Sajah

Sajah bint Al-Harith (Arabic: سجاح بنت الحارث‎, fl. 630s CE), was the wife of Musaylimah. She belonged to the Banu Taghlib tribe of Iraq.[1] She was protected first by her tribe; then causing a split within the Arab tribes and finally defended by Banu Hanifa.

Sajah
Spouse(s)Musaylimah
Parent(s)
  • Al-Harith ibn Suayd (father)

Sajah was born to Al-Harith ibn Suayd (Arabic: الحارث بن سويد‎), who belonged to the Banu Taghlib tribe of Iraq.[1] Raised as a Christian, Sajah renounced her religion and claimed prophethood in 7th-century Arabia, becoming the only female claiming to be a prophetess during the Ridda Wars in early Islamic period. After her husband Musaylimah was killed, Sajah became a Muslim.[2]

Biography

During the Ridda Wars which emerged following the death of Muhammad, Sajah declared she was a prophetess after learning that Musaylimah and Tulayha had declared prophethood.[3] Before claiming to be a prophetess, Sajah had a reputation as a soothsayer. Thereafter, 4,000 people gathered around her to attack on Medina. However, her planned attack on Medina was called off after she learned that the army of Khalid ibn al-Walid had defeated Tulayha al-Asadi. Thereafter, she sought cooperation with Musaylimah to oppose the threat of Khalid. 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 Musaylimah was killed in the Battle of Yamama, Sajah converted to Islam.[2]

See also

References
  1. Kister, M. J. (2002). "The Struggle Against Musaylima and the Conquest of Yamama". Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam. 27: 1–56 [p. 23]. ISSN 0334-4118.
  2. Ali, Tariq (2003). The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity. Verso. ISBN 978-1-85984-457-1.
  3. Houtsma, M. Th. E.J. Brill's First Encyclopedia of Islam, 1913–1936. p. 665.

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
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