# What is the common story about how the Prophet married Safiyya?

*The narrative being pushed: executions, Dihya al-Kalbi, 'marry me or stay a slave' and consummation that night*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/3/
- Date: 2018-02-21 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Story of Safiyya: the Prophet's Jewish wife -Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (9:06–11:37)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=546s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/

**Topics:** The wives of the Prophet; Replies to attacks on the Prophet

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The circulated story is that after Khaybar the Prophet executed Safiyya's husband and father, took her from Dihya al-Kalbi for her beauty, gave her the choice of slavery or marriage and consummated it that night. Mufti Abu Layth says every part of this is false.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the circulating account that the Prophet had Safiyya's husband and father executed, took her from Dihya al-Kalbi for her beauty, offered her marriage or slavery and consummated the marriage that night is untrue.

**Evidence, his words at 9:40:** “this this these narrations that I'm telling you now are not true but I'm telling you this is what people push this is the narrative” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=580s)

## Longer summary

Pausing at the point where Safiyya leaves Khaybar with the Muslims, Mufti Abu Layth sets out the narrative circulated even by some Muslims, which he says is untrue: that the victorious Prophet had her husband Kinana [?] and her father Huyayy tied up and executed, that she was dragged out and taken as spoils and given to Dihya al-Kalbi, that the Prophet took her from him because she was known to be beautiful and offered her the choice of slavery or marrying him, that she agreed, and that in some versions he consummated the marriage that night or a few nights later, while in others she detested him at first. He says all of this is nonsense and promises to give the true account.

## Sources and names cited

- Safiyya
- Kinana ibn al-Rabi' [?] (Safiyya's husband)
- Huyayy ibn Akhtab
- Dihya al-Kalbi

## Transcript (machine tier, 9:06–11:37)

[9:00] there's a difference of opinion and arguably he is the person who retaliates but at the end of this amongst the peeps a fear leaves with the Muslims and girls now I want us to pause here okay right I want to now tell you what the the narrative that is being pushed around is and then what the truth is okay so let's I gave you the background and inshallah in the future maybe I will do a detailed video on this but right now for us to have an understanding so this is now the narrative that is being

[9:40] pushed even by several Muslims unfortunately that the Prophet after being victorious brought hell clean Anna was her husband and he was obviously one of the key people and her father who yay and had them tied up and executed she was dragged out and then then there's some variations some people say she was taken as spoils of war so and she was given to this person called daheia al qalbi and this this these narrations

[10:18] that I'm telling you now are not true but I'm telling you this is what people push this is the narrative right so she was taken by the al qalbi and then the Prophet took her from him because she was known to be so beautiful she was so beautiful that the Prophet took her from the hill kalbi and said to her look why don't you marry me Oh like you've got a choice like you can either be a slave or you can marry me and she

[10:55] says okay I'll marry you and then the Prophet in some narrations consummates that marriage is intimate with going to some people that night night after or whatever few nights later these are the kind of stories being pushed around and also she is hateful of the Prophet in the beginning in some she says oh I detest you and stuff like these in some narrations now all of these things are nonsense people these

[11:33] are all rubbish right now let me get to the true narrative the truth is that we have a lot of narrations a lot and we've got several in Buhari we've got several in other books almost all of these narrations to do with this marriage of Sofia come predominant almost all of them I mean there may be one or two other ones otherwise generally they all come through just honest or they Allah on only anise is transmitting this story

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment dpeR6Y4MGwA/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/3/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.