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(), better known as or ( ar, مارية القبطية), or Mary the Copt, died 637, was an Egyptian woman who, along with her sister
Sirin Sirin is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird (usually an owl), borrowed from the siren of the Greek mythology. According to myth, the Sirin lived in Iriy or around the Euphrates R ...
, was sent to the
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets ar ...
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
in 628 as a gift by
Al-Muqawqis Al-Muqawqis ( ar, المقوقس, cop, ⲡⲭⲁⲩⲕⲓⲁⲛⲟⲥ, ⲡⲓⲕⲁⲩⲕⲟⲥ, p-khaukianos, pi-kaukos "the Caucasian") is mentioned in Islamic history as a ruler of Egypt who corresponded with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ...
, a Christian governor of
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, during the territory's Persian occupation. She and her sister were slaves.
Ibn Ishaq Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār (; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, ar, محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار بن خيار, or simply ibn Isḥaq, , meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767) was an 8 ...
, ''The Life of Muhammad'', p. 499.
She spent the rest of her life in
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, ...
where she converted to Islam and lived with Muhammad where she bore a son,
Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people w ...
. The son would die as an infant and then she died almost five years later.


Biography

In the Islamic year 6 AH (627 – 628 CE), Muhammad is said to have had letters written to the great rulers of the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, proclaiming the continuation of the monotheistic faith with its final messages and inviting the rulers to join. The purported texts of some of the letters are found in
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
's ''
History of the Prophets and Kings The ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' ( ar, تاريخ الرسل والملوك ''Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk''), more commonly known as ''Tarikh al-Tabari'' () or ''Tarikh-i Tabari'' or ''The History of al-Tabari '' ( fa, تاریخ طب� ...
''. Tabari writes that a deputation was sent to an Egyptian governor named as ''al-Muqawqis''. Maria was a slave who was offered as a gift of goodwill to Muhammad in reply to his envoys inviting the governor of Alexandria to Islam.
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
manumitted her after the birth of her son. Tabari recounts the story of Maria's arrival from Egypt: The death of Ibrahim caused Muhammad to weep.


Status as a wife or concubine

Like Rayhana bint Zayd, there is some debate between historians and scholars as to whether Maria ever became Muhammad's wife or remained a
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...
. An indication that she was a concubine is that when she bore her son to Muhammad, she was set free. There is also strong evidence that there was no living quarter for her in the proximity of the
Prophet's Mosque Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qub ...
. Only the wives of Muhammad had their quarters adjacent to one another in the proximity of his mosque at Medina. Maria was made to reside permanently in an orchard, some three kilometers from the mosque. Evidence that suggests she was a concubine is in the narration: The ‘female-slave’ referred to in this narration was Maria, the Copt, as specified in a hadith attributed to
Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
and classified as ''sahih'' by Ibn Kathir, which names her ''Umm Ibrahim'' (the mother of Ibrahim). In a report from Ibn ‘Abbas and ‘Urwah b. al-Zubair concerning the same incident, Muhammad said to Hafsa: Some Islamic scholars point to a different
Asbāb al-nuzūl Occasions or circumstances of revelation ( ''al-nuzūl'', ) names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructing the Qur'an's historicity, ''asbāb'' is ...
(circumstance of revelation) for the above incident, saying it was only caused by Muhammad drinking honey, as narrated in
Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. A ...
by Muhammed's wife
Aisha Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al- muʾminīn), referr ...
: However, another narration in
Sunan Abu Dawud ''Sunan Abu Dawood'' ( ar-at, سنن أبي داود, Sunan Abī Dāwūd) is one of the '' Kutub al-Sittah'' (six major hadith collections), collected by Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (d.889). Introduction Abu Dawood compiled twenty-one books related ...
indicates that drinking honey is a euphemism for sexual intercourse:
Al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
lists Maria as both one of Muhammad's wives and his slave, perhaps using "wife" in the sense of one whom Muhammad slept with and who mothered his child. One hadith attributed to Mus‘ab b. ‘Abdullah al-Zubairi states that the two were married, though another rendering of the hadith by Mus‘ab's nephew Zubair b. al-Bakkar makes no mention of marriage. Due to the lack of clarity and authenticity of traditional reports, it is difficult for one to find out which report is historically authentic. From an academic point of view, to know whether Maria was Muhammad's concubine or wife may not be possible because many western scholars have questioned the historical reliability of traditional reports on various grounds. (see: Criticism of hadith)


See also

*
Aisha bint Abu Bakr Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al- muʾminīn), referr ...
*
List of non-Arab Sahaba A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...


Notes


References

*
Ibn Ishaq Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār (; according to some sources, ibn Khabbār, or Kūmān, or Kūtān, ar, محمد بن إسحاق بن يسار بن خيار, or simply ibn Isḥaq, , meaning "the son of Isaac"; died 767) was an 8 ...
, translate or not. Guillaume (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford University Press. *
Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
(1997). Vol. 8 of the '' Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk''.
State University of New York Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...
. * Ibn Saad ''The Sira of Muhammad''.
SeekersHub, Faraz Rabbani


Further reading

* {{Authority control 637 deaths Year of birth unknown Converts to Islam from Christianity Egyptian Copts Egyptian former Christians Former Oriental Orthodox Christians Women companions of the Prophet Non-Arab companions of the Prophet Wives of Muhammad Arabian slaves and freedmen Slave concubines