuwaylid ibn Asad adopted Awwam in Egypt. He was a member of the Asad tribe from the Quraysh, Banu Quraysh and the brothe ...

, a brother of

Khadija Khadija, Khadeeja or Khadijah () is an Arabic feminine given name, the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In 1995, it was one of the three most popular Arabic feminine names in the Muslim world, along wi ...

, who lived next door to them. Safiyya and Awwam had three sons: Al-Zubayr, Al-Sa'ib and Abd al-Ka'ba. Awwam died while their children were young.Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Tabaqat'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. Safiyya used to beat her son Zubayr severely. The neighbours protested about this. "You have killed him! You have wrenched his heart. Will you destroy the boy?" Safiya replied, "I beat him so that he will be intelligent and will be bold in the battle."

Conversion to Islam

When Muhammad began preaching in public, he gave a special warning to the members of his immediate family.

"O Quraysh people! Buy yourselves! I cannot save you from Allah. O
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib () was a paternal uncle and sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, just three years older than his nephew. A wealthy merchant, during the early years of Islam he protected Muhammad while he was in Mecca, ...
! I cannot save you from Allah. O Safiya bint Abd al-Muttalib! I cannot save you from Allah. O Fatima bint Muhammad! Ask what you wish from my property, but I cannot save you from Allah."

Safiyyah became a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and took the oath of allegiance to Muhammad. She joined the general

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

in 622.

Emigration to Medina

Battle of Uhud

When the Muslims fled from Uhud in 625, Safiyya met them with a spear in her hand, accusing them of deserting their prophet. Her son Al-Zubayr warned her, "Mother, keep back!" She approached and looked at what her son had tried to hide from her: the mutilated corpse of her brother Hamza. An elegy for Hamza is attributed to her: ''God the true, the Lord of the Throne,'' ''called him to live in Paradise in joy ...'' ''I'll never forget thee as long as the east wind blows,'' ''in sorrow and weeping, whether at home or in travel ...'' ''Would that my limbs and bones were there for hyenas and vultures to visit ...''

Battle of the Trench

During the Battle of the Trench in 627, Safiyya was among the Muslim women who were placed for safety in Fari, the fortress of

Hassan ibn Thabit Hassan ibn Thabit () (born c. 563, Medina died 674) was an Arabian poet and one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was best known for poems in defense of the prophet. He was born in Medina, and was a member of the Banu Khazr ...

. Safiyyah noticed a Jew in the grounds of the fortress and "feared that he would discover our weakness and inform the Jews who were in our rear while the apostle and his companions were too occupied to help us." She told Hassan to go down and kill him. When Hassan hesitated, she went down "stealthily", opened the door "little by little" until she could creep up behind the spy, then hit him with a club and killed him. She then told Hassan to strip the corpse, but Hassan still refused to act. (Note that Ibn Saad attributes this episode to the Battle of Uhud.)

Battle of Khaybar

Safiyya was among the women who went to

Khaybar KhaybarOther Arabic transliteration, standardized Arabic transliterations: / . Anglicized pronunciation: , . (, ) is an oasis in Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province, Saudi Arabia, situated some north of the city of Medina. Prior to ...

as battle-auxiliaries in 628. She witnessed the duel between her son Al-Zubayr and the Jewish warrior Yasir and saw that her son was victorious. In the distribution, Muhammad assigned Safiyya an income of 40 ' of grain and dates from Khaybar.

The Caliphate

Several elegies for Muhammad are attributed to Safiyyah, the following among them. ''O my eyes! shed tears flowing,'' ''since one quickens having a dilapidate place.'' ''O my eyes! weep and pour forth'' ''rapture, grief and deep sorrow'' ''for the one chosen by God, the Lord of servants,'' ''Lord of Heavens and Creator of mankind;'' ''for the one who pleased God with guidance, piety,'' ''leading and light after darkness;'' ''for the pure one, the Messenger, the Chosen,'' ''the Messenger whom the Lord of Benevolence chose.''Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir''. Translated by Haq, S. M. (1972). ''Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir Volume II Parts I & II'', p. 421. Delhi: Kitab Bhavan.

Death

Safiyya died during the caliphate of

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

(634–644) and was buried in

Al-Baqi' ''Jannat al-Baqī'' (, "The Baqi'", ) is the oldest and first Islamic cemetery of Medina located in the Hejazi region of present-day Saudi Arabia. It is also known as ''Baqi al-Gharqad'' (, meaning "Baqiʿ of the Boxthorn"). Al-Baqi is reporte ...

"in the courtyard of the house of al-Mughira ibn Shuba at the ''wudu'' place."

Marriage of her children

Zubayr ibn al-Awwam Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi (; ) was an Arab Muslim commander in the service of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the caliphs Abu Bakr () and Umar () who played a leading role in the Ridda Wars, Ridda wars against rebel tribes in ...

(father of Abdullah ibn Zubayr, caliph in Mecca for 9 years during the

Second Fitna The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate. It followed the death of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I in 680, and lasted for about twelve y ...

), married Atikah bint Zayd, Rubab bint Anif, Umm Khalid bint Khalid, Umm Kulthum bint Uqbah, Tumadir bint al-Asbagh,

Asma bint Abi Bakr Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr (; 594/595 – 694-695CE) nicknamed Dhat an-Nitaqayn (meaning she with the two belts) was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and half-sister of his third wife Aisha. Her nickname Dhat an-Nitaqayn was giv ...

and Halah bint Qays. He had many sons (including Musab and Urwa) and daughters. #Abdul Ka'ba (Abdulrahman ibn Awam) married Jamila bint Abd-al-Uzza and had son Abdullah bin Abdurrahman.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib Women companions of the Prophet 569 births 640 deaths Banu Hashim Burials at Jannat al-Baqī