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Friday 25 September 2009 (06 Shawwal 1430)
Maria: The mother of his last child
Adil Salahi | Arab News
The conduct of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in practical matters provides an
outline of the course of action Muslims should follow in such matters. When it
came to questions of marriage and legal association between man and woman, the
Prophet needed to provide a practical example to supplement the text outlining
the legal provisions. Thus, it was not enough to issue an order abolishing
adoption; it needed action by the Prophet to demonstrate that such adoption,
even when done under a law other than that of Islam, is null and void and has
no effect on the legality of marital relations.
In the case of Maria and Sereen, the two Copt sisters sent to the Prophet as a
personal gift, the Prophet kept Maria for himself and gave Sereen to Hassan ibn
Thabit, the famous poet. Sereen gave Hassan his son, Abd Al-Rahman. The Prophet
first housed Maria at Harithah ibn Al-Numan's home, which was close to the
mosque. He visited her frequently there. Later, he moved her to another place
at a distance from central Madinah.
In Islam, if the master takes a slave woman to himself, she could not be
married to someone else. If she gives birth to a child, she is elevated to the
status of "mother of child," and she can no longer be sold to anyone. On her
master's death, she becomes a free woman.
In Madinah, Maria learned of a former Egyptian slave woman who was gifted to a
great prophet. That was Hagar who was given to the Prophet Abraham, or Ibraheem
to use the Arabic version of his name. Maria also learned that Hagar gave
Abraham his son Ishmael and was brought with her son to Arabia where she lived
in Makkah. Ishmael is considered the father of all Arabs. He helped his father
to build the Kaaba, and the pilgrimage was established as a religious duty at
that time. Maria began to nurture the hope that she would give Prophet Muhammad
a son.
Although the Prophet married several women after the death of his first wife,
Khadijah, and some of them had had several children by earlier marriages, no
children were born to him by any of these. Only Khadijah gave him his two sons
and four daughters. Now Maria gave the Prophet his last child, a boy he named
Ibraheem, after his ancestor, the father of all prophets.
The Prophet was extremely happy to have this child. He gave much to the poor on
this occasion. Many women wanted to share in breast-feeding the baby, so that
Maria could attend to the Prophet when he visited her. The Prophet's other
wives were very jealous, but they had to suppress their feelings.
However, this happiness was not to last long. Ibraheem lived only 18 months.
When he was very ill, the Prophet held him, and tears sprang to his eyes. The
boy then died and the Prophet said his farewell to him: "Eyes are tearful,
hearts are in sorrow, but we only say what pleases our Lord. We are certainly
sad that you, Ibraheem, has left us." After the child was buried, there was a
solar eclipse. People suggested that this was because of Ibraheem's death. The
Prophet said: "No. The sun and the moon are aspects of God's creation. They are
not eclipsed for the life or the death of anyone." The Prophet passed away a
year later, and Maria followed him six years after that.
The Prophet commended the people of Egypt to his companions. "Be kind to the
Egyptians, for they are related to us by blood and marriage." The blood
relation is through Ishmael, and the marriage is through Maria.
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