# Could the Prophet have married Safiyya right after Khaybar?

*Impossible by the Quran: the widow's iddah, the Awtas objection, and why Anas assumed a marriage*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/5/
- Date: 2018-02-21 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Story of Safiyya: the Prophet's Jewish wife -Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (19:29–24:44)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=1169s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/

**Topics:** The wives of the Prophet; Text criticism, reason and the Quran; Divorce

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** No: she was a widow and the Quran requires a waiting period of four months and ten days, so a marriage at Khaybar would contradict the Quran. The companions only assumed a marriage because they saw the Prophet veil her and took a victory meal for a wedding feast.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Prophet cannot have married Safiyya at Khaybar, since as a widow she owed the Quranic waiting period of four months and ten days, and that the companions' belief that he had married her rested on Anas's assumption from seeing her veiled and a feast held.

**Evidence, his words at 19:29:** “first of all it is impossible that the Prophet married her then imposter why you asked me right he posted no evidence right okay why is it impossible because it clearly goes against the Quran” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=1169s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says it is impossible that the Prophet married Safiyya at Khaybar because it clearly goes against the Quran. Her husband died in the battle, killed by Muhammad ibn Maslama in retaliation for his brother, so she was a widow, and the Quran commands widows to wait four months and ten days before remarrying. Some reply with a hadith from Awtas that a female captive need only wait one menstrual cycle; he calls this absurd because Awtas happened a year or two later, the report does not concern widows, its chain is problematic, and even on that reading a marriage the same or next day makes no sense, unless one claims the Prophet did not understand the Quran. He then asks why people think he married her there and turns to a sahih report from Anas: the companions saw Safiyya travelling with the Prophet and discussed whether she was a captive or his wife, since nobody witnessed any nikah, and when they saw the Prophet give her something to cover herself with they assumed she must be his wife; when the party stopped and had a celebration, Anas took it for the wedding feast. Mufti says he will now go back to what actually happened when Khaybar fell, where her father, one of the Prophet's chief enemies, and her husband, a leading man of the tribe, both died.

## Sources and names cited

- Safiyya
- Quran 2:234 (widows wait four months and ten days): https://quran.com/2/234
- 'iddah (waiting period)
- report: a female captive need only observe one menstrual cycle before marriage (awtas)
- Anas ibn Malik
- report: if the prophet veiled safiyya she was a wife and if not she was what his right hand possessed
- Muhammad ibn Maslama
- The Quran takes precedence over an isolated hadith

## Transcript (machine tier, 19:29–24:44)

[19:16] I'd like you to click like click share first of all what is very clear is Sofia leaves with the Muslims this is clear fact Sofia at some stage in her life does become the wife of the Prophet that is a fact we accept that these two are facts it's the things in between that have been mixed up now let me clarify this to you people first of all it is impossible

[19:55] that the Prophet married her then imposter why you asked me right he posted no evidence right okay why is it impossible because it clearly goes against the Quran clearly clearly goes against the Quran right her husband did die in that battle and that he was one of the chief people and obviously it was a battle so he did die there's no denying that and

[20:35] he had murdered the brother of Muhammad eveness muslimah whose name was Muhammad Abdul muslimah and it was Muhammad even a Muslim who killed him in retaliation for his brother now the husband had died okay fine so she's a widow what does the Quran say about widows well Lavina you to a phone a minkum and those who die amongst you well yet their owner is virgin and their wives are left behind your tour bus Nabi unfussy Hina that they must sit an EDA

[21:11] our Bharata ashram wash ah they must sit an idea of four months and ten days for either balana agita who never lagina Holly that once they reach the agile they can get married Allah has said that in the Quran in the Quran so the first assumption is that are you saying the Prophet went against this clear verse in the Quran so some people have tried to

[21:49] say we'll all know there was a hadith of others were to all pass when the Prophet said oh if there was a female captive you can she doesn't have to sit a female captive can just sit an idea of one menstrual cycle first of all that's absurd because the verse was to all past hadn't even happened yet it was gonna happen one or two years after this event right foot - that was not speaking about Windows three there's problems in that chain to start off with for even if you tried to take that understanding of a minstrel cycle how could it be that same

[22:29] day that the Prophet marries her or the next day according to these stories it doesn't make any sense are you telling me the Prophet himself does not understand or the Quran and he's going against the Quran so okay let's get that point so the Prophet did not marry her thee so why are they thinking he married it let's go to one of the hadith that Ana's transmitted this is once again sahi he says we discussed the Companions we discussed what is the inter for the ignor can be

[23:08] for pregnancy or it can be for a state of mourning right now he says we discussed we saw so fear go with the Prophet and we discussed has he married her this is Ana saying because by the way nobody knew witnessed this nikka of the Prophet with Sofia nobody witnessed it so the Prophet never had witnesses and things nobody witnessed it so unless in a society it says we asked so Oh is she going with him as a captive or is he married to her and then they see that

[23:47] the Prophet she sits with the prophet and the Prophet and I'm gonna get to this had given her something to cover with so they assume they say oh because we saw her covered in a dignified way we as she must be his wife now they stopped at a location where they have a celebration and Anna says oh this must be the walima now let me pause here and go back to this the incident what happened when Kleber collapses and they had caused a lot of torment to the Muslims and they had murdered

[24:27] Muslims and yes her father and because he was the chief person the key right one of the key rivals of the Prophet was her father right he he he he does die in that battle as does her husband who is also a key person in that whole tribe now what is known about Sofia it from before her uncle her father's brother AB we acid had been Muslim for years he had been a Muslim abu yaseen he visits the Prophet he is known to have supported the Prophet he always spoke well of him there are narrations saw him rations

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment dpeR6Y4MGwA/s/5. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/5/

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