Huyayy ibn Akhtab

Ḥuyayy ibn Akhṭab was one of the leading chieftains of the Jewish tribe of Banū al-Naḍīr in Madinah and the father of Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥuyayy, who would become one of the Prophet's (ﷺ) wives after the Battle of Khaybar. Ṣafiyyah herself later recounted that when the Prophet (ﷺ) first arrived in Madinah, her father and her uncle Yāsir went to investigate whether he might be the awaited prophet they had long expected. They returned grim and preoccupied; Yāsir asked Ḥuyayy directly whether it was him, and Ḥuyayy admitted, "By Allah, it is him", but declared he would remain his enemy for as long as he lived, unwilling to accept a prophet from outside his own people.

When Banū al-Naḍīr initially agreed to the Prophet's (ﷺ) demand that they leave Madinah after their attempted assassination of him, Ḥuyayy was persuaded by ʿAbdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl's sworn promises of military support to reverse the decision and resist instead, sending back a defiant message. When the promised help never materialized and the siege made their position hopeless, the tribe surrendered unconditionally and was exiled, most going to Khaybar. Ḥuyayy would later play a central role in organizing the confederation of tribes that besieged Madinah at the Battle of al-Aḥzāb.