Safiyya bint Abdulmuttalib (r.anha).Part1

During the Era of Bliss, there were some women who did not drop the torch of Islam from their hands, who struggled sacrificing their lives so that Islam would conquer hearts and who did not fall behind their husbands and sons. One of those Companions who would live in hearts as long as the world existed was Hz. Safiyya, the paternal aunt of the Prophet.

• Hz. Safiyya took care of her nephew, the Prophet, with the compassion of a mother, when she was very young and did not hesitate to make sacrifices so as not to make him feel that he was motherless. 

She loved her nephew very much. She guessed that she would have a high rank among people in the future and looked forward to seeing those days.

• Years passed and her beloved nephew was given the duty of prophethood. 

He called people to Islam. Hz. Safiyya did not hesitate to believe; she became one of the first Muslims. After that, she increased her material and spiritual support to him. She worked very hard to spread Islam.

• However, it is irony of fate that her brother, Abu Lahab, was one of the leaders of the enemies of her beloved nephew. 

Abu Lahab took pleasure in torturing and agonizing the Muslims, primarily the Prophet. Hz. Safiyya was very sorry for this unfair treatment of her brother; she could not bear it.

Once, she heard that Abu Lahab hurt the Messenger of Allah. She went to Abu Lahab and warned him harshly:

“Does it fit you to leave your nephew and his religion  helpless? The scholars of the People of the Book say that a prophet will come from the descendants of Abdulmuttalib. That prophet is our nephew Muhammad.”

However, Abu Lahab did not have the eyes that could see what was right and true. His heart was occupied by fury and hatred. He answered the warning of her sister with the following sentence reflecting the state of women in the Era of Ignorance:

“The words of women are hindrance for men.”

Realizing that it was impossible to persuade Abu Lahab, Hz. Safiyya left his house sadly.

Hz. Safiyya could not persuade her brother to help the Messenger of Allah but she did her best to bring up her son Zubayr as a mujahid for the Messenger of Allah. She was a disciplined mother. She sometimes beat her son slightly. When she was asked why she beat him, she said,

“I am beating him to train him because he will command armies in the future.” 

Indeed, Hz. Zubayr, who was brought up and trained by his mother, became a heroic mujahid. The Prophet praised him by saying,

“Every prophet has a disciple and assistant. My assistant is Zubayr.” 

• He also gave the glad tiding that Zubayr was a person of Paradise. 

Thus, Hz. Safiyya was honored to be the mother of one of the 10 Companions who were given the glad tiding while they were alive that they would be in Paradise.

• When the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah, his beloved aunt did not leave him alone. 

She migrated to Madinah with her son Zubayr. Thus, she also had the privilege of migrating in the way of Allah.

• Hz. Safiyya did not hesitate to risk her life for the sake of Allah and His messenger. 

She became the first Muslim woman to kill an unbeliever in the history of Islam. The incident took place during the Battle of Uhud.

When the Prophet left for the Battle of Uhud, he placed the women, girls and boys in the house of Hz. Hassan. The Prophet did not take Hz. Hassan to Uhud because he was too old and ill; so, he stayed at home.

While the mujahids were fighting at Uhud with their swords, a Jewish man wanted to make use of this situation and approached the house that was full of women and children slyly. His aim was to martyr defenseless people and to become a hero. Hz. Safiyya narrates the incident as follows:

“We had no contact with the Messenger of Allah. Besides, the Messenger of Allah and the Companions were not in a position to come to help us. When I saw that a Jew was walking around the house, I went over to Hassan and told him about the situation. I asked him to kill the Jew. Hz. Hassan was both old and ill. He said, ‘O daughter of Abdulmuttalib! May Allah be pleased with you! You know that I am not strong enough to do it.’ Then, it was my duty to do it. I did not have a weapon. I took a big piece of wood. I went out slowly. I hit the man with the wood on his back. He fell down. Then, I hit him until he died.”