Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (2/271)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

and seized a pole, went down, and struck him over and over until I killed him.¹

Safiyyah passed away in the year 20 AH and was buried in al-Baqiʿ; she was a little over seventy years old.

Wakiʿ narrated—from Hisham ibn ʿUrwah, from his father, from ʿAʾishah—who said: When the verse “And warn your nearest kinsfolk” (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:214) was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ stood and declared, “O Fāṭimah daughter of Muhammad! O Safiyyah daughter of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib! O sons of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib! I possess no power to shield you from Allah. Ask me for whatever you wish of my wealth.”²

A Note on the Children of Safiyyah
Safiyyah bore to al-ʿAwwām three sons: al-Zubayr, al-Sāʾib, and ʿAbd al-Kaʿbah.

She is also credited with this elegy for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

O eye, pour forth tears in wakeful grief,
and mourn the noblest soul that has been lost.
Lament the Chosen One with a sorrow so keen
it mingles with the heart like dye in cloth.
I all but surrendered life itself when
the decree—scribed in a glorious Book—befell him.
He was ever gentle to the servants, a mercy to them,
rich in goodness, sound in guidance.
Blessings be upon him, living and dead;
may the Gardens reward him on the Day of Eternity.

This is among what has been attributed to Safiyyah; Allah knows best its authenticity.

(1) Reported by al-Hakim, 4/51, through the chain of Yunus ibn Bukayr → Hisham ibn Urwa → his father → Safiyya bint Abd al-Muttalib. Al-Hakim declared it authentic, but al-Dhahabi retorted: “Urwa did not meet Safiyya.” Al-Haythami cites it in Majmaʿ 6/134, adding: “al-Tabarani also narrated it; all the transmitters up to Urwa are those of the Sahih, yet the report is mursal (the Companion is omitted).” The verb ihtajazat means that she girded her waist. (2) Reported by Muslim, no. 205 (Book of Faith, chapter on the verse: ‘And warn your nearest kinsfolk’), Ahmad 6/187, al-Nasaʾi 6/250, and al-Tirmidhi, nos. 2310 and 3184.

وَأَخَذَتْ عَمُوداً، وَنَزَلَتْ، فَضَرَبَتْهُ حَتَّى قَتَلَتْهُ (١) . تُوُفِّيَتْ صَفِيَّةُ: فِي سَنَةِ عِشْرِيْنَ، وَدُفِنَتْ بِالبَقِيْعِ، وَلَهَا بِضْعُ وَسَبْعُوْنَ سَنَةً. وَكِيْعٌ: عَنْ هِشَامِ بنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيْهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ: لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ: ﴿وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيْرَتَكَ الأَقْرَبِيْنَ﴾ [الشُّعرَاء: ٢١٤] ، قَامَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ فَقَالَ: يَا فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتَ مُحَمَّدٍ، يَا صَفِيَّةَ بِنْتَ عَبْدِ المُطَّلِبِ، يَا بَنِي عَبْدِ المُطَّلِبِ، لاَ أَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ مِنَ اللهِ شَيْئاً، سَلُوْنِي مِنْ مَالِي مَا شِئْتُم (٢) . ذِكْرُ أَوْلاَدِ صَفِيَّةَ ﵂ وَلَدَتْ صَفِيَّةُ: الزُّبَيْرَ، وَالسَّائِبَ، وَعَبْدَ الكَعْبَةِ، بَنِي العَوَّامِ. وَهِيَ القَائِلَةُ تَنْدُبُ رَسُوْلَ اللهِ ﷺ: عَيْنُ جُوْدِي بِدَمْعَةٍ وَسُهُوْدِ ... وَانْدُبِي خَيْرَ هَالِكٍ مَفْقُودِ وَانْدُبِي المُصْطَفَى بِحُزْنٍ شَدِيْدٍ ... خَالَطَ القَلْبَ فَهُوَ كَالمَعْمُوْدِ كِدْتُ أَقْضِي الحَيَاةَ لَمَّا أَتَاهُ ... قَدَرٌ خُطَّ فِي كِتَابٍ مَجِيْدِ فَلَقَدْ كَانَ بِالعِبَادِ رَؤُوْفاً ... وَلَهُمْ رَحْمَةً وَخَيْرَ رَشِيْدِ ﵁ حَيّاً وَمَيْتاً ... وَجَزَاهُ الجِنَانَ يَوْمَ الخُلُوْدِ فَهَذَا مِمَّا أُوْرِدَ لِصَفِيَّةَ، فَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِصِحَّتِهِ.

(١) أخرجه الحاكم ٤ / ٥١ من طريق يونس بن بكير عن هشام بن عروة، عن أبيه، عن صفيه بنت عبد المطلب، وصححه الحاكم، وتعقبه الذهبي بقوله: عروة لم يدرك صفية. وأورده الهيثمي في " المجمع " ٦ / ١٣٤، وقال: رواه الطبراني ورجاله إلى عروة، رجال الصحيح، ولكنه مرسل. واحتجزت: شدت وسطها. (٢) أخرجه مسلم (٢٠٥) في الايمان: باب قوله تعالى: (وأنذر عشيرتك الاقربين) وأحمد ٦ / ١٨٧، والنسائي ٦ / ٢٥٠، والترمذي (٢٣١٠) و (٣١٨٤) .