Muqawqis

Al-Muqawqis (, ) is mentioned in Muslim history as a ruler of Egypt who corresponded with Muhammad. He is widely identified with the last prefect of Egypt, Cyrus of Alexandria, who was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria of the second era of Byzantine Egypt (628-642).

When being presented with the letter of invitation to Islam by Muhammad, he said he couldn’t risk his kingdom, therefore not accepting Islam. He sent the messenger back with several gifts, including two women, and told his servants not to say anything.

Account by Muslim historians

Muhammad's Letter to Muqauqis discovered in Egypt in 1858 (colored version). Ibn Ishaq and other Muslim historians record that sometime between February 628 and 632, Muhammad sent epistles to the political heads of Medina's neighboring regions, both in the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East, including to al-Muqawqis:

Al-Tabari states that the delegation was sent in Dhu al-Hijja in the sixth hijri year (April or May 628). Ibn Sa'd states that the Muqawqis sent his gifts to Muhammad in 7 A.H. (after May 628). This is consistent with his assertion that Maria al-Qibtiyya bore Muhammad's son Ibrahim in late March or April 630, The epistle was signed with the seal of Muhammad.

Al-Muqawqis ordered that the letter be placed in an ivory casket Al-Muqawqis is said to have replied with a letter that read:

The two slave-girls mentioned are Maria al-Qibtiyya, whom Muhammad married, and her sister Sirin bint Shamun, whom Hassan ibn Thabit married.

Explanation of the name The word muqawqis is the Arabized form of Coptic ⲡⲓⲕⲁⲩⲕⲟⲥ, meaning "the man from the Caucasus," an epithet among the Copts for the Melchite patriarch Cyrus, who was seen as a corrupt and foreign usurper of Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria. alternatively, "Jurayj ibn Mattá").

Film and television depictions Al-Muqawqis was portrayed by Egyptian actor Salah Zulfikar in Muhammad, Messenger of Allah to the World, TV series aired on Egyptian TV in 1993.