Safiyyah

Safiyyah was the prophet's twelfth wife. She was originally another Muslim's war captive. The prophet asked the companion to give her to him and choose another woman from among the captives (some versions say he selected 7). The prophet then proceeded to free her without any preconditions, (as he bought and freed many other slaves and encouraged all who could afford to do the same) and only then married her. Her manumission was considered her dower. 

Her father had died during the siege of Khaybar. The prophet's marriage to her alleviated her tragedy by keeping her former dignity as the daughter of a ruler. It also created a rapprochement with one of the greatest Bani Israel tribes of the Arabian peninsula, as was the custom in ancient times. She died in 36AH. Being an Israelite, the Muslims in general did not see the prophet's marriage to her as an extension of their ethnicity, so as to begin freeing their own captives as many did with the Bani Mustaliq upon the prophet's marriage to Juwayriyyah.

"We conquered Khaibar and gathered the captives. Dihyah came and said: 'O Prophet of Allah, give me a slave girl from among the captives.' He said: 'Go and take a slave girl.' He took Safiyyah bint Huyayy. Then a man came to the Prophet and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, you gave Dihyah Safiyyah bint Huyayy, and she is the chief mistress of Quraizah and An-Nadir, and she is fit for no one but you.' He said: 'Call him to bring her.' When the Prophet saw her, he said: 'Take any other slave girl from among the captives.'" He said: "The Prophet of Allah set her free and married her". 

In other versions, together with her status, her beauty was also mentioned to the prophet. How much of that "beauty" corresponds the reality is lost in history. The prophet in fact would defend her whenever anyone derided her appearance, more specifically her short stature 

"She said: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Safiyyah is a woman who is ..." and she used her hand as if to indicate that she is short - "So he said: 'You have said a statement which, if it were mixed in with the water of the sea, it would pollute it" 

or when her co-wives would derogatorily mention her Jewish heritage 

"So the Prophet said: 'And you are the daughter of a Prophet, and your uncle is a Prophet, and you are married to a Prophet, so what is she boasting to you about?'"

 Her marriage to the prophet wasnt contracted until after her menses had cleared up with certainty 

"and when we reached a place called Sidd-as-Sahba, Safiya became clean from her menses then Allah’s Apostle married her".

The waiting period of the widow did not apply in her case as a woman's former marriage is dissolved upon her capture in war. Had the prophet disregarded that ruling or forgotten it, the marriage would have been contracted regardless of the menstrual period clearing up or not. 

The prophet certainly married her soon after her manumission so as to not leave her in suspense, neither did he want to injure her dignity by keeping her as his right hand possession. He wanted to raise her status and honor to the rest of the community and his wives. This does not mean that the marriage was consummated at that point. It could have been during that trip between Khaybar and Sidd-as-Sahba, where several reports depict the prophet's first interactions and dialogues with her. 

In those reports the prophets begins by scolding his faithful companion Bilal. He had been insensitive in making her pass by her dead husband. He then gently explained the reason of his conflict with her tribe in consequence to her own father's crimes and incitements. She would later remember, in her own words, how the prophet's gentle explanation convinced and appeased her heart (al-Bayhaqi's Dalail Al Nubuwa). He then gave her a choice between remaining a Jew and going back to her people or converting to Islam and marrying him, and according to Ibrahim Bin Ja’far she willfully chose to convert and marry him. 

During that whole time she did not say a word about her dead husband, although she did mention her other dead relative, her father. This most probably could have been due to her actually resenting him as she described how he had just recently, prior to the siege of Khaybar, struck her face out of jealousy. He interpreted a dream which she shared with him as a hidden desire to actually leave him and marry the prophet (ibn Ishaq). This also denies the report from al Waqidi, a narrator universally regarded as a liar and forger of hadiths, where a companion supposedly guarded the prophet's door while he was spending the night with Safiyya, fearing that she might kill the prophet in revenge. 

It is also to be noted that all of the prophet's wives were free to leave him anytime they wanted, as a divine command, even for the pettiest reasons, without the slightest reproach or injury 

33:28-29"O Prophet, say to thy wives, `If you desire the life of this world and its adornment, come then, I will provide for you and send you away in a handsome manner; `But if you desire ALLAH and HIS Messenger and the Home of the Hereafter, then, truly, ALLAH has prepared for those of you, who do good, a great reward". 

No muslim, and no man of any culture is required to go out of his way and ask his wife if she is happy and satisfied enough in all material aspects, especially when one is just with the wife in relation to one's financial capabilities. Further, no muslim or man in general is required to offer divorce if the wife is unhappy. On top of it, not simple divorce, with each partner going his/her way, which would be fairest in this case, but a "gracious" divorce, where the wife is free to leave as well as receive compensation if she chooses to. Yet this is what was required of the prophet, contrary to all muslims, a man supposedly seeking multiple marriages of lust.

Why would the noble prophet give her that option if he knew he had abused her, that she hated him, while he could have simply kept her as a right hand possession whose request for separation from her guardian wouldnt be as straight forward as in a divorce? None of the facts agree with the hatemongers's tall tales and their attempts at disparaging the prophet and his household. These critics, mainly from a Judeo-Christian background, often operate with their corrupt Biblical paradigms in mind, in this case reflecting their shame of having David, one of the greatest Biblical prophets, murdering an innocent man, not even from among his enemies, but among his own faithful people, for the sole purpose of covering up his adulterous affair. It is but normal that they would expect similar behavior from other prophets or prophet claimants, although their own charges against the prophet Muhammad pale in comparison to the shameful depiction the biblical scribes have made of past prophets. 

Safiyya willfuly stayed with the prophet, establishing a warm and friendly relation with the rest of the household and became known for her piety and ascetism. She had maintained connection, even after the prophet's death, with her Jewish relatives.