The following picture presents Safiyya's depths after the Messenger - peace be upon him - offered her the choice between Islam and remaining on her religion.

Ah, I have rolled in the bed of luxury and grandeur, and I grew up among the fathers of kings. Around me are servants and attendants, and beneath my feet is gold. I command, and they obey, yet I did not feel happiness and contentment until I saw you, O light of hearts and their spring. Ah... I loved you when you were alone in Mecca, calling to God, bearing hardship and suffering, and rejecting compromises. I loved you as you migrated, confident in God's victory. I loved you as you faced fierce battles; O noblest of warriors, resisting the crowds, including my father, shattering the pride of the arrogant and the vengeful, emerging from every melee strong and radiant, brushing the dust and precious blood from your pure forehead. You call for prayer... You did not kill the Banu Qurayza; they killed themselves... My father killed them. You did not kill the Jews; rather, you eradicated the vices of humanity, destroying hatred, subterfuge, and intrigue. For snakes do not let humans enjoy comfort once they emerge from their dens. O giver of joy to my wretched heart, and igniter of my mind with the light of truth, O fountain of love, order, and hope, O dawn of our new life....⁽¹⁾

living organism.

It is a vibrant character with a complete artistic portrayal within the context of the historical reality it inhabits. It embodies the image of a character in traditional novels, appearing as a living being with a physical presence. Its features, stature, voice, clothing, complexion, age, desires, obsessions, hopes, pains, happiness, and sorrow are described. This character plays a significant role in traditional narrative works, similar to the characters created by Balzac, Zola, Mahfouz, and others.⁽²⁾

If Safiyya is present in the narrative of " Noor Allah " due to the development of the call movement and the struggle with the Jews, presenting a general presence that carries its fundamental features; we will find her in a specific and detailed presence that elaborates on the characteristics, traits, distinctions, depths, perceptions, and morals in the narrative of "At the Gates of Khaybar," where her husband was a leader of the Jews of Khaybar and their commander until he was killed later along with the defeat of his people. Khaybar was targeted for conquest as a direct result of the Jewish betrayal that revealed its face.

Zaynab bint Al-Harith

On the other hand, we see Zainab bint al-Harith, the wife of Salam bin Mishkam, embodying the opposite of Safiyya bint Huyayy bin Akhtab. She is filled with hatred, spite, selfishness, and fanaticism. She openly incites hostility against Muslims and intrudes into the gatherings of Jewish men, stirring feelings of aggression and brutality against Muhammad (peace be upon him). Although she shares the same hostile traits towards Islam and people in general as her husband Salam bin Mishkam, stemming from the racist inclination of the Jews, who claim to be the "chosen people of God," she was preoccupied with how to defeat the Muslims without battle. She expressed her dreams of enslaving the mothers of the believers and making Aisha a handmaiden to serve her, rub her feet, and endure humiliation along with other Muslim women as never seen before. It is God's will that she be taken as part of the captives of Khaybar to Yathrib, and her evil wish of enslaving the mothers of the believers does not come true

forbidden pleasure.

Zaynab bint al-Harith is not satisfied with her husband, Salam ibn Mishkam. Instead, she recruits, as part of her plans to harm the Prophet (peace be upon him), a slave owned by her husband named "Fahd," preparing him for a mission to assassinate the Prophet. To this end, she offers herself to him, as she desires him and sees in him the man who fulfills what her husband has failed to provide, spending nights of forbidden pleasure with him. The maidservants whisper about what the chief's wife is doing, causing a crack in her thinking. The slave lets her down after the defeat of Khaybar and announces his conversion to Islam, leading her to collapse into despair.

The novel portrays the depths of Zainab's character with strong imagery after she has fallen into the abyss of misery and humiliation. It reveals the brutality of Jewish hatred and the desire for revenge against innocent people who have done her no wrong. It also highlights her racist views towards others and her eagerness to achieve her interests through hypocrisy and deception, even if it means lowering herself to those she despises and looks down upon. In her state of despair, she presents a fragile human model that cannot withstand resistance; rather, it seeks death to escape troubles and hardships.

one of the slaves.

Ah, woe is me. Woe is me. The shame has engulfed my life, and humiliation hovers over my head, in my eyes. Just yesterday, I was Zainab bint al-Harith, the wife of Salam ibn Mishkam, but now I am one of the captives. I dreamed of Aisha bowing at my feet, and the captives from the women of the Messenger of God anointing me with perfume, combing my hair, waving fans in front of my face, and gathering the leftovers from the tables behind me. How has the situation reversed?? Zainab bint al-Harith will go to the house of Muhammad to serve his women. My noble honor is being dragged through humiliation and filth!! O my calamity!! And the wretched son of a wretched (Fahd), as soon as I granted him freedom and gave him my heart and body, he rebelled and rushed into his meanness to declare his Islam and join the ranks of the Muslims. O my sorrow!! I clung to the tail of the filthy. I shed tears. I told him I gave you freedom to be mine alone, to ease the sorrow of time and its betrayal... Let us escape... and live far from the eyes (of others). I will make my cheek a cushion for you... and you, the wretched slave... But he roared, saying: I will not sell my afterlife for my worldly life; I will run to God. So run, son of the vile, until you break your leg, and thorns tear at your feet... Despair is choking my neck, gripping my thoughts, and burning me with the whips of regret... What is the value of life after that??...⁽³⁾

Poisoned Sheep
After the victory of the Muslims and the death of her husband, she executes her final plan by declaring her Islam insincerely and deceitfully. She invites the Prophet – peace be upon him – and the companions to a feast to celebrate her conversion to Islam and presents a poisoned sheep. One of the companions (Bashir ibn al-Bara’) dies after eating a piece of it. She confesses to her crime and is killed as a retribution for what her hands have committed.

The wife of Abdullah ibn Ubayy

Here, we see another Jewish woman who is somewhat parallel to the character of Safiyya bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab. She represents a pure human instinct that is not influenced by Jewish hatreds and their evil plans. She is the wife of Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the leader of the hypocritical Jews. When he expresses to his wife his hatred for the Muslims who triumphed at Badr and his feeling of oppression and helplessness because Muhammad has usurped his position in leadership and authority, she responds by saying that Muhammad did not fight anyone, and that if Ibn Ubayy had followed a straight path from the beginning, he might now be one of Muhammad's close companions. However, he is neither a believer nor a disbeliever; if he had remained in his old religion, he would have been a leader among Muhammad's opponents, and if he had embraced Islam without hesitation or weakness, he would have become a notable figure among the Muslims. Nevertheless, Muhammad continues to treat him gently and overlooks his dangerous actions, and his punishment of the Banu Qaynuqa is more merciful than what the Arabs do to their defeated enemies.

Faith and Disbelief
The Jewish wife here represents the voice of reason and logic, and she is the voice of truth that her hypocritical Jewish husband ignores. She sums up the issue for him as being faith and disbelief. ⁽⁴⁾

The Jewish wife exposes her husband's hypocrisy and refutes his claims. She sees that he is treading a treacherous path that will lead him to burn his fingers and hopes, because what he is doing is envy towards Muhammad and contradicts his Islam.

As you see, the death of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was a justice he deserved because he openly committed aggression against the Muslims, he made advances towards their women, exposed their privacy, mocked their Prophet, and harassed them with his tongue without justification. This led his wife, the leader of the hypocrites, to perceive that Muhammad had harmed slaves, women, and the common folk, and that their son opposed him while his wife opposed him and was angry with him. "The people have been afflicted by a delusion.⁽⁵⁾

Then it reveals his cheap hypocrisy and deep hatred for Islam and Muslims when joy and happiness appeared on his face as the army of Quraysh and the tribes approached Medina in the Battle of the Confederates to crush the Islamic call, at a time when he tries to convince his wife that he will defend the city with the Jews in fulfillment of an oath and pact they signed with the Muslims.

The wife of the leader of the hypocrites represents the voice of reason and logic that is drowned out by hatred and desire, confirming that not all Jews are the same. And because the wife represents the side that her husband, the leader of the hypocrites, lacks, she comes across as flat, and we know nothing about her except her role (as a wife and a mother), without getting to know her depths or her behavioral or moral traits or other details of living, developing characters.

The Flirtatious Jewess

She is a character that I believe has been created and has real historical and contemporary counterparts. The flirtatious Jewess does not have a name in the narrative of historical realism; the author simply refers to her as "the flirtatious Jewess," a name that carries significance and implications. Her role signifies Jewish scheming in the use of the woman as a weapon to entrap victims and elements that resist other means. Sex is a potent weapon in the hands of the Jews in many situations, except against those who have true faith, along with money, which tempts the vulnerable and those who love the transient pleasures of this world.

The flirtatious Jewess is a Jewess ready to do anything for the Jews: seduction, espionage, gathering intelligence, conveying secrets, moving among the Jews to disseminate the directives of Jewish leaders and commanders. She also possesses a critical mind that directs blame, criticism, and mockery toward the Jews when they are defeated and fail. Initially, she tried to seduce and entrap Umar ibn al-Khattab, who was a Muslim, as she used to do in the pre-Islamic era, but she found resistance and a firm stance from him. Umar escaped an assassination attempt in her house; how often demons disguise themselves in the form of a woman.⁽⁶⁾

The Gossip of the Jewish Woman

And she has an influential word among her people, and prominent Jewish leaders resort to her for advice, as Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf did. This reveals the inability of the Jews in their secret meeting to ignite war after the rise of Muhammad's star. He will think alone, for his people, and he sees in Judaism a source of sustenance and delicious food, but it awakens him in the morning and tells him that Muhammad has triumphed at Badr, and those who remained from the Quraysh fled seeking safety.⁽⁷⁾

From the house of the Jewish woman, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf emerges to incite the Quraysh and the tribes to invade the city, denouncing Huyayy ibn Akhtab, that fool who refused to launch an assault on the city while its people were unaware and in the absence of the Messenger.⁽⁸⁾

The flirtatious Jewish woman informs Omar about what Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf intends, and his intention to break the pact of the Jews with Muhammad and openly declare hostility against the Muslims. Omar is astonished by the Jewish woman's gossip about Ka'b, as he is a Jew like her. However, she claims that the Jews deny his actions and have decided not to shelter him and to sever their ties with him. Omar smiles and says: "You speak as if you are an ambassador for the Jews or as if you are a prominent leader among their thinkers.

In Umar's dialogue with the Jewish woman, he reminds her of her treacherous role in their interactions by comparing the role of the "lover" she played yesterday to the role of the "ambassador" she is playing today. How vast is the difference between the two situations! Umar is not unaware that the Jewish woman wanted to rely on cunning and protect her people if betrayals like that of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf and others were to surface. Umar recalls what Pharaoh did, and the power, tyranny, and rule he possessed along with his soldiers and sorcerers, yet he could not stand against the flood, and Pharaoh drowned while the word of God became supreme.

The intelligence of Umar
Judaism has returned to tell its people that she has executed everything precisely, and that Umar realized her objective and that the Muslims possess a tremendous energy of intelligence and inspiration. And he did not care much about what Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf was planning.⁽⁹⁾

After hearing the plans of the Jews that express their resentments, she bursts into tears and says to them: "I am tired of these disgusting roles... I am exhausted. Every day, I take on a new form. Do you know what boredom is? I am tired; I want to go home and sleep peacefully, happily. Leave me alone... I am weary of everything.⁽¹⁰⁾ It seems that human nature rejects the resentful, conspiratorial behavior of the Jews that never rests. We will notice that Jewish women, in general, tend to reject their behavior in some way and lean towards peacefulness. However, in our era, they are leading gangs of killing and destruction!

Bedding settlement
And we will find this playful Jewish woman other roles, as she believes that the Banu Qaynuqa must submit to the authority of Muhammad after their treachery and aggression were revealed, and the failure of Huyayy ibn Akhtab and Banu Qurayza to come to their aid; otherwise, destruction would be their fate.

They also describe the Jews as fools while they conspire to kill Muhammad according to the suggestion of Amr ibn Juhash, and Abdullah ibn Ubay accuses them of failing to lure Umar ibn al-Khattab into their trap, claiming that they are only good at making beds, socializing during the evenings, and competing in drinking.⁽¹¹⁾ After their failure, the Jews decide to imprison her in an abandoned house on the outskirts of the homes of Banu Nadir, after binding her and placing guards around her. She curses the Jews, exposing their flaws, malice, and stupidity, and confirms to them that Muslims are a different kind of people. Following the revelation of the Banu Nadir's conspiracy to kill Muhammad and their siege, they release her. She grabs the throat of Amr ibn Juhash and accuses the Jews of stupidity and marching toward their doom, telling them that they are repeating the story of Banu Qaynuqa anew: "The dark road filled with thorns, terror, thirst, hunger, and loss... how miserable and wretched we are! ⁽¹²⁾

Judaism reappears once again after the betrayal of Banu Qurayza against the Muslims and the tearing up of the treaty during the Battle of the Confederates, as tribes gather to crush the city and eliminate the call. It speaks to the Jews, weeping, revealing their addiction to treachery and betrayal: “Try loyalty once… just once ⁽¹³⁾

The Miserable Fate
 

Then she confronts the Jewish leader, Huyayy ibn Akhṭab, with what no one else could confront him with, accusing him of being responsible for the blood of the Jews and their freedom: "O Huyayy ibn Akhṭab... the blood of men is upon your neck. O Huyayy ibn Akhṭab, the captivity of women and children is upon your neck... O Huyayy ibn Akhṭab, you are responsible for the long journey of loss and misery...⁽¹⁴⁾

However, he resorts to her after the defeat of the parties and asks for her opinion, support, and help. But she - while waiting for her miserable fate - tells him that there is no point in doing anything; she is waiting for death, feeding off her sorrow, and shedding tears. She sees that the traitors must pay the price and that the traitors should be punished with justice:

"Indeed, O Huyayy ibn Akhtab... what are you waiting for from a man you wanted to kill?? And with what face will the Muslims greet you after you have betrayed them at the most critical times and devised terrible plans to eliminate and exterminate them?? Do you not believe, O Huyayy ibn Akhtab, that the reward is of the same kind as the action... and that in retribution there is life?? ⁽¹⁵⁾

In the moment of retribution against him, she says to him:
"You are the maker of tragedy, you cursed one... I warned you, O Huyayy ibn Akhtab... O opener of the paths of mazes, torment, and loss... May you be cursed.⁽¹⁶⁾

Ultimately, Judaism ends up contemplating the matter of invocation after that journey filled with blood, tears, and loss in the lands of Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza, leading to the utterance of the two testimonies and the declaration of Islam, arriving at the port of safety, tranquility, and spiritual and human reassurance.⁽¹⁷⁾

The Rational Madwoman

The playful Jewish woman appears again in the novel "At the Gates of Khaybar," but in a somewhat limited and different form compared to the narrative of Nur Allah. However, in any case, she is "that madwoman... the rational one... the Jewess, who warned us the day of Banu Qaynuqa... and advised us before the tragedy of Banu Nadir occurred... and who nearly went mad seeing us commit the third mistake in Banu Qurayza. We belittled her, ridiculed her opinions, and branded her as mad and foolish... This woman has clear, explicit words, and sometimes has a beneficial psychological effect...⁽¹⁸⁾

______________________________
Sources :

1. Naguib al-Kalani, at the gates of Khaybar, p. 141
2. Abdel Malek Murtad, in the theory of the novel, p. 86).
3. On the Doors of Khaybar, p. 129
4. Noor Allah, Volume 1, Pages 92-93.
5. Noor Allah, Volume 1, Page 107.
6. The complete story of the conspiracy is in: Noor Allah Vol. 1, on pages 57-61.
7. The previous one, pages 68-69.
8. The previous one as well, p. 71.
9. Noor Allah Volume 1, pages 77-78
10. the previous one, p.79
11. The previous one as well, p. 149.
12. Noor Allah Vol. 1, Page 159
13. The previous one, p. 198.

• The previous one as well, p. 200.

15. Noor Allah, Volume 1, Page 250.

• The previous one, p. 278

17. For the previous one as well, pp. 297 and following.
18. On the gates of Khaybar, p. 18.

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