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Safiyah bint Huyayy (صفية بنت حيي‎, c. 610 - c. 670) (also spelled Saffiya, Safiyya, Safiya bint Huyai) was the bride of Kinana and the chief mistress of the Jewish tribes of Quraiza and An-Nadir. According to the sira Muhammad captured and married her after killing her husband. She and her husband were both captured after the victorious conclusion of Muhammad's conquest of Khaybar.

Her Story

When the Muslims invaded and conquered Khaybar, the fighting men were killed and Safiyah was taken captive (along with the rest of the women and children) and allotted as booty to Dihya Al-Kalbi, a Muslim.[1] Kinana was tortured and executed by the Muslims in order to discover the hiding places of treasure,[2][3][4] and one source relates that he and Safiyah had been married only one day.[5] She was so beautiful, that the Muslims began praising her in the presence of Muhammad[6], and so the prophet commanded that Dihya be brought before him along with Safiyah. Upon seeing her, Muhammad said, "Take any slave girl other than her from the captives"[7] and he selected her for himself (as was his custom, he had done similarly with Rayhana after The Massacre of the Banu Qurayza).[8] The Muslims left Khaybar to return to Medina and on the way they stopped at a place called Sidd-as-Sahba; it was at this time Safiyah became clean from her menses.[9] The "marriage banquet" consisted of haris (a kind of dish) served on a small leather sheet and a gathering of those who were conveniently nearby.[10] Another narrator describes the banquet in this way: "...there was neither meat nor bread in that banquet, but the Prophet ordered Bilal to spread the leather mats on which dates, dried yogurt and butter were put."[11] Muhammad stayed three nights there and consummated his marriage with Safiyah.[12] Despite this banquet, the Muslims were still not sure whether she would be considered a wife or a right hand possession until Muhammad set off and forced her to wear a veil as she rode behind him on his camel.[13] He considered her manumission to be an adequate mahr (dowry).[14]


From the information provided in the Hadith, it can be reasonably concluded that Safiyah did not have a choice in this marriage; rather she was war booty for Muhammad, a not uncommon practice at the time. She was held captive up until the marriage, and when Muhammad decided that she would be a wife rather than a slave-girl, that is when he made known that her manumission was her mahr. Based on the Hadith, it seems that Muhammad took Safiyah based on her beauty. Her social status would not have mattered in this particular situation because Muhammad did not intend on maintaining amiable ties with the Jews of Khaybar. In fact, he intended on forcing them into exile but was talked out of it by the Jews who agreed to cultivate the land and give half of its earnings to the Muslims.[15]

In later, non-sahih accounts, there are reports that Safiyah desired to become a Muslim, however there is no evidence of this in sahih accounts. She was the Jewish chief mistress of two tribes who had rebelled against Allah and his Apostle, so her religious piety would not have been a considering factor for Muhammad. Her wealth had been confiscated as war booty, so her wealth would not have been a considering factor either. Muhammad knew nothing about Safiyah until her capture and distribution as booty; his interest seems only to have been sparked when he heard about her beauty.

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "A woman is married for four (things), i.e., her wealth, her family status, her beauty and her religion. So you should take possession of (marry) the religious women (otherwise) you will be a loser."[16]

Additional Narratives

Many narratives outside of the sahih hadith tradition exist about Safiyah:

When the Muslims conquered al-Qamus (the fort of B. Abu'1-Huqayq), Bilal (one of Muhammad's companions) brought Safiyah and another woman to Muhammad. He led them past the slain Jews, and when the woman with Safiyah saw them she shrieked and slapped her face and poured dust on her head. Muhammad said, "Take this she-devil away from me." He then commanded that Safiyah be put behind him and he threw his mantle over her, indicating that he had chosen her for himself. It had been said that the apostle asked Bilal, "Had you no compassion, Bilal, when you brought two women past their dead husbands?"[17]

The Sahih Hadith contradict this account, describing Safiyah being brought with Dihya, not another woman, for the sole purpose of satisfying Muhammad's curiosity about her beauty.

Safiyah had a mark on her face, and when Muhammad asked her about it, she told him that her husband had hit her so hard that he blacked her eye. She said she had a dream while she was married to Kinana, and in that dream the moon fell in her lap. When she described it to her husband, he said, "This simply means that you covet the king of the Hijaz, Muhammad", and then he hit her.[18]

In another story, Safiyah was veiled after the wedding feast and Muhammad put her on his camel in order to conduct her to the bridal tent. In the morning, Muhammad heard the noise of someone rustling against the curtain of the tent. Abu Ayub was there, and he had kept watch all night with a drawn sword. When Muhammad asked his reason for being there, his friend explained that he did not trust Safiyah because Muhammad had just slain her husband the previous day. Muhammad thanked him for his vigilance and sent him away.[19]

Modern Perspectives

The story of Safiyah is retold by Muslims in numerous biographies and books. This article provides a few examples of a contemporary Muslim retelling:

Marriage with the Holy Prophet: After the Muslims victory in the battle of Khyber all the prisoners of war were assembled. A companion of the Holy Prophet, Hadrat Dehia Kalbi, requested him for a maid. The Holy Prophet allowed him to select one. Accordingly, he picked up Hadrat Safiyah. But another companion brought to the notice of the Holy Prophet that Dehia had chosen the leading lady of the Bany Nuzair and Quraiza tribes, who should have gone to the lot of the Holy Prophet. He meant that the leading woman of an Arab tribe should not be treated as an ordinary woman. The Holy Prophet therefore, allotted another woman prisoner to Hadrat Dehia as his maid. He freed Hadrat Safiyah and married her. (Bukhari)

According to another story when Hadrat Safiyah had been assigned to Hadrat Dehia, the Holy Prophet went round the camp inspecting the prisoners. Hadrat Safiyah represented her case to the Holy Prophet stating that she being the daughter of the chief of her tribe, deserved better treatment than accorded to her. The Holy Prophet who was moved by the implorings of Hadrat Safiya, secured her freedom from Hadrat Dehia on consideration of seven heads of cattle. Thereafter was invited to accept the true faith of Islam. Hadrat Safiyah was already inclined towards Islam and hence she readily accepted the same. The Holy Prophet then married her. (Usudul Ghaba)

On his way to Medina the Holy Prophet halted at a place called Sahba where he held the Walima feast. While starting from Sahba, the holy Prophet got Hadrat Safiyah mounted on his own camel and covered her with his robe indicating that she had now become his wife. In happiness Hadrat Safiya forgot the tragedy that had befallen her family, thinking that now she was the most fortunate lady after marriage with the Holy Prophet of Islam.
Ahmed, Dr. (Mufti) M. Mukarram. (2005) Encyclopaedia of Islam. (pp 163-164). New Delhi: J.L. Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd.

This version is remarkable for the very selective reading of the sources and outright recasting of some of the material. Gone are the accounts of Safiah being grieved at the death of her husband and the slaughter of her tribe. This clearly shows the contemporary Muslim drive to reconcile elements of the Prophet's biography which clash with contemporary liberal mores about war, slavery, and sexual consent.

The following quotes are from "Umm ul-Mukminin Safiyyah: The Jewish Wife of Muhammad" by Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi, September 20, 2005:




The above author clearly views a plain retelling of the facts as related by the tradition to be themselves attack up on the character.


The author above makes no mention of the role played by Safiyyah's beauty in the story.


Conquerors in pre-modern times generally married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had conquered to give themselves legitimacy as the new rulers (in addition, of course, to slaking their lust with women who could not refuse their offers of marriage). The feelings and dignity of the girls and women were the least of a conqueror's concern. In medieval England, for example, the Norman conquerors occasionally used intermarriage to claim land. The marriage to Safiyyah(R) has a political significance as well, as it helps to reduce hostilities and cement alliances. John L. Esposito notes that


Esposito posits peacemaking as a goal of the marriage, yet the tribe that Saffiyyah hailed from was and continued to be at war with the Muslims and was eventually expelled from Arabia according to traditional sources.


In the above passage, one might surmise that Kinana was killed in battle, when actually he was murdered after the battle while he was a prisoner of war.


Ling doesn't cite any source for this assertion. In contrast to Ling's assertion, we have Sahih Hadith that indicate that Safiyah was chosen for her beauty and kept captive up until her "wedding" night with Muhammad.


"...trying to wipe out pre-Islamic anti-Semitism amongst the Arabs" is a an assertion that's not supported by the primary texts we have. In fact according the traditional sources Muhammad eventually expelled all of the Jews from Arabia, save the Banu Qurayza whom he slaughtered and enslaved to the last.


The above shows a clear apologetic bias at work; no modern person, especially given contemporary concerns about sexual consent prevalent in modern culture, would cast the marriage of a woman taken as a slave to the man who had just defeated her tribe in battle and murdered her husband as an example of fair and equal consent. The author above is clearly more concerned with modern perceptions of Muhammad and how they conform to contemporary mores around things like sexual consent than the plain facts of what is written in the texts.

4. An account of how Safiyyah’s loyalty was affirmed by the Prophet(P) himself is recorded in Muhammad Husayn Haykal, op. cit., p. 374, of which an online document can be found.

See Also

External Links


  1. Sahih Bukhari 2:14:68
  3. Tabari vol. 8, p.123
  6. Sahih Muslim 8:3329
  7. Sahih Bukhari 1:8:367
  8. Sahih Bukhari 3:34:437
  9. Sahih Bukhari 5:59:522
  10. Sahih Bukhari 4:52:143
  11. Sahih Bukhari 5:59:524
  12. Sahih Bukhari 5:59:524
  13. Sahih Bukhari 5:59:524
  14. Sahih Bukhari 5:59:512
  15. Sahih Bukhari 3:39:531
  16. Khan, Dr. Muhammad Muhsin (Translator). (1994). Summarized Sahih Al-Bukhari: Arabic-English. (p. 889). Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah: Islamic University.
  19. Muir, Sir William. (1878). The Life of Mahomet, New Edition. (pp. 392-393) London:Smith, Elder and Co.