- Islamic Biography / Biography of Female Companions / Mothers of Believers
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- Safya
She is Safiyah bint Huyiy, a descendant of the prophet Aaron, peace be upon him. She, May Allah be pleased with her, was honest, intelligent and beautiful. She had religion and piety, and had patience and dignity. Because the Prophet (SAW) says:
((Allah chose me, and chose my friends for me))
Allah chose the prophet`s wives as it is more important to choose his wives than his friends, and the wives of the Prophet peace be upon him were part of the call of Allah Almighty. When a wife is prudent of rights, and intelligent, and reports accurately, that's part of the call, so Allah Himself purified the household of the Prophet. He says:﴾Allâh wishes only to remove Ar-Rijs (evil deeds and sins) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet), and to purify you with a thorough purification. (33)﴿
Safiyah, (may Allah be pleased with her), was honest, intelligent and beautiful. And, she had religion and dignity, patience and beauty. She married the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the seventh year of migration, when she was seventeen years old. She (may Allah be pleased with her) was born three years after the mission with her folks the Jews of Khaybar. And do not forget that the marriage of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is a marriage of wisdom and benefit, a marriage of hearts, and a marriage of a call to Allah Almighty. She had converted to Islam after her marriage to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, as she was among the captives of Khayber. The Prophet, peace be upon him, married her according to her will and choice and he gave her dowry of expiation. She married him, blessings and peace be upon him, with her willingness and her choice, and there is no compulsion in Islam, because Allah Almighty says:
﴾There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path.﴿
She chose to marry the Prophet, peace be up on him. She entered into the religion of Allah voluntarily, so she became one of the msh3er of the believers, may Allah bless them all. She was established in her religion for a while and then she converted to Islam, and that made the Prophet, peace be upon him, very happy. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that when the Prophet (PBUH), took Safiyah bint Huyay, he asked her: “Do you like me?” She replied,
((O Messenger of Allah I used to wish for that in the age of ignorance, so how about if Allah makes it possible in Islam))
It is in Sahih Al-Bukhari narrated by Anas ibn Maalik
((that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, freed Safiyah and made her release as her dowry))
This narration shows that she converted to Islam before her marriage to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. She narrated many hadiths from the Prophet, peace be upon him, and some were narrated from her by her nephew Kenana, and Yazeed, Ali, Muslim bin Safwan, and Isaac bin Abdullah bin al-Harith.Why should the wife of the prophet of Allah be reasonable, prudent, chaste and pure? Because she would tell sh3er about him. The Prophet divorced one woman with a weak mind; in a narration from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her:
((When Al-Goun`s daughter had been entered to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and as he come close to her she said I seek refugee with Allah from you. So the prophet said to her, “You asked refuge from the great, go back to your family”))
An important source of happiness in this world is the pious and wise wife, because the righteous wife would make her husband happy, and the woman, as you know, has a serious role in aiding her husband in controlling his life.
After the sixth year of the migration ended ,which was filled with goodness and blessings, the seventh year showed up that carried grave trials, and the Month Muharram`s crescent emerged from the beginning of the year. So the Prophet, peace be upon him, prepared for the decisive battle to cut the cunning of Jews from the land of Hijaz, which was exposed in the battle of the trench, in El-Khandak battle. The shifty Jews turned out to be traitors; they were scheming against the Prophet (PBUH). The battle of the Trench is not long ago from you, when the Jews set their covenant to the Prophet, peace be upon him, aside. The polytheists came to the island surrounding Al-Madinah to eradicate Islam`s pity. The Battle of the Trench was a battle of life or death, a battle of ‘to be’ or ‘not to be’. Allah Almighty triumphed the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Jews’ evil intention was revealed, their cunning and their deceit was revealed, and this is their way since ancient times.
In the second half of the Month of Muharram, the Prophet, peace be upon him, went to the Khyber which is a big city with forts, farms and castles. It is located about a hundred miles north Al- Medina (160 km approximately), one of the largest cities in the Hijaz, and one with the most immunity and strength. There were Fourteen hundred combatants with the Prophet (PBUH), When the Prophet (PBUH) came closer to Khyber, he said to his companions stop here. And if the prophet (PBUH) if invaded some people, he did not invade them till morning. So, in the morning, the workers of Khaybar saw him while he was coming towards their farms; they left the axes, and when they saw him they shouted: “Mohammad and Al Khamis (Al Khamis is the army that has front, rear, center, starboard, and accessible - five teams). And then he said (PBUH): “Allah Akbar Khyber is devastated, and whenever we fight the disbelievers for the sake of Allah, their morning will turn bad.
Then the Prophet peace be upon him opened fortifications of Khyber one by one, even the Fort of Ibn Abi Elhaqiq - he also opened it, and brought the fort`s captives, including Safiyah bint Huyi. So Safiyah is one of Khyber fort`s captives, came along with her cousin , Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him lead them and he passed by the dead Jews of the fort; when the woman who was with our mother Safiyah, may Allah be pleased with her, saw their faces, she shouted and threw dirt on her face, so the merciful prophet (PBUH) said to Bilal:
((Is there no mercy in your heart to let the two women pass through their dead folks?))
Can you see the mercy of the Prophet, peace be upon him, even with captives, captives of his enemies - it was too much for him to see a woman with her weak heart by nature not able to see the dead of her people...Safiya bint Huyiy, the daughter of the leader of the Jews saw in her dream that the moon fell into her lap, and in another narration she felt the sun fall on her chest. She recalled it to her mother, so she slapped her face and said: "You are looking forward to be with the king of the Arabs, and that vision that she had seen is the good news for her bright future, as the wife of the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him.
She saw the moon fall in her lap, or felt the sun descend onto her chest. When she told her mother, she slapped her face, and the marks from her mother`s hand stayed obviously a long time, until she came to the Prophet (PBUH), when he asked her about these marks, and she told him about her dream, She became more dear to the heart of the Prophet (PBUH) when he heard about that good news that Allah let her know about.
I mean, sometimes a human`s vision is very clear from Almighty Allah, and the dreams are for a good man, or the good vision is a way of Almighty God to inform this man of something. So our lord Almighty showed this good woman a prophesy, who was a descendant of Jews, that her husband will be the Messenger of Allah. And through this vision her mother realized the meaning of this vision, she slapped her daughter`s face, yelled at her and said: “It seems as if you are looking forward to being with the king of the Arabs, and the effect of her mother’s slaps stayed on her face.
When the Prophet (PBUH) saw her, and heard about that good dream from Allah Subhanuh wa Taala, to relief her sadness and pain, and to reduce her grief, the Prophet (PBUH) told her that Allah made her vision true.
After the Prophet (PBUH) walked around six miles from Khyber, Muslims camped at a place called Sadd al-Rauha. He wanted to consummate his marriage but she refused, he found something in himself when he was at Sahbaa city, which is far from Khyber. There he consummated his marriage and Um Sulaim is the one who combed the hair of Safiyah and perfumed her, and Safiyah was very happy to the degree that she forgot the misfortune of her family. Then the banquet was made, and her dowry was a servant called Razina. The Prophet, peace be upon him, went to his family, and in the morning when Um Sulaim asked Safiyah what he said to her. She said: “He asked me, ‘What made you refrain from going first?’ She said: I was afraid for you because you are still near the Jews”. That increased her rank and stature in his heart.
It meant she wanted to be far from the homes of the Jews, because she cares a lot about our Prophet, peace be upon him, that's what all biography books mentioned.
On the way back to Al-Madinah, Everyone prepared to meet their parents and brother, and they welcomed the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and his friends with rejoice and generosity, and the news of the Prophet’s victories spread.
It was reported by Ibn Sa'd from Attaa Ibn Yaseer that when Safyiah bint Huyay came from Khayber, the Ansar`s women came to see her beauty after they heard about it. Then Aisha, May Allah be pleased with her, came worried and he asked her: “How did you find her?” She replied: “I saw a Jew”. So the Prophet (PBUH) said “Don`t say that - she converted to Islam, and her Islam is sincere”.
I derived from that the human being has a particular affiliation, with a particular problem, and after he repents to Allah, recognizes, and after he prays for forgiveness, it`s over. The closer you are to Allah, the more you forgot the past, and whenever you make an incorrect movement, your past comes up a lot to you. If a person is lost or astray, and repents to Allah with sincere repentance, people will separate into two groups: a section that wants to focus on the past, and a section focusing on the present. Whenever you get closer to Allah Almighty, you will focus on the present and the farther away you are from the way of Allah, you will focus on the past, and this sends pain through the soul. IF a person was astray and wrong, and then he repented, turned to Islam and became a good Muslim, and became closer to the Almighty God, why would you remind him of what was in the past. You're bound to hold him back, you are weaken him by remind him of the sins he committed.
Therefore, our prophet Joseph, peace be upon him, taught us through the Qur'an as he met his brother, and he said:
﴾He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison,﴿
Prison is not dangerous to human survival. The real risk was in the well. I mean, if you want to remember, whichever is the most dangerous, to place him in the well...or …to put him in prison?? To place him in the well was a sign of loss, but his position in prison was a sign of safety; this is to remember the virtue of God, because he released him from prison. He did not say ‘when he took me out of the pit’, because he was talking to his brother. He said that Allah was indeed good to him to get him out of the well, he would address his brother and mention their crime, because he, peace be upon him, was the pinnacle of perfection.
If human acted a certain way, and repented, and left it, then the perfection is not to mention it to him at all. But the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, did what is more generous. When Ikremah came as a Muslim, the Prophet told his companions and said: “There comes Akrama as a Muslim, do not insult his father, insulting the dead harms the living, and does not inform the dead”.
The believer is not far to some; do not blush faces, do not embarrass people, there are people who desire to embarrass people, to always remind them of their previous mistakes. A man came to Umar Ibn Al-Khtab and said: "O prince of the believers, my sister committed a sin, and she got her punishment according to Islam legislation, and now, someone proposes to marry her, do I mention that to him?” Umar, May Allah be pleased with him, said to him: “By Allah, if you told him I will kill you, if a person repents of something you should fold the page.”
Whenever you become closer to Allah, and you meet a man with an embarrassing past, you should forget his past, and focus on the good present; and whenever a person is closer to the fortunes of himself, and away from Allah`s rules, the past approaches, reminding him of God. And there is a person speaking the words of the devil, it is always disheartening, frustrating work, and if someone shines and it was said to him: “How did you used to be?” He was and repented, and thus he wants to make him fail. The prophet, peace be upon him, said to Aisha: “Do not say that, she (he means Safyiah R) converted to Islam, and become a good Muslim”.
Hafiz Abu Naeem said in his book Ornament of the Guardians after mentioning Safyiah: “The pious memory of her, who has the weeping eye, the pure Safyiah the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
By the way, There is no constant enmity in Islam. Allah Almighty originally never hates his slaves, but hates their actions: if they repent I am their beloved, if they did not repent, I am their physician. Allah does not hate the slave, but hates the act of slave, and the proof is that as soon as the human repent to Allah, it is over.
When Omayer bin Wahab came to kill the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the caliph Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was a great believer of Islam realized with his intuitively this was an enemy of Allah – he came wanting evil, and his sword on his shoulder. Umar ran to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, here comes Umayer, he wants this evil”. The Messenger of Allah said to him: “Keep away from him”. He released him, and the Prophet (PBUH) said with a kind heart and great compassion, “O Umayer, come closer to me”, and he knew that Umayer came to kill him. He said: "Salute us. So he replied: Good morning O Muhammad. He said: “Salute us with the salute of Islam,” the Prophet peace be up on him replied. ” Good morning Muhammad” Umayer repeated With all the harshness of ignorance reign;” What brings you, Umayer?”the Prophet PBUH asked “I came to release my son” he answered. “ And why you hold this sword on your shoulder?” The Prophet (PBUH)asked: “God say those swords - did it help us on the day of Badr?” So he said to him: “Did you not tell Safwan: “If not for young children that fear hardship, and debt repayment cannot stand to go, I would kill Muhammad, and rid you of him. Omaier stood up and said: “I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah, that which I said to Safwan, no one knows but Allah, and you are no doubt his Messenger”.
Witness that our Master Umar Ibn Al-Khatab said that, “When Umayer came to the Messenger of Allah, The pork was much better to me than him, and when he left him, he was dearer to me than some of my children”. This is the greatness of Islam. There is no permanent enmity, the Muslim does not hate non-Muslims, but hates the actions only, he hates his deviation, he hates his defaults, and he hates his aggression. He does not hate the non-Muslim himself, because he is a strayed slave of Allah.
The Muslim with non-Muslims will end up like a doctor with a patient. If there is a skin disease, a disgusting disease, Is the doctor will hate a patient with a skin disease? Of course not, He even feels sorry for him. There is mercy in the heart of every believer that reached a high rank close to Allah - when he sees a stray man, he feels sorry for him, and bears no malice. And that religion is not built on hatred, but built on love, built on the love of all creatures.
The biographers said to describe Safiyah bint Huyay; She is the intelligent pious, with a weeping eye, the pure Safiyah, wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He said:” Safiyah, may Allah be pleased with her, noticed that she became another partner of the Prophet (PBUH) between the msh3er of the believers. Her new partnership raised their feeling, and this is Allah’s fate in women; jealousy is an advantage in women, If she is not jealous for you, you won`t love her. Do not reject the jealousy of women. Without this jealousy; how will you know she really loves you? You love her because she is jealous for you, and because she is keen for you, but there are also sh3er that are sick and these are few cases. Every woman - any woman on earth - likes to be with her husband alone, and there re women who have a sick jealousy, who suspect things that did not occur, and will not occur. This woman needs to be addressed: women are women.
Safyiah noted this effect in the hearts of some co-wives gave them some of the ornaments of gold as a symbol of their cordiality, and presented to Fatima bint Muhammad, gifts. This method is very intelligent – sometimes, for a man to achieve some of his objectives, he needs a good word or sincerity in order for the boat to move forward.
This smart wife discovered that this danger came only from two co-wives, which are closer to her in age and beauty: Ms. Aisha and Hafsa may Allah be pleased with both. Once the words of Hafsa and Aisha were reported, which were stated to the Prophet peace be upon him. These words of Hafsa and Aisha saddened the Prophet, peace be upon him, and he told Safyiah: why did you tell them: How can you be better than me and my husband is Mohammed, and my father is Haroon, and my uncle is Moses - three prophets, These words of the Prophet (PBUH) brought coolness and peace for her heart.
The Messenger of Allah peace be upon him gave special care to Safyiah, he knew that she felt like a stranger, which means the rest of his wives are from Quraysh, but she is a foreign, and because she is a foreign, she had special treatment. She had special favor, with special care, this is also a good policy, and wisdom - sometimes a person is a resident in the city of his relatives, his brother, his uncles and maternal uncles, but the stranger is alone and has no relatives around him, and this needs to be treated extremely well, and requires special care to forget that he is away from his home.
Abu Naim narrated that Anas said: Hafsa told Safyiah that you are a Jew`s daughter. She wept, and the Prophet (PBUH) entered, and he said: “What is wrong with you?” She said: “Hafsa said to me, ‘You are a Jewish girl’. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “You are a Prophet's daughter, and your uncle is a Prophet, and you are under a Prophet, so by what she is more proud than you – you are surrounded by prophets. Then he said: "O Hafsa, fear Allah”. Safiyah was restrained, patient, and moral and did not care about all the harassment.
Here's a question: Allah has the great wisdom. It is possible that a righteous woman may come from the offspring of a mean person. A guardian may come from the offspring of a criminal. Allah Almighty mixes, He may bring out the living from the dead, and the dead from the living. You might find the descendants of scholars wandering astray; you may find the descendants of those who were astray close to God Almighty. These are the qualities to be one of the women Messenger of Allah (PBUH): mind, intelligence, wisdom, literature, shame, and humility.
Safiyah found that the moon fell into her lap, and when she told her mother she slapped her face. This lady had great positions and actions that prove she had a great and noble mind, and great dedication. And in fact the most fascinating thing in a woman is her mind. Usually a woman boasts her beauty, but when a wise mind is added to her beauty that is something very rare, so how wonderful is the fine mind of women. Once a man said to his wife: “that there is some bad in my manners. She said to him: “Who told you that, His manners are worse than yours?”
The Prophet, peace be upon him, was making Itikaf (i.e. secluding himself in the mosque for the worship of Allah). Safiyah – may Allah be pleased with her – said: “I went at night to visit the Prophet and speak with him. After that, I went to my home – in the house of Osama bin Zaid – and the Prophet (PBUH) accompanied me. On the way, we passed by two men from Al-Ansar (i.e. the people of Al-Medina) who walked quickly when they saw us. The Prophet (PBUH) told them: “Wait, she is Safiyah bint Huyai (i.e. don’t think I'm walking at night with a strange woman, I am walking with my wife). The two men replied: “O Prophet of Allah, you are the prophet of Allah, how can we doubt you!” The Prophet (PBUH) said: “The devil is all the time accompanying the man, just like his blood, and all the time whispering evil to him; therefore, I feared that the devil whispered any evil thoughts to you”.
Zaid ibn Aslam narrated that: The wives of the Prophet (PBUH) assembled together during the illness of his death. Then Safiyah bint Huyai – may Allah be pleased with her – said: “O Prophet of Allah, I swear by Allah that I wish to bear your illness and relieve you if I can.” Hearing that, the wives of the Prophet (PBUH) winked at that (i.e. looking at each other) as if she only say it to pleases him. Then the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Rinse out your mouths.” They said: “For what?” He said: “For winking at her. I swear by Allah that she is truthful”. It has been stated in the biography: this is the greatest testimony from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
Abu Naim also narrated from Abdullah bin Obaydah, some of the companions gathered in the room of Safiyah bint Huyiy, the wife of Messenger of Allah (PBUH). They remembered Allah, and read the Quran, and prostrate. So Safyiah called them: “This is prostrating, and reciting the Koran, where is your submission? Where is your humility?” Allah does not to allow a woman to be the wife of the Prophet except when she is at the pinnacle of perfection, and the summit of understanding and closeness.
Ibn Hajar narrated from Abu Umar, and said: Safyia, May Allah be pleased with her, was rational and virtuous. It was said that her maid came to Umar Ibn Al-Khatab when he was the Caliph and said: “Safyiah likes Saturday, and she visited the Jews. Umar sent for Safyiah asked about that. She said: As for Saturday, I did not like it since Allah gave us Friday instead, but the Jews, they are my kinship and I should keep ties of my kinship as Allah ordered us. Safyiah, May Allah be pleased with her, asked her maid: “What made you do that?” Her maid said: “The devil”. Safyiah said: “Then go, you are free”. The maid wanted Umar to be angry from Safyiah. Her maid said that she liked Saturday, not Friday. Safyiah may Allah be pleased with her said: "No, after I had the honor of Islam, I like Friday, I do not like Saturday, but regarding the Jews, they are family.” She said: “No, I will always contact my people and I will keep ties of kinship as the Prophet ordered us”. And thus with his modest character, the Prophet, peace be upon him, pardoned those who had wronged him, and be good to those who abused him.
Dear brother... Indeed, the story of these virtuous wives of the Prophet (PBUH) teaches us much. It teaches us that women are like men – they can be heroines, and can reach the top ranks closer to Allah Almighty. Any view of women that shows her as no one comparing to man, and that her job is at home, cooking and doing things that women do usually- this is the ignorant view of women. So, I wish the father of all girls to cast in their soul that they can be heroines. A woman caring for her husband and her children is as the fighter in the army for the sake of Allah,
((You should know and tell other women, that any woman who acts as the best wife for her husband has the equal reward of men fighting for the sake of Allah))
If a person had two girls and he raised them up well, the Prophet guaranteed paradise. They said: “And only one girl?” He said: “Yes and one girl.” It is rare that a house has no girls, and the house that has a girl is blessed. For any man who has a girl and raises her well, this girl could be the reason he enters paradise. The Prophet (PBUH) said:((Honor the women. By Allah, he is generous who is generous to them, and He is mean who insults them. They defeated every generous man, and the mean man defeated them, and I prefer to be the defeated generous man than to be the mean triumphant man))