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Mother of the believers Maria Al-Qibtya

Her Family :
She was the Egyptian Maria daughter of Shamoun. She was from south Egypt from a village called Hefn Ahzaaka on the eastern bank of the great Nile.

Her father was a Copt and her mother was a Greek. She spent her childhood in her village until she moved to the court of ALMUKAWKES, the leader of Copts and the king of Egypt

Meeting the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him : Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent Hateb Ibn Abi Baltaa with a letter to the king of Egypt inviting him to embrace Islam. Almukawkes, king of Egypt, admitted that he knew that a Prophet will be sent at that time. He sent two slave girls together with other valuable gifts. Almukawkes asked Hatib, the Prophet's messenger, not to say a word about their meeting to anyone in Egypt because Egyptian Copts were very strict.

The two Slave girls were Maria and her sister Seirine. When they reached Medinah the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had just arrived from Hudaibiya after signing the famous Hudaibiya treaty with Quraish. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, chose Maria and gave his poet Hassan Ibn Thabet her sister Sierine

In the house of the Prophet :
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, took great care of Maria, may Allah be pleased with her.

Aisha, mother of the believers, may Allah be pleased with her, said that she had never felt as jealous of any woman as she was jealous from Maria, may Allah be pleased with her because she was beautiful and she had a beautiful curly hair

The Comparison :
Here we meet an inevitable comparison between Maria, may Allah be pleased with her and Hagar, the second wife of Prophet Ibraham, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who was also an Egyptian given as a gift to the Prophet and who soon became pregnant with his son Prophet Ismail, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Not more than a year passed when Maria, may Allah be pleased with her, was pregnant with Prophet Muhammad's son Ibrahim, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was so happy and was eagerly waiting for his expected child

The Pregnancy :
Maria, may Allah be pleased with her, lived in the Aliaa region in Medina which was known by its greenery. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, chose that spot for her because she came from the land of the Nile so as not to feel that she is in an environment totally different from the one she used to live in.

Marya was loved and liked by all the wives of the Prophet as she had brought a thrill for joy in the Prophet's life. He spent most of his time in her company.

Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, took care of her himself during her pregnancy. When she delivered his son, some Muslims said that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was going to his slave girl, The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, answered, "Her son set her free".

Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was so happy. He took his son in his hands and showed him to all his companions. He called him Ibrahim after Prophet Ibrahim, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

The new IFK (lie) :
Hypocrites in Medina never missed a chance as usual. When they saw how the Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, loved and cherished Maria, mother of his son, they started to spread lies about Maria, may Allah be pleased with her as they did before with Aisha, mother of the believers may Allah be pleased with her. They spread lies that Ibrahim was the son of the slave sent be AlMukawkes, king of Egypt, with Maria. But God refused that kind of injustice. The slave that was sent by Almukawkes had a deformation that prevented him from ever having any relation with any woman. And so Maria's innocence was proved by God as Aisha's innocence was proved before.

The death of Ibrahim, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him :
Prophet Mohammed watched his son grow day after day, but before Ibrahim reaches his second year he became sick. Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, harried to his sick son leaning on Abd ElRahman ibn Aouf . He could not walk because of his sorrow for his dying son. He took him in his lab broken hearted and full of pain, he was seeing his only son dying in his hands and he could do nothing about it. He only said in total submission to God's will, "How could we save him when it was not the will of God?".

Finally he bent over the body of Ibrahim and looked upon him with a great restraint and said: "The eye flows with tears and the heart with grief, but I say nothing except that which pleases the Lord. O Ibrahim, we are grieved over you. We are not to go against His will as He is our master." Then he looked lovingly and with pity at Maria; comforting her by saying. "He has a nurse in Paradise? The remaining days of his nursing will be; done in Paradise." Ibrahim, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, died in the 10th Rabii AlAwal in 10AH. Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, buried him with his own hands at Albaqii.

As Ibrahim's body was being buried, the sun was eclipsed and it grew dark and gloomy. Some people thought this was connected with Ibrahim's death, but the Prophet soon clarified this. "The sun and the moon are two of Allah's signs," he said, "they are not eclipsed because of anyone's birth or death. When you see these signs, make haste to remember Allah in prayer."

Maria stayed at her house trying to heal her wound and the Prophet's. whenever she felt missing her son she would visit him at Albaqii.

Her death :
It was not more than a year after Ibrahim's death that Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, died too. Maryam lived in Medina until her death.

She died five years after the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

She stayed at her house most of the time and barely met anyone but her sister.

She would only visit her son at Albaqii and her husband who was buried in the Nabawi mosque.

She was buried in AlBaqi'. Umar Ibn Elkhattabm may Allah be pleased with him, held this lady in great honor and her pension continued in favor of her relatives, as she was not only the Mother of the Faithful but also the Mother of lbrahim who was the cherished son of the Holy Prophet of God, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and had died in infancy to the great anguish of the Muslim world.

"Every soul shall have a taste of death: And only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense.
Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Garden will have attained the object (of Life):
For the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception."

(Aal- Emran : 185)

The revelation of the Holy Qur'an turned out to be correct. May Almighty bless the Prophet and his wives, i.e. Mothers of the Faithful.

Her merits :
In honor of Maria and her son Ibrahim, Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, esteem the people of Egypt.

Abu Dharr reported Allah's Messenger, may peace be upon him, as saying: You would soon conquer Egypt and that is a land which is known (as the land of al-qirat). So when you conquer it, treat its inhabitants well. For there lies upon you the responsibility because of blood-tie or relationship of marriage (with them). And when you see two persons falling into dispute amongst themselves for the space of a brick, than get out of that.

He (Abu Dharr) said: I saw Abd al-Rahman b. Shurahbil b. Hasana and his brother Rabi'a disputing with one another for the space of a brick. So I left that (land).
Sahih Muslim : Book 031, Number 6174