Umm al-Mu'minin Safiyya bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab: An Example ‎of Piety, Generosity, and God-consciousness

Safiyya bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab was from the Banu Nadir tribe, descendants of the Prophet Aaron ibn Imran ibn Kohath ibn Levi ibn Jacob ibn Isaac ibn Abraham ibn Azar. Her mother was Barra bint Samawal from the Banu Qurayza tribe, descendants of the Prophet Jacob ibn Isaac ibn Abraham ibn Azar. She was the sister of the Companion Rifa'a ibn Samawal. She was born in 610 AH in Medina and died in 50 AH/661 CE.

Although she married the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, at the age of seventeen, she had been married twice before him, despite her young age. Her first marriage was to Sallam ibn Mishkam, who was a knight of his people and one of their great poets, but it did not last. Her second marriage was to Kinanah ibn al-Rabi' ibn Abi al-Huqayq al-Nadhiri (Siyar A'lam al-Nubala').

It was narrated on the authority of Anas bin Malik that he said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, led an expedition to Khaybar [approximately 173 km from Medina towards Syria]. We prayed the dawn prayer there in the early morning, while it was still dark. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, mounted his camel, and Abu Talhah mounted his, with me riding behind Abu Talhah. Then the Prophet of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, ran through the narrow alley of Khaybar, and my knee was touching the thigh of the Prophet of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him. Then he lifted his lower garment [the garment that covers the lower part of the body] from his thigh, so that I could see the whiteness of the thigh of the Prophet of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him. When he entered the village, he said: “God is the Greatest! Khaybar is ruined! Indeed, when we descend upon the open space of a people, then evil is the morning of those who were warned.” [Surat: As-Saffat: 17] [177] He said it three times. He said: And the people went out to their work, and they said: Muhammad. Abdul Aziz said: And some of our companions said: And Thursday - meaning the army [and it was named so]. Because it includes a vanguard, a rearguard (i.e., a backguard), a center, a right flank, and a left flank—these are five parts. He said: So we captured them by force, and the captives were gathered. Then Dihya al-Kalbi, may God be pleased with him, came and said: O Prophet of God, give me a slave girl from the captives. He said: Go and take a slave girl. So he took Safiyya bint Huyayy. Then a man came to the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and said: O Prophet of God, you gave Dihya Safiyyah bint Huyayy, the lady of Qurayzah and Nadir, is only suitable for you. He said: Call her to him. So he brought her. When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, looked at her, he said: Take a slave girl from the captives other than her. He said: So the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, freed her and married her. Then Thabit [Thabit al-Bunani - one of the followers] said to him: O Abu Hamzah, what was her dowry? He said: He freed her and married her. When he was on the way, Umm Sulaym prepared her for him and presented her to him that night. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, awoke as a bridegroom. He said: "Whoever has anything, let him bring it." He spread out a leather mat [a mat of leather spread on the ground on which food is placed, resembling a tablecloth]. So, a man began to bring dates, and another man brought ghee. He said: And I think he also mentioned barley flour. [The soft one] said: So they made hais [and they made hais, which is a mixture of dates, ghee, and flour], and it was the feast of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace (Source: Al-Bukhari; Summary of the Hadith scholar's ruling (Al-Bukhari): Authentic)..

The Messenger of God was gentle with Lady Safiyyah and loved and honored her so much as it was narrated abour Anas bin Malik, he said: Safiyyah heard that Hafsah had said, “You are the daughter of a Jew,” so she cried. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, entered upon her while she was crying and said, “What makes you cry?” She said, “Hafsah said to me, ‘You are the daughter of a Jew.’” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “And you are the daughter of a prophet” [and he is Aaron bin Imran, peace be upon him]. Because she is from his descendants, and it is said that what is meant is Isaac, son of Abraham, peace be upon them both. And your uncle is a prophet [meaning Moses, son of Imran, the one who spoke with God, peace be upon him, and it is said that what is meant is Ishmael, son of Abraham, peace be upon them both]. And you are married to a prophet, so what is there to boast about over you? Then he said, “Fear God, O Hafsa” [meaning, by refraining from this forbidden speech, and fear God Almighty by obeying His commands and abstaining from His prohibitions]. (Source: Sahih al-Tirmidhi; Summary of the hadith scholar’s ​​ruling (al-A’labani): Sahih). And when the Messenger of God found a mark on her cheek, he said, “What is this?” So she told him that when one of her cousins ​​married her, and she was brought to him in marriage, and some nights passed, she saw in She had a dream in which the moon came from Yathrib and fell into her lap. She told the dream to her cousin, who slapped her and said, “Do you wish that the king of Yathrib would marry you?” This is why she slapped him. In some accounts, it is said that she mentioned this to her mother, who slapped her face and said, "You are stretching your neck to be with the king of the Arabs!" The mark remained on her face until the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, brought her to him and asked her about it, and she told him.

According to Muslim historians, the Prophet's aim in marrying her was to honor and elevate her status, as well as to compensate her for what she had lost from her family and tribe. In addition, he sought to establish a marital bond with the Jews, hoping to lessen their hostility and pave the way for their acceptance of the message of Islam.

Lady Safiyya, may God be pleased with her, was very religious, generous, and pious. During the time of our master Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, Lady Safiyya’s maidservant came to him to tell him that her mistress loved Saturday and maintained relations with the Jews on it. When he inquired about this matter, Lady Safiyya replied, saying: As for Saturday, I do not love it after God replaced it for me with Friday. As for the Jews, I maintain my ties of kinship. Then she said to the maidservant, “What made you do what you did?” She said: "The devil." So she said to her: "Go, you are free." (Siyar A'lam al-Nubala')

It is narrated on the authority of Lady Safiyyah that she said: She came to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, to visit him while he was in seclusion in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan. Then she got up to leave [i.e., to return to her home], and the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, got up with her. When they reached near the door of the mosque, at the door of Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, two men from the Ansar passed by them. So they greeted the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and then they left. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to them: Take it easy. They said: Glory be to God, O Messenger of God! And that was too much for them. So the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: Satan reaches the human being like blood, and I feared that he might cast something into your hearts. (Source: Sahih al-Bukhari; Hadith classification: Sahih).

She loved the Messenger of Islam intensely. Zayd ibn Aslam reported: The Prophet's wives gathered around him during his final illness. Safiyyah bint Huyayy said, "By God, O Prophet of God, I wish that what you are suffering was afflicting me." His wives exchanged glances, so he said, "Rinse your mouths." They asked, "From what?" He replied, "From your glances. By God, she is truthful." (Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani).

Safiyyah, may God be pleased with her, passed away during the caliphate of Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan in Ramadan of the year 50 AH and was buried in al-Baqi'.