Safiyah bint 'Abdul-Muttalib,
May Allaah be pleased with her
===========================
She was the Prophet's, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, paternal aunt, a daughter of his maternal aunt, the mother of Az-Zubayr ibn Al-`Awwaam and Hamzah ibn `Abdul-Muttalib's full sister.
It was said that she was the Prophet's, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, only maternal aunt who embraced Islam and migrated.
She had a strong personality and she was inclined to sternness and harshness; but how?
Her first marriage was to Al-Haarith ibn Umayyah, Abu Sufiyaan's brother. He then died and there was no children between them. She was then married to Al-`Awwaam ibn Khuwaylid, Khadeejah's, may Allaah be pleased with her, brother, to whom she bore Az-Zubayr and As-Sa'ib.
So when he died, Safiyah, may Allaah be pleased with her, devoted all her attention to her two orphaned sons especially the younger one. Whenever he came home complaining from the bullying of his age mates, she would sternly rebuke him, tie him and beat him up.
When one of the members of her husband's family passed by her while she was treating her son in that way, he requested her to be kind to the poor orphan. She told the man that she wanted to make a man out of her son; a man that would be undefeatable and insuppressible, a man that would never surrender to any of Allaah's creatures.
It was reported that Az-Zubayr engaged in a duel with someone who slandered him and Az-Zubayr broke the hand of the slanderer and severely beat him up. The beaten man, in his pains, was brought to Safiyah, may Allaah be pleased with her, and she asked of what happened to him. And she was told, "He fought with Az-Zubayr and he did to him what you are seeing."
When she heard that, she proudly recited a poetry verse saying:
How did you find Zubayr?
Did you find him a cottage cheese or a date fruit?
Or you find him a raving falcon?
He is not an simple to overcome or an easy food that be eaten effortlessly!
Safiyah, may Allaah be pleased with her, achieved what she wanted; for, Az-Zubayr grew strong in body and soul. He had a body that knew no wane or weakness and a soul that knew no lassitude or sluggishness.
It is also said that Safiyah did not embraced Islam until the day her brother did so, though her son Az-Zubayr had earlier embraced Islam and that she used to fight him upon that.
But Az-Zubayr had passed the stage of childhood to manhood then and became independent in his personality and opinion.
She then had no control over him. He was however dutiful to her and compassionate with her.
Safiyah had many commendable and praiseworthy stances with the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, in the cause of promoting Islam. One of these is her stance during the battle of the Trench (otherwise known as battle of the Confederates).
The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, put women and children in fortresses for protection against the confederates and the Jews of Banu Qurayzah.
Safiyah was in a fortress knows as Faari` under the supervision of Hassan ibn Thaabit.
Hassan was assigned to look after the women and he did not go out to fight.
Safiyah said: "When the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, went out to the battle of the Trench, he put the women of his household in a fortress called Faari` and assigned Hassan ibn Thaabit to look after us.
A Jewish man then came and climbed the fortress until he was able to see us. I asked Hassan to rise up and kill him but he said that if he could do so, he would have been with the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and would not have been assigned to look after the women. I then rose up and killed him, and cut his head off.53 I then asked Hassan to drag the head of the invader to the Jews who were at the bottom side of the fortress. He swore by Allaah that he would not do so. So I took the head and threw it to them.
The Jews then said: `We knew that this man [meaning the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam] would not leave behind his family without someone to look after them. So they dispersed."'
53 The most famous narration is that she hit him with a plank of wood until he died.
Yoonus ibn Bukayr said: "She was the first Muslim woman to kill a polytheist."54
Dear reader, with this stance of Safiyah, we need no more proofs of her strong personality in her faith, her defense of herself and her self-dignity.
On the day of Uhud, she had had more than one stance. When people felt defeated she moved forward, and when people retreated she advanced!
Hammaad narrated on the authority of Hishaam that `Urwah said: "Safiyah came on the day of (the battle of) Uhud while the Muslims were vanquished holding a spear in her hand and striking with it the faces of the polytheists. When the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, saw her, he called her son to take hold of her lest she be harmed; for she was his aunt."
When Safiyah heard of the martyrdom of her brother, Hamzah, whom she so much loved, she advanced to look at him and see how he was mutilated with a pierced-open belly, a cut-off nose and severed ears! Zubayr stood in her way out of concern for her and told her, "My mother, Allaah's Messenger, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, is ordering you to go back!"
It is here that Safiyah, may Allaah be pleased with her, attained the peak of her stance; and the personality of this strong and persevering believing woman vividly manifested. She told Zubayr, "Why should I go back since I have heard that my brother was mutilated in the cause of Allaah? We are not pleased with what happened but I will bear it with patience and I hope to get the reward from Allaah, if He so wills."
Az-Zubayr came back to the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, and told him what she said. The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, then said: “Let her go.”
She then came to Hamzah and stood beside his corpse. She shed hot tears, sought Allaah's forgiveness and said: Innaa lillaahi wainnaa Ilayhi raaji’oon.
54 Reported by Ibn Sa`d.
{And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Saabiroon [the patient]. Who, when afflicted with calamity, say, `Truly! To Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.' They are those on whom are the Salawaat [i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven] from their Lord, and [they are those who] receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones.} [Quran 2: 155-157]
The above verses exactly fit Safiyah. For she did not utter a single word of eulogy except when the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, died.
At-Tabarani reported that when the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, died, Safiyah came out waving her garment and saying:
Many occurrences have taken place after you, If you were alive and had been witness to them, calamities would not have reached such a proportion.
Ibn Ishaaq reported some lines of poem with which Safiyah eulogized the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.
A part of which reads as follows:
The day we miss the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, is here! O' eyes! Shed abundant and plentiful tears!
She was also reported to have also said:
The day of your death is certainly a day, In which the sun is wrapped up in darkness though it is shining!
None of the historian disputes attributing these poetic verses to Safiyah. This is because she was known a reciter of poetry but not as a poetess.
Safiyah lived till the time of the caliphate of `Umar, before Allaah caused her to die. May Allaah be pleased with her and please her!
