Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah

Mariyah was a Coptic woman of Egyptian origin. When the Prophet dispatched Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah to Muqawqis, the Coptic ruler of Egypt, carrying a letter inviting him to Islam, Muqawqis received the messenger respectfully. Although he did not himself embrace Islam, he sent back a generous reply along with gifts, among them Mariyah and her sister Sirin, both Coptic women of standing. Mariyah accepted Islam upon arriving to the Prophet. Scholars of the early generations recorded her acceptance of the faith, and she became known among the Muslims as a woman of good character and dignified bearing. Her sister Sirin was given in marriage to the poet Hassan ibn Thabit. Mariyah bore the Prophet a son, Ibrahim, in Dhu al-Hijjah of 8 AH. The Prophet's joy at the birth of Ibrahim was evident to his Companions, and he observed the aqiqah on the child's behalf. Ibrahim lived only a little under two years, dying in 10 AH. The Prophet wept at his death and said: "The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we do not say except what pleases our Lord. Indeed, O Ibrahim, we are grieved by your parting." Mariyah resided in the upper part of Madinah in a dwelling the Prophet provided for her. Scholars of fiqh and hadith have discussed her precise status: classical sources, including Ibn Sa'd in the Tabaqat, record her among those closely connected to the Prophet's household, and she is referred to as umm walad — a designation in Islamic law for a woman who bears her master's child, which carried the consequence of her freedom upon his death. Some later scholars have included her among the wives of the Prophet, though the majority classical position treats her as umm walad rather than a full wife in the legal sense. She passed away in Muharram of 16 AH, during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab. Umar gathered the people to attend her funeral prayer, and she was buried in al-Baqi'.