At a glance
- Roles
- Companion
- Counted among
- Sunni
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate
- Region
- Arabia
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
WomenIslam and JudaismConverts and those who leave
Place in the story
- Victim · c. June 628 CE · c. Safar 7 AH† – c. June 628 CE · c. Safar 7 AH†Historical
- Convert to Islam · c. 628 CE · c. 7 AH†Tradition
- Family of the Prophet · c. 628 CE · c. 7 AH† – 632 CE · 11 AH†Tradition
- Companion · c. 628 CE · c. 7 AH†Tradition
Jewish (documented) · Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Safiyya bint Huyayy (may God be pleased with her), daughter of Banu al-Nadir's chief; she lost everything in a war then began a wholly new life — she was freed, the Prophet ﷺ married her, and she became one of the Mothers of the Believers.
Safiyya bint Huyayy (may God be pleased with her), daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, chief of the Jewish tribe Banu al-Nadir. Born around 610 CE, she grew up among Banu al-Nadir, the tribe exiled from Medina to Khaybar. When Khaybar fell in 628 CE — her father dead earlier, her husband executed after the settlement — she was brought a captive; the Prophet ﷺ freed her and married her, her freedom being her bride-gift, and she entered Islam and became one of the Mothers of the Believers in Medina. She died around 670 CE.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
Safiyya bint Huyayy (may God be pleased with her), daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, chief of the Jewish tribe Banu al-Nadir; she was taken captive the day Khaybar fell in 628 CE, freed and married to the Prophet ﷺ, in one of the first community's most delicate crossings. Born around 610 CE, she grew up among Banu al-Nadir, the Jewish tribe exiled from Medina to the oasis of Khaybar. When Khaybar fell — her father killed earlier, her husband executed after the settlement — she was brought a captive to the Prophet. The sources say the Prophet freed her and married her, her freedom being her bride-gift, and that she entered Islam and became one of the Mothers of the Believers in Medina; she died around 670 CE. Her life stands at the seam of two communities: Jewish-born, a war captive, wife of the Prophet; the account keeps her pain when her co-wives reminded her of her origin, and the Prophet's answer naming her father a prophet's descendant and her husband a prophet.
Brief
Safiyya bint Huyayy (may God be pleased with her) was a daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, chief of the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir. She was taken captive the day Khaybar fell in 628 CE, was freed, and married the Prophet, one of the most striking crossings in the first community.
Life
Born around 610 CE, she grew up among Banu Nadir, the Jewish tribe that was expelled from Medina to the oasis of Khaybar 1. When Khaybar fell in the battle of Khaybar, her father had already been killed, and her husband was executed after the truce. She was brought as a captive to Muhammad 2.
The sources state that the Prophet freed her and married her, her freedom serving as her dowry, and that she embraced Islam. In Medina she became one of the Mothers of the Believers, and she died around 670 CE 3.
Legacy
Safiyya's life stands on the boundary between two communities: Jewish by birth, a captive of war, and a wife of the Prophet. The account itself preserves her pain when her co-wives reminded her of her origins, and the Prophet's answer, which named her father as one of a prophet's line and her husband as a prophet.
For young visitors
Safiyya lost everything in a war, and then began a completely new life. People still tell how she crossed from one world into another.
In Medina at the Prophet's arrival (*The Sealed Nectar*, p. 181)
Safiyya relates, on the authority of her father Huyayy ibn Akhtab and her uncle Abu Yasir, that when they went out to the Prophet after he alighted at Quba, they returned listless. Her uncle said to her father: "Did you recognize him? What is in your heart toward him?" He said: "Enmity toward him, by God, for as long as I live" (the society of Medina at the Hijra) 4 5.
From Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy's Tafsir lectures (episode 10)
The Sheikh relates that Aisha and Hafsa called Safiyya a daughter of a Jewess, and that her mother was Jewish and her father was Huyayy ibn Akhtab, one of the leaders of the Jews (needs_source) 6.
He says that the Prophet comforted her and told her that if she was spoken to in this way she should say that her father is Harun, her uncle is Musa and her husband is Muhammad (needs_source) 7.
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Connections
- Born in
- Medina
- Died in
- Medina
- Child of
- Huyayy ibn Akhtab
- Spouse of
- Muhammad· Kinana ibn al-Rabi' ibn Abi al-Huqayq
- Member of
- Banu Nadir· Ahl al-Bayt· Mothers of the Believers
- Participated in
- The Conquest of Khaybar
- Mentioned in
- Muwatta 1231· Muwatta 1232· Muwatta 1234
People and things also explored
Aisha bint Abi Bakr· Hafsa bint Umar· Umm Salama (Hind bint Abi Umayya)· Muhammad· Umm Habiba Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan· Abu Hurayra· Fatima bint Muhammad· Juwayriya bint al-Harith
Sources
- Watt, Muhammad at Medina (1956)
- Ibn Ishaq / Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (1955)
- Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Bewley translation, Ta-Ha)
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.181
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham , 1/518-519
- Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Tafsir Al Quran Al Qareem, episode 10, at 00:46:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
- Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Tafsir Al Quran Al Qareem, episode 10, at 00:48:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
- Nisa' Hawl al-Rasul: Tarajim wa Qisas — al-Maktaba al-Asriyya
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Safiyya bint Huyayy”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/safiyya-bint-huyayy/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.