Topic summary

Sajah

Sajah

Sajah bint Al-Harith ibn Suwayd al-Tamimi (Arabic: سجاح بنت الحارث بن سويد التميمية, fl. 598-675 CE) from the tribe of Banu Tamim, was an Arab Christian known for claiming to be a prophet in late antique Arabia. She is the only known female prophetess of pre-Islamic Arabia, and her career has been compared with the general trend of Prophet claimants on the Arabian Peninsula in the sixth and seventh centuries.

She was protected by her tribe at first; then causing a split within the Arab tribes and finally defended by Banu Hanifa. Sajah was one of a series of people (including her future husband) to claim to be prophets in the aftermath of the death of Muhammad. She is said to have converted to Islam after the rise of Muhammad and died as a Muslim.