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Safiyah: Difference between revisions
→Modern Perspectives
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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.}} | 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.}} | ||
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 | 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 Safiyah 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 [http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/umm-ul-mukminin-Safiyah-the-jewish-wife-of-muhammad/ "Umm ul-Mukminin Safiyah: The Jewish Wife of Muhammad"] by Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi, September 20, 2005: | The following quotes are from [http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/umm-ul-mukminin-Safiyah-the-jewish-wife-of-muhammad/ "Umm ul-Mukminin Safiyah: The Jewish Wife of Muhammad"] by Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi, September 20, 2005: | ||
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Safiyah was the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the undisputed leader of the Banu al-Nadir as well as a Jewish rabbi. Hence, she was of noble regal and rabbinical heritage. She became a captive of the Muslims when they seized al-Qamus, the fortress of Khaybar. When a Companion of the Prophet(P) heard of Safiyah’s captivity, he approached the Prophet(P) with a suggestion that since she was a lady of Banu al-Nadir, only the Prophet(P) was fit enough to marry her. The Prophet(P) agreed to this suggestion and hence granted her freedom and married her.|Muhammad Husayn Haykal, The Life of Muhammad (North American Trust Publications, 1976), p. 373}} | Safiyah was the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the undisputed leader of the Banu al-Nadir as well as a Jewish rabbi. Hence, she was of noble regal and rabbinical heritage. She became a captive of the Muslims when they seized al-Qamus, the fortress of Khaybar. When a Companion of the Prophet(P) heard of Safiyah’s captivity, he approached the Prophet(P) with a suggestion that since she was a lady of Banu al-Nadir, only the Prophet(P) was fit enough to marry her. The Prophet(P) agreed to this suggestion and hence granted her freedom and married her.|Muhammad Husayn Haykal, The Life of Muhammad (North American Trust Publications, 1976), p. 373}} | ||
The author above makes no mention of the role played by Safiyah's beauty in the story. | The author above makes no mention of the role played by Safiyah'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 Safiyah has a political significance as well, as it helps to reduce hostilities and cement alliances. John L. Esposito notes that | ||
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 Safiyah has a political significance as well, as it helps to reduce hostilities and cement alliances. John L. Esposito notes that | |||
{{Quote|2=As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection.|John L. Esposito. Islam: The Straight Path (5 ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-063215-1. OCLC 1027626873, 2016. p.19-20}} | {{Quote|2=As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection.|John L. Esposito. Islam: The Straight Path (5 ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-063215-1. OCLC 1027626873, 2016. p.19-20}} | ||