# Why did Safiyya ride with the Prophet on the way back from Khaybar?

*Mufti Abu Layth freed her and did not marry her: the ride on the camel, the knee, the fall and the cloak*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/7/
- Date: 2018-02-21 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: The Story of Safiyya: the Prophet's Jewish wife -Mufti Abu Layth al-Maliki (27:21–29:57)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=1641s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/

**Topics:** The wives of the Prophet; The life of the Prophet

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Because others were abusing her, the Prophet freed her and had her ride with him, laying out a cloth and offering his knee for her to mount, and covering her with his cloak when the camel fell. Mufti Abu Layth says this was kindness, not a marriage.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth holds that at Khaybar the Prophet freed Safiyya rather than marrying her, and that his having her ride with him, laying a cloth and offering his knee, and covering her with his cloak when the camel fell were acts of kindness to a woman being abused, not a marriage.

**Evidence, his words at 27:21:** “some people held her as a captive they'd wanted to hold her as a captive the Prophet freed her he did not marry her he freed her” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpeR6Y4MGwA&t=1641s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet rebuked those who abused Safiyya and, when some wanted to hold her as a captive, freed her; he did not marry her. Because of the animosity shown to her he told her to ride with him, which Mufti says was common in that society, citing the hadith in which the Prophet, passing Asma bint Abi Bakr walking with a load, offered to take her on his camel and she declined. The hadith records that he laid out a cloth on the camel for her and bowed his knee so that she could step on it and climb up, which Mufti presents as the Prophet's akhlaq towards a Jewish woman being mocked after a battle. On the way back the camel stumbled and both fell, the Prophet hurting himself slightly, and he took his cloak and covered her with it. He repeats that none of this was marriage.

## Sources and names cited

- Safiyya
- Asma bint Abi Bakr
- report: the prophet offered asma bint abi bakr to ride behind him on his camel and she declined
- report: the prophet laid a cloth on the camel and put out his knee for safiyya to step on and mount
- report: the camel stumbled and the prophet covered safiyya with his cloak

## Transcript (machine tier, 27:21–29:57)

[27:03] says because I had this dream now obviously a lot is going on because there's a whole battle everything has settled things like this people make disparaging comments about her people say oh yeah who the yahoodi a jewish woman this that and the Prophet tells them off he tells them off this is in a sardine he tells them off some people held her as a captive they'd wanted to hold her as a captive the Prophet freed her he did not marry her he freed her now

[27:42] because people were showing animosity towards her the Prophet said to her right with me now this is I noted today some Muslims go kind of like you know they talk what they have like a taqwa attack and stuff like this but there's several other hadith where the Prophet has gone on his camel and he's gone past Asma the daughter of a worker seen her walking carrying any said listen why didn't you get on the camel with me come with me and she says no I don't want these kind of things were common that societies were about us man so the Prophet says to her that listen you ride

[28:20] with me and it mentions in the hadith that you have wheeler the bar after he got a cloth and laid it out on the camel for her to sit and he mentions he kind of bowed his knee the Prophet this is in Asahi Adid the Prophet bowed his knee and she stepped on his knee and climbed onto this camel when people are being so rude to her this was the alakh of the Prophet towards he did not marry her he did not he freed

[28:59] her told them off from abusing her said to her listen why don't you ride with me because they were abusing her because she was obviously a Jew Jewish person she and they obviously just had this huge battle and himself lowest for her to step on his on his knee and climb onto this camel when in the southeast when they're coming back they have an incident where the camel falls over and the prophet hurts himself as well and so well documented in I mean not severely but he hurts and she falls off and what

[29:38] does the Prophet do and remember this is her in this kind of devastated State the Prophet gets his cloak and puts it round her and covers her this is in the hadith it did not marry her now they come back to Medina look at the way the alakh that the Prophet had demonstrated towards her she would have been naturally somebody in her head that the prophet has not approached anis is assuming because she's riding with the of the Prophet and

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment dpeR6Y4MGwA/s/7. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/dper6y4mgwa/s/7/

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