Introduction
Maria al-Qibtiyya (Maria the Copt) represents a category of women in Muhammad's life that Islamic apologetics often downplays: slave concubines. Unlike his wives, Maria had no choice in her relationship with Muhammad—she was property, a gift from a foreign ruler, and a Christian who never converted to Islam. Her story reveals the sexual slavery embedded in early Islam and triggered a household crisis that required yet another convenient Quranic revelation.
Historical Context
In 628 CE (7 AH), Muhammad sent letters to various rulers inviting them to embrace Islam. The Muqawqis, the Coptic Christian governor of Alexandria, Egypt, responded diplomatically but did not convert. Instead, he sent Muhammad expensive gifts, including two Coptic Christian slave girls: Maria and her sister Sirin. Muhammad took Maria for himself and gave Sirin to Hassan ibn Thabit, a poet who composed verses praising Muhammad.
The Status of Concubines in Islam
Islamic law explicitly permits Muslim men to have sexual relations with female slaves they own, even while married to free wives. This is codified in multiple Quranic verses:
- Quran 23:5-6: "And they who guard their private parts except from their wives or those their right hands possess [i.e., female slaves], for indeed, they will not be blamed."
- Quran 4:24: "And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess."
- Quran 33:50: Special verse for Muhammad specifically, granting him even broader sexual access including to slaves given as gifts.
Maria fell into this category of "those your right hands possess"—female slaves with whom sexual relations were permissible without marriage. She never became Muhammad's wife, remaining his property throughout his life.
What Islamic Sources Say
The Islamic historical record about Maria is extensive, particularly regarding the household crisis her presence created.
Key Evidence from Primary Sources
- Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat: Describes Maria as "a Coptic Christian slave girl" sent as a gift from the Muqawqis of Egypt, and states that Muhammad "took her as a concubine" and she bore him a son named Ibrahim who died in infancy.
- Al-Tabari's History: Records that Maria was beautiful, with curly hair and fair skin, and that Muhammad was particularly attracted to her, spending time with her that his wives resented.
- Traditional biographical accounts: Describe how Muhammad housed Maria in a separate residence (some accounts say in the dwelling of one of his wives or nearby), visited her regularly, and had sexual relations with her.
- Hadith collections: While Sahih Bukhari and Muslim have limited direct references to Maria, they extensively discuss the "honey incident" that involves her and the subsequent revelation.
The "Honey" Incident and Quranic Revelation
The most detailed Islamic sources regarding Maria concern a scandal that erupted in Muhammad's household. The incident is complex and various sources give slightly different versions, but the core narrative involves:
Sahih Bukhari 7:63:192: "Narrated Aisha: Allah's Apostle used to drink honey at the house of Zaynab bint Jahsh and would stay there with her. So Hafsa and I agreed secretly that if the Prophet came to anyone of us, she would say, 'I detect the smell of Maghafir (a foul-smelling gum) on you; have you eaten Maghafir?' So the Prophet visited one of them and she said that to him. He replied, 'No, but I have drunk honey at the house of Zaynab bint Jahsh, and I will never drink it again.'"
However, many Islamic scholars connect this incident not to honey at Zaynab's house, but to Muhammad's sexual relations with Maria. Some tafsir sources suggest:
- Muhammad had sexual relations with Maria in Hafsa's residence on Hafsa's allocated day
- Hafsa discovered them and was outraged
- Muhammad promised Hafsa he would abstain from Maria if she kept it secret
- Hafsa told Aisha, creating a conspiracy among Muhammad's wives
- A Quranic revelation arrived addressing the situation
Quran 66:1-5: "O Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful to you, seeking the approval of your wives? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Allah has already ordained for you the dissolution of your oaths. And Allah is your protector, and He is the Knowing, the Wise. And [remember] when the Prophet confided to one of his wives a statement; and when she informed [another] of it and Allah showed it to him, he made known part of it and ignored a part. And when he informed her about it, she said, 'Who told you this?' He said, 'I was informed by the Knowing, the Acquainted.' If you two [wives] repent to Allah, [it is best], for your hearts have deviated. But if you cooperate against him - then indeed Allah is his protector, and Gabriel and the righteous of the believers and the angels, moreover, are [his] assistants. Perhaps his Lord, if he divorced you [all], would substitute for him wives better than you - submitting [to Allah], believing, devoutly obedient, repentant, worshipping, and traveling - [ones] previously married and virgins."
Maria's Son Ibrahim
Maria bore Muhammad a son named Ibrahim in 630 CE, his only child born after his daughter Fatimah. This caused significant tension in the household, as Muhammad's wives (particularly Aisha) had not borne him sons. The boy died in infancy at about 16-18 months old in 632 CE, shortly before Muhammad's own death. According to tradition, Muhammad mourned deeply for Ibrahim.
Problems and Contradictions
Maria's status and treatment reveal multiple serious problems with Islamic ethics and Muhammad's character.
The Sexual Slavery Problem
The fundamental issue is clear: Maria was a slave, property transferred from one man to another, who had no choice in her sexual relationship with Muhammad. This is sexual slavery, regardless of whatever Islamic legal terminology is used to describe it:
- She was forcibly taken from her homeland
- She was given as property to a man she didn't know
- She had no legal right to refuse sexual relations
- She could not leave or end the relationship
- Her consent was legally irrelevant—she was property, not a person with agency
Modern sensibilities recoil at this reality, but Islamic law explicitly permits it. The Quranic verses allowing sexual relations with "those your right hands possess" establish that female slaves are sexually available to their masters. Muhammad's relationship with Maria exemplifies this teaching in practice.
The Religious Freedom Problem
Islamic sources generally agree that Maria remained Christian throughout her life—she never converted to Islam. Yet she was forced into sexual relations with Muhammad, bearing his child while holding to her Christian faith. This raises troubling questions:
- How can forced sexual relations with a non-Muslim slave be morally acceptable?
- If Islam is the true faith, why didn't Muhammad ensure his concubine embraced it before having sexual relations with her?
- What does it say about Islamic values that a Christian woman could be kept as a sex slave without converting?
The Household Disruption and Divine Response
The crisis Maria's presence created in Muhammad's household is instructive. According to Islamic sources:
- Muhammad's sexual activity with Maria angered his wives
- The incident with Hafsa created such tension that Muhammad promised to abstain from Maria
- A Quranic revelation arrived that:
- Rebuked Muhammad for abstaining from what Allah made lawful (i.e., his slave concubine)
- Provided a way to dissolve his oath to abstain
- Scolded his wives for their opposition
- Threatened his wives with divorce and replacement if they didn't submit
Once again, we see a pattern of convenient revelation: when Muhammad faces opposition from his wives over his sexual behavior, a revelation arrives supporting his desires and rebuking those who object. The Quranic revelation takes Muhammad's side in a domestic dispute and threatens his wives with replacement.
Implications
- Legal Slavery: Islamic law's permission for sexual slavery (based on Muhammad's example and Quranic teaching) has justified horrific abuse throughout Islamic history, including modern sex trafficking justified by Islamic State and similar groups.
- Revelation Pattern: Yet another example of Quranic revelation arriving precisely when needed to justify Muhammad's controversial sexual behavior, supporting the conclusion that revelations served Muhammad's interests.
- Women's Status: The ability to maintain a Christian sex slave while married to multiple Muslim wives reveals the fundamentally unequal and dehumanizing view of women in classical Islam.
Muslim Responses
Modern Muslim apologists struggle with Maria's story, often downplaying or reinterpreting the historical record.
"She Was Honored, Not Enslaved"
Some Muslims argue that being Muhammad's concubine was an honor, not slavery. However:
- Being someone's property is slavery regardless of how well you're treated or how important the owner is
- Lack of consent and inability to leave define slavery, and Maria had neither
- This argument essentially says "nice slavery is acceptable," which is morally indefensible
- Modern Muslims would not accept their daughters being given as "honored concubines" to powerful men
"Concubinage Was Normal in That Era"
The cultural relativism defense fails for the same reasons it fails elsewhere:
- If Muhammad's example is universal and timeless (as Islam claims), then concubinage should still be acceptable today
- Many practices were "normal" historically but are now recognized as immoral
- True prophets transcend their cultures, setting higher standards—Muhammad apparently did not
- This admission undermines claims that Islamic sexual ethics are divinely ordained and superior to secular morality
"She Was Freed and Became a Wife"
Some modern accounts claim Maria was freed and became a wife, but this contradicts the most reliable early sources:
- Classical Islamic sources consistently describe her as a concubine (umm walad - mother of a child), not a wife
- She is never listed among Muhammad's official wives in traditional biographical works
- This revision appears to be a modern apologetic attempt to sanitize the historical record
- Even if freed, this doesn't justify the initial enslavement or forced sexual relationship
"The Quran Revelation Protected Muhammad's Rights"
Some Muslims defend Quran 66:1-5 as Allah protecting Muhammad from unreasonable wives. But:
- The wives' objection—to their husband having sexual relations with a slave girl in their living spaces on their allocated days—seems entirely reasonable
- A revelation that takes the husband's side in a domestic dispute and threatens the wives with replacement hardly suggests divine objectivity
- This defense requires believing Allah intervened not to establish justice, but to ensure Muhammad could continue his sexual relationship with a slave despite his wives' objections
Christian Perspective
The biblical worldview stands in stark opposition to the sexual slavery exemplified by Maria's story.
Biblical Opposition to Sexual Slavery
While the Bible acknowledges slavery existed in biblical times, it never endorses sexual slavery and includes protections even for servants:
- Protection of Dignity: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28) - all people have equal dignity in God's eyes
- Consensual Marriage: Biblical marriage is based on covenant and mutual consent, not ownership and compulsion
- Treatment of Captives: Even Old Testament provisions for marrying war captives required waiting periods, prohibitions on selling them, and protections against abuse (Deuteronomy 21:10-14)—very different from immediate sexual access to slaves
- Liberation Ethic: The overall biblical trajectory moves toward liberation and human dignity, culminating in the gospel's radical affirmation of human equality and worth
Jesus' Teaching and Example
Jesus' life and teaching provide the ultimate contrast to Muhammad's relationship with Maria:
- Celibacy and Self-Control: Jesus lived a celibate life, demonstrating perfect self-control rather than exploitation of available women
- Elevation of Women: Jesus consistently elevated women's dignity, including those marginalized by society (John 4:1-42, John 8:1-11, Luke 7:36-50)
- Service, Not Exploitation: Jesus taught that greatness consists in serving others (Mark 10:42-45), the opposite of using others for sexual gratification
- Golden Rule: "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them" (Matthew 7:12) - would Muhammad want his daughter given as a sex slave to a foreign ruler?
The Character of God
The revelation in Quran 66:1-5 claims Allah rebuked Muhammad for abstaining from his concubine to please his wives. Consider what this reveals about the character attributed to Allah versus the biblical God:
- Biblical God calls people to sexual purity and self-control (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)
- Biblical God protects the vulnerable and oppressed, including enslaved people (Exodus 22:21-24)
- Biblical God's revelations often challenged prophets to higher standards, not permission for their desires
- Biblical God is "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" (Psalm 103:8), not threatening wives with replacement for objecting to concubines
Questions to Consider
- Can a slave woman who is property of her master give meaningful consent to sexual relations with him?
- What does it reveal about Muhammad's character that he maintained a Christian sex slave while claiming to be the final prophet of God?
- How can a revelation that rebukes a prophet for trying to please his wives by abstaining from a concubine be considered divinely inspired moral guidance?
- If Islamic sexual ethics were truly superior and divinely ordained, why do modern Muslims feel compelled to rewrite the historical record about Maria?
- How does Muhammad's relationship with Maria compare to Jesus' treatment of women, including those marginalized and vulnerable in his society?
Conclusion
Maria al-Qibtiyya's story exposes the sexual slavery embedded at the foundation of Islam. She was a Christian woman taken from her homeland, given as property to Muhammad, and used sexually without her consent or conversion. When this created household tensions, a Quranic revelation arrived not to establish justice but to ensure Muhammad could continue the relationship despite his wives' objections.
This is not the behavior of a prophet guided by a just and holy God. It is the behavior of a powerful man using religious authority to justify sexual exploitation, sanctioned by revelations that served his interests. The legal permission for sexual slavery established by Muhammad's example and Quranic teaching has caused incalculable suffering throughout Islamic history.
For those examining Islam's truth claims, Maria's story demands honest evaluation. Can the true God's final messenger be someone who kept a Christian sex slave? Can divine revelation truly permit sexual relations with enslaved women while simultaneously claiming moral superiority? The answer reveals much about whether Islam represents authentic divine guidance or human desire clothed in religious language.
The Christian alternative is clear and compelling: Jesus Christ, who could have claimed any privilege but instead "emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:7). He elevated women's dignity, demonstrated perfect self-control, and gave his life for others rather than using others for his own gratification. This is the character of the God revealed in Scripture—not a deity whose "perfect prophet" maintained sex slaves and received revelations ensuring he could continue doing so.
The contrast between Muhammad and Jesus on this issue alone provides compelling evidence for evaluating their competing claims to represent God's final revelation to humanity.