Sajah bint Al-Harith ibn Suayd ( ar, سجاح بنت الحارث بن سويد,
fl. 630s CE) from the tribe of
Banu Taghlib
The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Najd (central Arabia), but later migrated and inhabited the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) from the late 6th century onward. Their parent tribe was the Rabi' ...
,
was an
Arab Christian
Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who l ...
protected first by her tribe; then causing a split within the Arab tribes and finally defended by
Banu Hanifa
Banu Hanifa ( ar, بنو حنيفة) is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdu ...
. Sajah was one of a series of people (including her future husband) who claimed
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
hood in 7th-century Arabia and was also the only female claiming to be a prophetess during the
Wars of Apostasy in Early Islamic Period. Her father, Al-Harith, belonged to the
Banu Taghlib
The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Najd (central Arabia), but later migrated and inhabited the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) from the late 6th century onward. Their parent tribe was the Rabi' ...
tribe of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
.
History
During the
Wars of Apostasy which emerged following the death of Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, Sajah declared she was a prophetess after learning that
Musaylimah
Musaylima ( ar, مُسَيْلِمَةُ), otherwise known as Maslama ibn Ḥabīb ( ar, مَسْلَمَةُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ) d.632, was a preacher of monotheism from the Banu Hanifa tribe. He claimed to be a prophet in 7th-century Arabia ...
and
Tulayha
Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid ibn Nawfal al-Asadi ( ar, طليحة بن خويلد بن نوفل الأسدي) was a wealthy Arab clan chief and military commander during the time of Muhammad; he belonged to the Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah tribe.
In 625 he ...
had declared
prophethood
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the su ...
.
Before claiming to be a prophetess, Sajah had a reputation as a soothsayer. Thereafter, 4,000 people gathered around her to march on
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
. Others joined her against Medina. However, her planned attack on Medina was called off after she learned that the army of
Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...
had defeated
Tulayha al-Asadi (another self-proclaimed prophet). Thereafter, she sought cooperation with Musaylimah to oppose the threat of Khalid. A mutual understanding was initially reached with Musaylimah. However, Sajah later married Musaylimah and accepted his self-declared prophethood. Khalid then crushed the remaining rebellious elements around Sajah, and then moved on to crush Musaylimah. After the
Battle of Yamama
The Battle of Yamama was fought in December 632 as part of the Ridda Wars against a rebellion within the Rashidun Caliphate in the region of al-Yamama (in present-day Saudi Arabia) between the forces of Abu Bakr and Musaylima, a self-procla ...
, where Musaylimah was killed, Sajah converted to Islam.
See also
*
Musaylimah
Musaylima ( ar, مُسَيْلِمَةُ), otherwise known as Maslama ibn Ḥabīb ( ar, مَسْلَمَةُ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ) d.632, was a preacher of monotheism from the Banu Hanifa tribe. He claimed to be a prophet in 7th-century Arabia ...
*
Al-Aswad Al-Ansi
*
Layla bint al-Minhal
Layla bint al-Minhal (also Laila) ( ar, ليلى بنت المنهال, Laylā bint al-Minhāl) was an Arab woman during the spread of Islam. She was a contemporary to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the wife of Khalid Ibn al Walid, one of the ...
*
Hind bint Utbah
Hind bint ʿUtba ( ar, هند بنت عتبة), was an Arab woman who lived in the late 6th and early 7th centuries CE; she was the wife of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, a powerful man of Mecca, in western Arabia. She was the mother of Mu'awiya I, the foun ...
*
Saf ibn Sayyad
Saf ibn Sayyad ( ar, الصف بن الصياد), later known as Abdullah ibn Sa'id ( ar, عبد الله بن سعيد), was an alleged claimant of prophethood during the time of Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions who later disappeared a ...
*
Ridda wars
The Ridda Wars ( ar, حُرُوْبُ الرِّدَّةِ, lit=Apostasy Wars) were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic proph ...
References
Further reading
*Encyclopaedia of Islam By Mufti M. Mukarram Ahmed, Muzaffar Husain Syed pg.231
*The origins of the Islamic state By Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā al-Balādhurī, Abu Al-Abbas Ahmad Bin Jabir Al-Baladhuri, Philip Khûri Ḥitti pg.151
*Smaller Signs of the Day By Muhammad bin Bayyûmi, Alig Abdul Ahad, pg.44
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sajah
Female religious leaders
Women in medieval warfare
History of Islam
Arab women
Banu Tamim
Converts from Christianity
Women in war in the Middle East
Arab prophets
Self-declared messiahs
7th-century Arabs
People of the Ridda Wars
Arab women in war