Day: March 6, 2026

Safiyya Bint ‘Abd Al-MutTalib

She was Safiyya bint ‘Abdel-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn ‘Abd Manaf, the Prophet’s aunt, the sister of Hamzah ibn ‘Abdel-Muttalib and the mother of Az-Zubair ibn Al-‘Awwam. She (may Allah be pleased with her) was brought up in a noble house which was responsible for drinking the pilgrims.

Such nobility and deep-rooted lineage influenced the character of Safiyya (may Allah be pleased with her). She was eloquent, educated, brave and knight. She was among the first to enter Islam. She migrated with her husband to Madina.

She joined the Muslim army at Uhud to treat the wounded and serve the warriors. When the Muslims started to withdraw from the battlefield, she held an arrow and waved it against their faces saying:
“Would you leave the Prophet (pbuh) alone?”

When she knew that her brother Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib had been killed from his back and was disfigured after death, she kept patient and steadfast. “To Allah we are destined to return” was her only comment. She then asked Allah to forgive him.

She had another heroic action in the battle of the Trench. When a Jewish man attempted to attack the women camp. The Muslim women and children at the battle of the Trench were left at a fort guarded by Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him). Watching the Jewish man walking around the fort, Safiyya at once went to Hassan and said, “I doubt that man, since he might lead the enemy to us, you have to kill him.” Hassan replied, “May Allah forgive you, I could not do that.”

Accordingly, she decided to get rid of that Jewish man alone. She veiled herself, picked up a huge cudgel and went down the fort. All of sudden, she hit the Jewish man on the back of his head several times until he died. Then she went back to the fort pleasantly because she managed to protect the Muslim women by killing the Jewish spy.

In the battle of Khaybar, she went with the other Muslim women to encourage the Muslim army and to treat the wounded. The Prophet (pbuh) admired their contribution and assigned them a share of war spoils.

Safiyya, as a matter of fact, led a life of sacrifice and achievements until she died at the era of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). She was about seventy by then. May Allah be pleased with her.