Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim al-Qurashiyya
al-Hashimiyya was a female companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him), a poet, and the paternal aunt of the Prophet. She was the full sister of
Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib and the mother of the companion Zubayr ibn al-Awwam,
known as "the Apostle's Disciple."
Among her most beautiful poems is her elegy for the
Prophet (peace be upon him):
"O eye, shed tears and sleeplessness, and mourn
the best of those who perished and were lost.
Mourn the Chosen One with intense sorrow, which has
mingled with the heart, as if it were baptized.
I almost died when fate decreed it for him in a
glorious book.
For he was compassionate to his servants and a mercy
and a guiding light to them.
May God be pleased with him in life and in death, and
may He reward him with Paradise on the Day of Resurrection." Eternity
She was born in Mecca, fifty-three years before the
Hijra, and grew up there. When she reached womanhood, she married al-Harith ibn
Harb ibn Umayya, the brother of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. After al-Harith died, she
married al-Awwam ibn Khuwaylid ibn Asad, the brother of Khadija (may God be
pleased with her). She bore al-Awwam five children: al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam,
al-Sa'ib ibn al-Awwam, Umm Habib bint al-Awwam, and Abd al-Ka'ba ibn al-Awwam.
Al-Awwam was killed in the Fijar War by Murra ibn Mu'attib al-Thaqafi.
(Wikipedia)
Safiyya used to call her son al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam by
the kunya (patronymic) Abu al-Tahir, the same kunya as her brother al-Zubayr
ibn Abd al-Muttalib. She used to beat him when he was young and treat him
harshly. His uncle, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid, rebuked her, saying, "This is
not how a child is beaten; you beat him like one who hates him." She
replied:
Whoever says I hate him has lied. I only beat him so
that he may become strong,
Defeat the army, and bring back spoils, and so that he
may not hide his wealth.
Lady Safiyyah embraced Islam and pledged allegiance to
the Messenger of God. Such was the Prophet's love for her that when the verse
was revealed, " And warn your
tribe (O Muhammad SAW) of near kindred"(Surat Ash-Shu'ara: 214), he called
to her from Mount Safa. He also called out to his daughter, Lady Fatima
al-Zahra, saying, “O people of Quraysh, buy yourselves from God, for I cannot
avail you anything against God. O sons of Abd al-Muttalib, I cannot avail you
anything against God. O Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, I cannot avail you anything
against God. O Safiyya, aunt of the Messenger of God, I cannot avail you
anything against God. O Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of God, ask me for
whatever you wish, for I cannot avail you anything.” "From God something."
(Narrated by Abu Hurairah; Source: Sahih al-Bukhari).
The Prophet ordered his followers to migrate to Medina
after a delegation from its people came to him, pledged their safety, and
invited him to migrate to their city, where most of its inhabitants had
embraced his message. Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib migrated with her brother
Hamza and her son Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (from the book "Female Companions
Around the Messenger").
Safiyyah witnessed all the battles with the Messenger
of God (peace and blessings be upon him). She participated in the Battle of
Uhud, where she carried water, quenched the thirst of the people, sharpened
arrows, and repaired bows. When the people fled, she held a spear and struck
them in the faces, saying, "You have fled from the Messenger of God!"
After the Battle of Uhud ended, and the Prophet was
martyred... Her brother, Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, was mutilated. Safiyya
approached, and the Prophet said to her son, al-Zubayr, "Send her back,
lest she see what happened to her brother Hamza." Her son, al-Zubayr, met
her and informed her of the Prophet's command. She said, "I have heard
that my brother was mutilated, but that is a small price to pay for the sake of
God. We are not content with what has happened. I will seek reward from God and
be patient." Al-Zubayr informed the Messenger of God of this, and he said,
"Let her go." So she came to him, prayed over him, and recited the
supplication for the deceased. The Messenger of God then ordered that he be
buried.
The Prophet, in reverence for Hamza, said, "Were
it not for the grief it would cause my aunt Safiyya, I would have left Hamza
until he was resurrected from the bellies of wild beasts and the crops of
birds." It is narrated that on the day of Uhud, Safiyya went with two
garments, intending to... It was decided that Hamza should be shrouded in two
garments, one of which was wider than the other. She found a man from the Ansar
(Helpers) beside Hamza and drew lots between them. She shrouded the man who
drew the lot in the wider garment and the other man in the remaining one (Sahih
al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah). Safiyyah participated in the Battle of the Trench. It
is narrated that she was with the Prophet's wives in a fortified structure (a
type of fortress, but with a rounded structure) called Far'a, and Hassan ibn
Thabit was with them. A Jewish man climbed the fortress and peered over the
women. She said to Hassan, "Come down." She went to him and killed
him, but he seemed afraid. So she took a pole and went down to him until she
opened the door little by little. Then she charged at him and struck him with
the pole, killing him. Thus, she was the first woman to kill a man from among
the polytheists (Encyclopedia of Biographies).
She witnessed the Battle of Khaybar, in which Yasir
ibn Abi Zaynab, a Jew, killed the brother of Marhab (one of the most famous
knights of the Jews of Khaybar and the owner of the impregnable fortress of
Marhab, one of the strongest Jewish fortresses in Khaybar). He was one of the
Jewish leaders in the Battle of Khaybar. Ibn Ishaq mentioned, “That Marhab’s
brother, who was Yasir, went out after him, saying, ‘Is there anyone who will
fight me?’ Hisham ibn Urwah claimed that…” Al-Zubayr went out to meet him, and
his mother, Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib, said, "He will kill my son, O
Messenger of Allah!" He replied, "Rather, your son will kill him, God
willing." They met, and al-Zubayr killed him. It is said that whenever
al-Zubayr was told, "By God, your sword was indeed sharp that day,"
he would reply, "By God, it was not sharp, but I was forced to use
it." (Al-Bidayah wa'l-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir). And he had fed her. The
Messenger of God (peace be upon him) gave forty wasqs (a unit of dry measure)
in Khaybar.
Safiyya is considered one of the narrators of
prophetic hadiths. She narrated from the Prophet, and those who narrated from
her include her son, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Humayd ibn Hilal, Ja'far ibn Zubayr,
and Rabi'.
Lady Safiyya passed away during the caliphate of Umar
ibn al-Khattab in the year 20 AH (640/641 CE), at the age of approximately
seventy-three. Umar ibn al-Khattab led the funeral prayer, and she was buried
in al-Baqi' cemetery.
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