Barra bint Samawal

Barra bint Samaw'al(Arabic:بَرَّة بِنْت سَمَوْأَل,Hebrew:ברה בת שמואלBarra bat Samwal) was the mother ofSafiyya bint Huyayy,a wife and prominent figure in the life ofMuhammad,and she was a member of anArab Jewishtribe that interacted with Muhammad.

Biography

Barra was the daughter of the very distinguished warrior-poet from the tribe ofBanu Harith,Samaw'al ibn Adiyawho was known as "Samuel the Faithful," because his son was caught outside the castle and slaughtered when he refused to turn over the treasure entrusted to him. She had a brother, Rifa'a ibn Samaw'al. Note, however, that this Samaw'al died in 565; this would make Barra at least 45 years old when her daughterSafiyyawas born. It is therefore possible that Barra's father was a different Samaw'al, although related to the first. One candidate is Samaw'al ibn Zayd, a prominent Qurayza who participated in the debates with Muhammad in 622-623. 'Azzal ibn Samaw'al may have been another brother; and Barra was probably related to the Qurayza chief,Ka'b ibn Asad.

Barra marriedHuyayy ibn Akhtab,who was thechiefof theBanu al-Nadir— one of the largest Jewish tribes of its time.Barra then lived inMedinaand became a member of theQurayzatribe. Together, they had at least three children: a son; a daughter Safiyya; and another daughter, whose own son was their only documented grandchild.When the Nadir were expelled from Medina in 625, Barra settled with her family inKhaybar.

Barra enjoyed a prominent position in Khaybar, where her husband was acknowledged as a leader and where their Abu'l-Huqayq kin owned the fortress ofQamus.Conflict with Muhammad continued with the assassinations of her relativesAbu RafiandUsayr ibn Zarim.In May 627, her husband and son were beheaded for their involvement in theBattle of the Trench,along with most of her Qurayza male blood-relatives. However, her brother Rifa'a survived, because he took refuge with a Muslim woman.

Barra's daughter Safiyya was initially married toSallam ibn Mishkam,a leader of the Nadir. Later she marriedKenana ibn al-Rabiibn Abu al-Huqayq, who was killed after the events of theBattle of Khaybarin 628. Safiyya was taken prisoner along with other women of Kenana's family, but her prisoner-of-war status ended with her marriage to theIslamic prophetMuhammad.Thus Barra binte Samaw'al became what is known today as a "mother-in-law"to Muhammad. However, it is not known what happened to her after 628.