Maria al-Qibtiyya (rha)
Maria the Copt; the Muqawqis' gift who bore the Prophet ﷺ his son Ibrahim.
Hijri d. c. 16 AH CE d. c. 637 CE
Maria the Copt — the Egyptian Christian gifted to the Prophet ﷺ by the Muqawqis, who bore him his son Ibrahim. She was a milk al-yamin (concubine), not a wife, and so is not counted among the Mothers of the Believers.
One-line: the Copt who bore the Prophet ﷺ his son Ibrahim; a concubine freed by her motherhood.
Identity & lineage
Maria bint Sham’un, a Coptic Christian of Egypt, with a sister Sirin — daughters, some later books say, gifted by their noble father to the church, and passed by the patriarch to the Prophet ﷺ.
Role in the Seerah
- The Muqawqis’ gift. The Prophet’s ﷺ letter to Jurayj ibn Mina (the Muqawqis of Egypt, likely Cyrus of Alexandria, a Byzantine prefect) drew a polite reply and rich gifts — gold, garments, the mule Duldul, the servant Ma’boor, and the two sisters Maria and Sirin. The Prophet ﷺ kept Maria and gave Sirin to the poet Hassan ibn Thabit.
- The Ma’boor episode — rumours that the servant Ma’boor “visited” Maria led the Prophet ﷺ to send Ali to investigate (“go as one who sees and hears,” not to execute); Ma’boor proved to have been mutilated, and the rumour collapsed.
- Mother of Ibrahim — in Dhu al-Hijjah 8 AH she bore Ibrahim; the Prophet ﷺ declared “her child has freed her” (umm al-walad). She embraced Islam (probably before the birth).
- Surah al-Tahrim — Hafsa’s jealousy and the Prophet’s ﷺ oath never to see Maria again occasioned Q 66:1–5 (the stronger view of that surah’s cause; see The Ila' — the Prophet's ﷺ Withdrawal From His Wives).
Character & lessons
Her story is the volume’s frank case study in slavery ethics and in the humanity of the Prophet’s ﷺ household — jealousy, love and reconciliation among ordinary people whom Allah chose to raise.
Death
Died c. 16 AH in the caliphate of Umar (who prayed her janazah), and was buried in Baqi’ al-Gharqad — confirming her Islam.
Cross-references
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad (ra) · Milk al-Yamin (Concubinage) & Slavery Ethics · Hafsa bint Umar (rha) · Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) · Hassan ibn Thabit (ra) · Baqi al-Gharqad (Jannat al-Baqi) · Muhammad ﷺ
Sources
- S012 — Yasir Qadhi Seerah EP 097. Sahih Muslim (the Ma’boor incident; “her child has freed her”), Ibn Sa’d (Tabaqat), tafsir works (Q 66). Q 66:1–5.