Maria al-Qibtiyya

Maria bint Shamʿūn
Born
Egypt[1]
Died637
TitleMaria al-Qibtiyya
SpouseMuhammad
ChildrenIbrahim ibn Muhammad

Māriyya bint Shamʿūn (Arabic: ماریة بنت شمعون), better known as Māriyyah al-Qibṭiyyah or al-Qubṭiyya (Arabic: مارية القبطية), or Maria the Copt, died 637, was an Egyptian woman who, along with her sister Sirin bint Shamun, was given as slaves to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 628 by Al-Muqawqis, a Christian governor of Alexandria, during the territory's Sasanian occupation. She spent the rest of her life in Medina and had a son, Ibrahim with Muhammad. The son died in his infancy, aged 2, and she died almost five years later.[2]

Al-Maqrizi says that she was a native of Hebenu (Coptic: ⲡⲙⲁⲛϩⲁⲃⲓⲛ, Koinē Greek: Ἀλάβαστρων πόλις Alábastrōn pólis, Arabic: الحفن, romanized: al-Khafn), a village located near Antinoöpolis.[3]

  1. ^ "Menoufia, birthplace of most leading figures". Egypt Today. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  2. ^ Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, p. 653.
  3. ^ Al-Maqrīzī. Book of Exhortations and Useful Lessons in Dealing with Topography and Historical Remains. Translated by Stowasser, Karl. Hans A. Stowasser. pp. 330–331.