Barra bint Samaw'al (, ) was the mother of

Safiyya bint Huyayy Safiyya bint Huyayy ( ) was a Jewish convert to Islam from the Banu Nadir tribe. After the Battle of Khaybar in 628, she was widowed and taken captive by the early Muslims and subsequently became Muhammad's tenth wife. Like all other wome ...

, a wife and prominent figure in the life of

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 ...

, and she was a member of an

Arab Jew Arab Jews ( '; ') is a term for Jews living in or originating from the Arab world. Many left or were expelled from Arab countries in the decades following the founding of Israel in 1948, and took up residence in Israel, Western Europe, the Un ...

ish tribe that interacted with Muhammad.

Biography

Barra was the daughter of the very distinguished warrior-poet from the tribe of

Banu Harith The Banu al-Harith ( ' or ') is an Arabian tribe which once governed the cities of Najran, Taif, and Bisha, now located in southern Saudi Arabia. History Origins and early history The Banu Harith descend from the Qahtanite people, one of the m ...

, Samaw'al ibn Adiya who was known as "Samuel the Faithful," because his son was caught outside the castle and slaughtered when he refused to turn over the treasure entrusted to him. She had a brother, Rifa'a ibn Samaw'al. Note, however, that this Samaw'al died in 565; this would make Barra at least 45 years old when her daughter Safiyya was born. It is therefore possible that Barra's father was a different Samaw'al, although related to the first. One candidate is Samaw'al ibn Zayd, a prominent Qurayza who participated in the debates with Muhammad in 622-623. 'Azzal ibn Samaw'al may have been another brother; and Barra was probably related to the Qurayza chief,

Ka'b ibn Asad Ka'b ibn Asad () was the chief of the Qurayza, a Jewish tribe that lived in Medina until 627. A tribesman, Al-Zabir ibn Bata, claimed that his face "was like a Chinese mirror, in which the girls of the tribe could see themselves", presumably m ...

. Barra married

Huyayy ibn Akhtab Huyayy ibn Akhtab (; ) was a chief of the Banu Nadir, a Jewish tribe of Medina in pre-Islamic Arabia. Biography Family His ancestry was Huyayy ibn Akhtab ibn Sa‘yah ibn Tha‘labah ibn ‘Ubayd ibn Ka‘b ibn al-Khazraj ibn Abi Habib ibn al-Nad ...

, who was the

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

of the

Banu al-Nadir The Banu Nadir (, ) were a Jewish Arab tribe that lived in northern Arabia at the oasis of Medina until the 7th century. They were probably a part of the Constitution of Medina, which was formed after Muhammad's Hijrah. Tensions rose between the ...

— one of the largest Jewish tribes of its time. Barra then lived in

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, ...

and became a member of the Qurayza tribe. Together, they had at least three children: a son; a daughter Safiyya; and another daughter, whose own son was their only documented grandchild. When the Nadir were expelled from Medina in 625, Barra settled with her family in

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 ...

. Barra enjoyed a prominent position in Khaybar, where her husband was acknowledged as a leader and where their Abu'l-Huqayq kin owned the fortress of

Qamus In traditional Islamic history, the Qamūṣ () was one of the fortresses of the poet al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq and his tribe, who were Jews, the Banu Nadir. The fortress was situated near Khaybar in what is now Saudi Arabia. The fortress was at ...

. Conflict with Muhammad continued with the assassinations of her relatives Abu Rafi and Usayr ibn Zarim. In May 627, her husband and son were beheaded for their involvement in the Battle of the Trench, along with most of her Qurayza male blood-relatives. However, her brother Rifa'a survived, because he took refuge with a Muslim woman.Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah. Barra's daughter Safiyya was initially married to

Sallam ibn Mishkam Sallam ibn Mishkam (died 628) was a Jewish warrior, rabbi and poet who lived in Medina, Arabia, in the early seventh century. Family and early life Sallam ibn Mishkam ibn Al-Hakam ibn Haritha ibn Al-Khazraj ibn Kaab ibn Khazraj was a member of ...

, a leader of the Nadir. Later she married Kenana ibn al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq, who was killed after the events of the

Battle of Khaybar The Battle of Khaybar () was an armed confrontation between the early Muslims and the Jewish community of Khaybar in 628 CE. Khaybar, which is located approximately to the northwest of Medina, was home to a sizable community of Jewish tribe ...

in 628. Safiyya was taken prisoner along with other women of Kenana's family, but her prisoner-of-war status ended with her marriage to the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

. Thus Barra binte Samaw'al became what is known today as a "

mother-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-law ...

" to Muhammad. However, it is not known what happened to her after 628.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barra binte Samawal Banu Nadir 7th-century Arabian Jews Sahabah ancestors 7th-century women