Died 640 AD Children Zubayr ibn al-Awam | Parents Shaybah ibn Hashim Siblings Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib | |
Grandchildren Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Urwah ibn Zubayr Similar Zubayr ibn al‑Awam, Hamza ibn Abdul‑Muttalib, Shaybah ibn Hashim, Juwayriyya bint al‑Harith, Asmā' bint Abi Bakr | ||
Getting to know the companions ra 26 khadeejah safiyyah bint abdul muttalib mufti ismail menk
Saffiyah binte ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib (Arabic: صفية بنت عبدالمطلب) (c.569–c.640) was a companion and aunt of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Contents
Early life
Safiyyah was the daughter of Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim and Halah bint Wuhayb ibn Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah, hence the full sister of Hamza and an aunt of Muhammad and Ali. She was about ten years old when her father died, and an elegy for him is attributed to her.
Marriages
She was first married to Harith ibn Harb, and their son was Safi ibn Harith. They were apparently divorced by 593.
Her second husband was Awwam ibn Khuwaylid, a brother of Khadija, who lived next door to them. Safiya and Awwam had three sons: Al-Zubayr, Al-Sa'ib and Abdulkaaba. Awwam died while their children were young.
Safiyyah used to beat her son Al-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! 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 and took the oath of allegiance to Muhammad. She joined the general emigration to Medina in 622.
Battle of Uhud
When the Muslims fled from Uhud in 625, Safiyyah met them with a spear in her hand, accusing them of deserting their prophet. Her son Al-Zubayr warned her, "Mother, keep back!" but she retorted, "Go away! You have no mother!" 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:
Battle of the Trench
During the Battle of the Trench in 627, Safiyyah was among the Muslim women who were placed for safety in Fari, the fortress of Hassan ibn Thabit. 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 supposed 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.)
Siege of Khaybar
Safiyyah was among the women who went to Khaybar as battle-auxiliaries in 628. She witnessed the duel between her son Al-Zubayr and the Jewish warrior Yasir.
In the distribution, Muhammad assigned Safiyyah an income of 40 wasqs of grain and dates from Khaybar.
The Caliphate
Several elegies for Muhammad are attributed to Safiyyah, the following among them.
Death
Safiyyah died during the caliphate of Umar (634-644) and was buried in Al-Baqi' "in the courtyard of the house of Al-Mughira ibn Shuba at the wudu place."