Prophet's (PBUH) marriage with Safiya (RA)

 She was seventeen years old and had only married Kinanah a 
month or two before the Prophet set out from Medina. The marriage, 
while it lasted, had not been a happy one. Unlike her father and her 
husband, Safiyyah was of a deeply pious nature. From her earliest years she 
had heard her people talk of the Prophet who was soon to come, and this 
had filled her imagination. Then they had spoken of an Arab in Mecca, a 
man of Quraysh, who claimed to be that Prophet; and then came the news 
that he had arrived at Quba'. That was seven years ago, when she was a 
child of ten; and she well remembered her father and her uncle setting 
confidently out for Quba* in order to reassure themselves that the man was 
an impostor; but what had imprinted itself on her memory above all was 
their return late at night, both in a state of extreme dejection. It was clear 
from what they said that they believed the newcomer to be the promised 
Prophet, but that they intended to oppose him; and her young mind was 
puzzled.^ 

 Soon after her marriage, and not long before the Prophet arrived in front 
of Khaybar, she had had a dream. She saw a brilliant moon hanging in the 
sky, and she knew that beneath it lay the city of Medina. Then the moon 
began to move towards Khaybar, where it fell into her lap. When she woke she told Kinanah what she had seen in her sleep, whereupon he struck her a 
blow in the face and said: "This can only mean that thou desirest the King 
of the Hijaz, Muhammad." The mark of the blow was still visible when she 
was brought as captive to the Prophet. He asked her what had caused it, 
and she told him of her dream. Now Dihyah' of the Bani Kalb, who had 
entered Islam shordy after Badr, had asked that Safiyyah should be given 
him as his share of the booty of Khaybar, or as part of his share, and the 
Prophet had agreed; but on hearing her dream he sent to Dihyah and told 
him he must take her cousin instead. He then told Safiyyah that he was 
prepared to set her free, and he offered her the choice between remaining a 
Jewess and returning to her people or entering Islam and becoming his 
wife. *'I choose God and His Messenger," she said; and they were married 
at the first halt on the homeward march.(by martin lings )

Saffiyah was given the choice between being set free and going back to her people or marrying Prophet Muhammad (p). She chose to marry Prophet Muhammad (p), see this citation from the biography writer Martin Lings:

He [the Prophet Muhammad - Ed.] then told Safiyyah that he was prepared to set her free, and he offered her the choice between remaining a Jewess and returning to her people or entering Islam and becoming his wife. “I choose God and His Messenger,” she said; and they were married at the first halt on the homeward march.⁵

This significant act of marrying Safiyyah^(R) was indeed a great honour for her, for this not only preserved her dignity, it also prevented her from becoming a slave. Haykal notes that:

The Prophet granted her freedom and then married her, following the examples of great conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had conquered, partly in order to alleviate their tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity.¹

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:

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.²

Indeed, when Bilal ibn Rabah^(R), a Companion of the Prophet, brought Safiyyah along with another Jewess before him^(P) by passing through the Jews that were slain in the battle, Muhammad^(P) personally chided Bilal and said “Have you no compassion, Bilal, when you brought two women past their dead husbands?”³

 As for the accusation that Safiyyah was coerced into marriage or taken advantage of, as alleged by a known Islamophobic, this claim has no basis at all. It is known that Safiyyah^(R) remained loyal to the Prophet until he passed away.⁴


The other wives of the Prophet^(P) used to show their jealousy of her by making slights upon her Jewish origin. But the Prophet^(P) always defended her. Once Safiyyah was vexed to the extreme by the taunts of all the Arab wives of the Prophet^(P). She took the complaint to the Prophet^(P), who felt great compassion for her. He consoled and encouraged her. He equipped her with logic by saying: “Safiyyah, take courage and be bold. They are in no way superior to you. Tell them: I am a daughter of the Prophet Harun, a niece of the Prophet Musa, and a wife of the Prophet Muhammad”.
This is thus an excellent example of the Prophet Muhammad^(P) trying to wipe out pre-Islamic anti-Semitism amongst the Arabs.

Conclusions

With the evidence laid bare before us, we do not see the justification of accusing the Prophet^(P) of being a “rapist”, as those anti-Islamic critics allege. That the Prophet^(P) himself married Safiyyah(R) so as to avoid the certainty of her being a slave of the Muslims and helped her to defend herself from the taunts of her co-wives is enough proof that the Prophet^(P) was a man of exemplary conduct and remained honourable even to relatives of his most bitter foes.
And only God knows best 

Sourced from:


>>>

http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/umm-ul-mukminin-safiyyah-the-jewish-wife-of-muhammad/#article***

 There was no rape. 

A quick synopsis on the situation of Safiyyah (ra). After the battle of Khaiber she became a captive. Prophet Muhammad (p) gave her the option of going back to her people or staying with the Muslims and marrying him. She CHOSE to marry him.

She loved the Prophet a great deal and even mentioned that she never met anybody with better character/manners than the Prophet (p) by yahya snow


The Prophet acknowledged the honesty of Safiyyah and what a great acknowledgement it was as it came from the most honest person on earth. Zayd ibn Aslam said, "When the Prophet was so sick and on the verge of death his wives gathered around him. Safiyyah bint Huyayyay said, 'O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I would like to be in your place.' Hearing her utterance, the Prophet's wives winked at her. The Prophet saw them and said, 'Rinse your mouths.' They said, 'For what, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'For your winking at her, by Allah, she is telling the truth.'" (Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol. 8, p.101, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.175)

Here is Umm al- Mu'minin, Safiyyah, relates those moments when she hated the Prophet for killing her father and her ex-husband. The Prophet apologized to her saying, "Your father charged the Arabs against me and committed heinous act," he apologized to the extent that made Safiyyah get rid of her bitterness against the Prophet. (Al-Bayhaqi, Dala'il an-Nubuwwah, vol. 4, p. 230, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.166)

Yes, indeed Safiyyah was angry at the Prophet at first but she forgave him later on. This is mainly due to the fact that she always knew that Muhammad was indeed a Prophet. by bassam zawadi

Saffiyah says, "I was my father's and my uncle's favorite child. When the Messenger of Allah came to Madinah and stayed at Quba, my parents went to him at night and when they looked disconcerted and worn out. I received them cheerfully but to my surprise no one of them turned to me. They were so grieved that they did not feel my presence. I heard my uncle, Abu Yasir, saying to my father, 'Is it really him?' He said, 'Yes, by Allah'. My uncle said: 'Can you recognize him and confirm this?' He said, 'Yes'. My uncle said, 'How do you feel towards him?' He said, 'By Allah I shall be his enemy as long as I live.'" (Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, vol. 2, pp. 257-258, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.162)

The story above illustrates Safiyyah's awareness and intelligence. It also shows that the Jews had known of the Prophet's prophethood, and knew  him as well as they knew their children. Nevertheless they harbored feelings of hatred and bitterness for Islam and for the Prophet. The story in addition  to this shows the great enmity and hatred that Huyayy felt against the Messenger of Allah. Safiyyah did not inherit anything from her father because Allah made her heart ready for Islam and prepared her soul for faith.  (Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.162-163)

Safiyyah moved to the house of the Prophet. He loved, appreciated and honored her to the extent that he made her say, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah. (Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Musnad, vol. 13, p. 38, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.172)

 

There was once a situation when Zaynab bint Jahsh and Safiyyah went with the Prophet on one of his travels and the camel of Safiyyah fell sick. The Prophet said to Zaynab, "The camel of Safiyyah has fallen sick, what about giving her one of your camels?" She said, "Never should I give it to such a Jewish woman". The Prophet became angry with her and he did not approach her for two months. (Ahmad, vol. 6, pp. 336-337, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.173

 The Prophet used to treat Safiyyah with courteousness, gentleness and affection. Safiyyah said, "The Messenger of Allah went to Hajj with his wives. On the way my camel knelt down for it was the weakest among all the other camels and so I wept. The Prophet came to me and wiped away my tears with his dress and hands. The more he asked me not to weep the more I went on weeping. (Ahmad, vol.6, p. 337, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.176)

When Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, wanted to ride a camel, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, bent his knees for her to climb on, but she refused to put her feet on his thigh out of reverence. Instead, she put her knee on his thigh and mounted the camel. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, rode beside her and put a veil over her. They traveled with the Muslim army until they were six miles from Khaybar, the home of the enemy where the battle had taken place, where they stopped to rest.
While they were resting, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, wanted to consummate the marriage with her, but Safiyyah refused, which upset him. Reaching As-Sahbaa', which is sixteen miles away from Khaybar, Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, obeyed him. He asked: "Why did you refuse during the first rest?" She replied, "O Messenger of Allah, I was afraid for you because the Jews were too near.” The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, appreciated and respected her for that. [Ibn Sa‘d]
.Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came one day after she had heard ‘Aa'ishah and Hafsah, may Allah be pleased with them, saying that they were more honored in the sight of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, than her, for they were his wives as well as from his tribe.
She narrates, "When I told him about that, he said: ‘You should tell them, 'How could you be better than me when my husband is Muhammad, my father is Haaroon (Aaron) and my uncle is Moosa (Moses)?'" [At-Tirmithi]

She also said,
I went to visit the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, while he was in the state of I‘tikaaf (seclusion in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan). After having spoken to him for an hour, I stood up to return. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also stood up with me. When we reached the gate of the mosque near the door of Umm Salamah, two men from the Ansaar (Helpers) passed by at a quickened pace and greeted the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to them: "Do not hurry. She is Safiyyah, daughter of Huyayy [my wife].''
They said, "Subhaan Allah! (Glory be to Allah)'' They showed astonishment at the Prophet’s telling them who I was. Therefore, the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "The devil [circulates] like blood does in the son of Aadam. I apprehended that the devil might drop some evil thoughts into your minds.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
When the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was suffering from the fatal sickness due to which he died, Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I wish I were the one suffering instead of you." The other wives of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, looked at each other (as if they mocked what she said). The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, saw them and said: "Wash your mouths.” They said, “From what?” He said: "From ridiculing her with your looks to each other. By Allah, she is truthful.” [Ibn Sa‘d]

Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, was always openhanded and generous. One day, she gave Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, and some of the Mothers of the Believers rings of gold and she gave the price of her house in charity before she died.

 
It was reported that once her slave-girl went to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, "Safiyyah loves the Sabbath and has good relations with the Jews." When ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, sent for her and asked her about that, she replied, "As for the Sabbath, I do not love it because Allah The Almighty has given me a better day [i.e. Friday]. As for the Jews, I have kindred among them so I maintain kinship ties with them." After that, she asked the slave girl why she had behaved that way, and when the girl told her that the devil had tempted her into carrying tales, Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, set her free. [Ibn Abdul-Barr]
Such was the Mother of the Believers, Safiyyah bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab, a descendant of Prophet Haaroon, may Allah exalt his mention. Her mother was called Barrah bint Samaw’al from Banu Quraythah. Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, married the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, at the age of 17, and, despite her young age, she had been married twice before that. She was first married to Salaam ibn Mishkam Al-Qurathi, the warrior of her tribe and one of its great poets. She then married Kinaanah ibn Ar-Rabee‘, the defender of the fort of Al-Qamoos, which was the strongest fort in Khaybar.
Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, related that when she married the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he saw a bruise near her eye. So, he asked: "What is this, Safiyyah?" She said, "I saw in my dreams that a moon fell into my lap. When I told my husband about that dream, he slapped me very hard, saying, ‘You desire to be under the king who comes from Madeenah (referring to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).” [Ibn Sa‘d]

Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, supported the truth when the Commander of the Believers ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, may Allah be pleased with him, was put under siege in his home. She made a bridge between her house and that of ‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, with pieces of wood through which she transferred water and food to him.
Safiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, died in the month of Ramadan, 50 A.H. during the caliphate of Mu‘aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan. She was buried in the cemetery of Al-Baqee‘ at the side of the other Mothers of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with them (by islamweb)

 When Safiya came to the Holy Prophet (pbuh), he said to her; ‘Among the Jews your father did not stop in his enmity towards me until Allah destroyed him.’ She said: ‘O Allah’s Messenger! Indeed Allah says in His book, ‘No one will take anyone else’s burden’. So the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said to her: ‘Make your choice, if you will chose Islam I’ll select you for myself and if you chose Judaism, I’ll set you free and send you to your people.’ She said; ‘O Allah’s Messenger indeed I longed for Islam and testified for you even before you gave me this invitation when I came to you. I have no guardian among the Jews, neither father nor brother and I prefer Islam over disbelief. Allah and His Messenger are dear to me then freedom and to return to my people.

 There is alot of wisdom behind the Prophets (P) marriage to Safiyah. This significant act of marrying Safiyyah(R) was indeed a great honour for her, for this preserved her dignity and raised her status:

 The Prophet granted her freedom and then married her, following the examples of great conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had conquered, partly in order to alleviate their tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity

 The marriage to Safiyyah (R) has a political significance as well, as it helps to reduce hostilities and cement alliances:

 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. [16]With marrying Safiyyah, the Prophet aimed at ending the enmity and hostility adopted by the Jews against him and against Islam, all the way long, but alas they went on with their hatred for Islam and for the Prophet simply because it was their natural disposition to be malicious and stubborn

  we do not see the justification of accusing the Prophet(P) of being a "rapist", as those anti-Islamic critics allege. That the Prophet(P) himself married Safiyyah(R) so as to avoid the certainty of her being a slave of the Muslims and helped her to defend herself from the taunts of her co-wives is enough proof that the Prophet(P) was a man of exemplary conduct and remained honourable even to relatives of his most bitter foes.

And only God knows best.

A companion of the Prophet Muhammadsa, Hazrat Anas bin Malikra, states:

“Upon returning from ‘Asfaan, we were travelling along with the Prophetsa. The Prophetsa mounted a camel and Hazrat Safiyyahra bint Huyyay was sitting behind him. The foot of the camel slipped and the Prophetsa and Hazrat Safiyyahra both fell off. Abu Talhara jumped off his camel and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! I am sacrificed unto thee! Are you okay?’ He retorted, ‘Enquire about the lady first.’ Therefore Abu Talhara veiled his face and went to Hazrat Safiyyahra and covered her in a chaadar [cloth used as head-covering] and prepared the camel.”27

Upon the arrival of the Holy Prophetsa at Madinah from Khaibar, arrangements were made for Hazrat Safiyyahra to stay with his companion, Hazrat Haaritha bin Nu’maanra. ‘Ata bin Yassar narrates narrates that when the Ansari women heard of the arrival of a noble bride, they went to visit her. ‘A’ishahra, one of the wives of the Prophetsa, also joined these women out of curiosity, but veiled herself so as not to be recognised. The Holy Prophetsa recognised her and asked, “O ‘A’ishah! How do you find her?” ‘A’ishahra replied curtly, “She is just a Jewess from among the Jews.”

 The Holy Prophetsa said, “‘A’ishah! Do not say this. She has now accepted Islam and is a good Muslim.”28 Indeed, even though ‘A’ishahra was much loved by the Prophetsa due to her unique qualities and virtues endowed to her by God, he would occasionally admonish her for the sake of her moral training. Once she pointed her little finger at Hazrat Safiyyahra tauntingly, by way of saying that she was short in height. When the Prophetsa learnt of this, he reprimanded her severely and said, “You have spoken a word such that, if it were mixed in the water of the ocean, it would darken it.

  Hazrat Safiyyahra states:

“The Prophetsa always treated me kindly. Once, somebody from among the noble wives taunted me by saying, ‘You belong to a Jewish tribe i.e., you are from among the progeny of the Jews.’ The Prophetsa came home and upon seeing me cry asked, ‘What’s the matter with you?’ I replied, ’O Messenger of Allah! Some of your wives are related to your family or to the Quraish [the dominant tribe in Makkah]. They said that they belonged to the family of the Quraish while I was the daughter of the Jews. The Prophetsa said, ‘O daughter of Huyyay! What need is there to cry? You ought to have responded to them by saying, “How could you fare better than me, while Prophet Aaronra was my father, the prophet Mosesra was my uncle and Muhammadsa is my husband!”

That is to say, she enjoyed a relationship with three Prophets while they (the other wives) were taking pride over the one relation they had with the Prophetsa.

 Hazrat ‘A’ishahra states:

“I had never seen anyone cook better than Hazrat Safiyyahra. On one occasion, she sent some food to the Prophetsa when it was my turn to be with him. I was overcome by jealousy and broke her dish. Afterwards, I mentioned to the Holy Prophetsa of my feeling much ashamed, ‘O Messenger of Allah! What is the atonement for this mistake of mine?’ He replied, ‘A dish for a dish and food for food

Another thing that is brought up to discredit the many narrations wherein Safiyya had affection towards and voluntarily married the Prophet, is the report wherein Safiyya hated the Prophet for what he had done to her father and husband:

Safiyya bint Huyay narrtes, ‘There was no one more loathsome in my eyes than the Messenger of God, who had killed both my father and husband. However, THIS FEELING DISAPPEARED FROM MY HEART when the Messenger of God repeatedly clarified his position to me by telling me that my father had been responsible for instigating the Arabs against and for numerous other felonies. (Tabraani, reported from reliable sources: Haythami volume 9, page 251) [11]

Kitab Futuh al-Buldan:

“THE GREEN SPOT IN THE EYE OF SAFIYAH, THE PROPHET’S WIFE Once the Prophet, noticing a green spot in the eye of Safiyah, daughter of Huyai, asked her about it, and she said, ‘As my head lay in the lap of Ibn Abi-l-Hukaik [Kinanah], I saw in my sleep as if a moon fell in my lap. When I told him of what I saw he gave me a blow saying, ‘Art thou wishing to have the King of Yathrib [Muhammed]? Safiyah added, ‘Of all men the Prophet was the one I disliked most, for he had killed my husband and father. But he kept on say, THY FATHER EXCITED THE ARABS TO UNITE AGAINST ME, and he did this and that,’ until all HATRED WAS GONE FROM ME.’” (Kitab Futuh al Buldan, volume 1, page 44 – 45) [12]

As a human being, of-course it is natural, normal to have these feelings towards the Messenger (p). What the critics conveniently leave out in the same report, she goes on to accept that her father and others were guilty of many heinous crimes, in which led to the Prophet (p) to take action against them. Safiyya no longer had such feelings towards Prophet Muhammed (p) when she understood what they had done. Furthermore, if she had hated the Prophet (p) as critics claim, then why didn’t she go back to her family when Muhammed (p) gave her the choice to be free, but she choice to stay? From here on, Safiyya praised Prophet, to the extent she said:

Safiyyah moved to the house of the Prophet. He loved, appreciated and honored her to the extent that he made her say, “I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah. (Abu Ya’la al-Mawsili, Musnad, volume 13, page 38) [14]

As a result of Safiyyah’s marriage, the Prophet (p) signed a peace treaty and set everyone else free.

6. Conclusion:
As we have examined the historical side relating to the battle of Khaybar, Kinana and Huyayy Ibn Aktab’s death, one thing that can be drawn is that these criminals were only killed as a result of them constantly persecuting and killing Muslims. The Muslims, 1400 years ago, had no choice left but to deal with them for the safety of the community.
Furthermore, Safiyya’s affair with Prophet as we have seen was mutual, the Prophet (p) gave her a choice to stay on her religion and set free or accept Islam and be the Prophet’s wife, she accepted the latter.( via discover the truth .com )

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