Muhammad’s Sex Slaves

Maria, Rayhana, and Safiyya

A Historical Record from Islamic Sources That Undermines Claims of Moral Reform

“And [lawful to you are]... those your right hands possess.” — Qur’an 33:50

Muslim apologists often claim Islam came to abolish slavery, that it elevated women, or that Prophet Muhammad was a revolutionary moral reformer.

But this falls apart when we examine how Muhammad himself acquired, kept, and had sex with multiple female captives — explicitly permitted under Qur’anic law, and documented in Sahih hadiths and early biographies.

Let’s look at the three most well-documented cases.

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👤 1. Maria al-Qibtiyya (ماريَة القِبطِيَّة)

❖ Status: Gifted slave-concubine from Egypt

🔹 Sources:

• Ibn Sa’d’s Tabaqat (Vol. 8, p. 212–213)

• Al-Tabari’s Tarikh (Vol. 39, pp. 194–195)

• Sahih Muslim (Book of Marriage)

Maria was an Egyptian Coptic Christian slave sent as a gift by the Christian governor of Egypt (Muqawqis). Muhammad accepted her and housed her in Medina.

❝The Messenger of Allah had intercourse with her by virtue of ownership.❞
— Al-Tabari, History, Vol. 39

She bore him a son, Ibrahim, who later died in infancy. She was not married to Muhammad, and there is no record of her manumission during his life. She was, in Islamic law, a sex slave (milk al-yamin).

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👤 2. Rayhana bint Zayd (رَيحانة بنت زيد)

❖ Status: Captive from Banu Qurayza massacre

🔹 Sources:

• Ibn Ishaq’s Sira (Guillaume, p. 466)

• Ibn Sa’d (Tabaqat, Vol. 8, p. 130–132)

Rayhana was a Jewish woman taken as a captive after Muhammad's forces executed 600–900 men of the Banu Qurayza tribe in Medina.

❝The Prophet chose Rayhana for himself and kept her as a concubine.❞
— Ibn Sa’d

Although some later sources claim he married her, early accounts say otherwise — she refused to convert, was enslaved, and Muhammad had sex with her under concubinage.

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👤 3. Safiyya bint Huyayy (صفيَّة بنت حُييّ)

❖ Status: Jewish captive of Khaybar

🔹 Sources:

• Sahih Bukhari 4211

• Sahih Muslim 1365

• Ibn Ishaq’s Sira (Guillaume, p. 511–512)

Safiyya was taken after the Battle of Khaybar. Her husband, Kinana, was tortured and killed by Muhammad’s men to reveal treasure. She was then taken as war booty.

❝The Prophet took her for himself and married her that night.❞
— Sahih Muslim 1365

Although Muhammad married her, this marriage followed the slaughter of her family and enslavement. She was first categorized among "what his right hand possessed", and multiple sources suggest he had sex with her on the same day she was taken — raising ethical questions about consent and coercion.

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🧠 Summary Table

Name	Origin	How Acquired	Legal Status	Sources
Maria al-Qibtiyya	Coptic Christian from Egypt	Gift from governor (Muqawqis)	Sex slave (concubine)	Al-Tabari, Ibn Sa’d, Sahih Muslim
Rayhana bint Zayd	Banu Qurayza Jewish tribe	Captured after tribe’s massacre	Sex slave (refused Islam)	Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa’d
Safiyya bint Huyayy	Khaybar Jewish nobility	Captured after torture/execution of her husband	Technically wife (initially concubine)	Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Ishaq

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🔥 Moral Analysis

These were not marginal cases:

• They involved coerced women,

• Under Muhammad’s direct control,

• Exercising power permitted explicitly by Qur’an 33:50, 4:24, and 23:6.

This was not just culturally tolerated — it was religiously enshrined, practiced by the man Islam holds up as the “best example” (Qur’an 33:21).

Islamic law continued to endorse concubinage for over 1,300 years, justified by these very actions.

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🧨 Final Verdict

Islam does not merely reflect the values of a 7th-century tribal culture.
It theologically justifies and eternally sanctifies:

• Sexual access to captives,

• Human ownership,

• And male dominance over women acquired in war.

When God’s last messenger takes women as war spoils and has sex with them, there is no ground for claiming Islam abolished slavery or defended women’s dignity.

This is not misunderstood history.
This is orthodox, mainstream Islamic biography and law.

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📚 Source Citations:

Primary Sources:

• Sahih Bukhari 4211, 2229, 4138

• Sahih Muslim 1365

• Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah (Guillaume translation)

• Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, Vol. 39

• Ibn Sa’d, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, Vol. 8

Academic References:

• Kecia Ali – Sexual Ethics and Islam

• W. Montgomery Watt – Muhammad at Medina

• Gerald Hawting – Women in Early Islam

• Patricia Crone – Slaves on Horses