va alykum muslam brother Uzair Ahmed
Has not the Qur'an actually legalized adultery by allowing for
the master to have sexual relationships with his female slaves?
Female slaves are the natural by-product of the system of
slavery. The situation that prevailed in all societies where the institution
of slavery existed was such that slave women were used at will and
were employed to gain economic advantage by inciting them towards
prostitution. As for Islam, it provided for a facility which would, in the
course of one generation, bring an end to the system through the slave
women themselves.
The slave woman is the property of the master. However, the
master has no right, whatsoever, to incite her towards adultery. Like
the male slaves, the female slaves, too, have rights of their own. It is
the duty of the master to provide her with food, shelter, clothes and
other necessities. Moreover, the Qur'an has asked the owner to make
the necessary arrangements for her marriage as well (Qur'an 24:32).
This, in effect, means that the Qur'an has prompted the owner
towards having sexual relations with an unmarried female slave. This
permission is however restricted to the owner alone. No one else is
allowed to use her in this fashion even if it be with the permission of
the master!
In giving birth to the child of the master, the slave woman
becomes entitled to new rights. Thenceforth, the master has no right
to sell her. She becomes the mother of her master’s children. These
children, too, become entitled to all the rights and privileges enjoyed by
the master’s other children. Islam disagrees with the Jewish stand
that the children born through a slave woman have none of the rights
that should naturally be given to them by virtue of paternity. These
children are, in all respects, his own children. There is to be no
discrimination of any kind between them and the other children. With
the death of the master, the slave woman, who is the mother of his
children, becomes a free woman. She is then protected by her own
children. They, too, like the other children, will becomes entitled to a
share in their father’s inheritance.
The permission to accept slave women as one’s life-partner
was, in fact, a provision which would, in the course of one generation,
cut out the very root of slavery. In reality, therefore, the permission
granted for having relations with slave women was one among the
many unique steps taken by Islam in practically eradicating slavery.
It is not possible to equate the permission given for having
relations with slave women to adultery. These acts stand at two extreme
poles. One is the case of the woman who lives under her master
enjoying the protection that he confers upon her. It is a relationship in
which he fully agrees to take up the responsibilities that may result as
a product of that relationship. It is a relationship in which her personality,
beyond the contours defined by sex, is accorded full recognition. It is
a relationship which opens to her the door to freedom. As for the
second, it is nothing but a carnal relationship with a prostitute without
any sort of commitment. The position of the prostitute is, in fact, much
worse than that of the slave woman. For, she is nothing more than a
soul less animal. Her function is restricted solely to the gratification of
the animal passions of man. There is not even a grain of love and
compassion in that relationship, not the slightest touch of personal
fulfillment even. It is but a transaction made solely for money. Flesh
trade! The man who comes for the satisfaction of carnel of his desire
is never prepared to take up the responsibility that may accrue from it.
He has no obligation towards her. She is only an animal destined to
satisfy his sexul appetite. Each one of her relationships will serve only
to immerse her even deeper into the mire that is the inhumanity of
prostitution. Even the very dream of freedom is alien to her. She is one
doomed to embrace the loneliness of orphanhood when in a diseased
state, with her skin wrinkled and faded, she ends up being the object
of nobody’s concern.
What, then, of the tradition which lays open, before the slave,
the very door to freedom? And what of the rottings system which
drives the woman from one dependence to the other? Any comparison,
whatsoever, between these two is impossible because they stand at
two opposing and extreme poles. One recognized by benign humanism,
the other which leads to depredation and frustration.
Why did the Qur'an not make marriage mandatory for having
sexual relations with the slave woman?
The Qur'an does provide permission for those who wish to marry
slave women (4:27). Indeed, the Prophet had said that such marriages
will confer a double reward. “He who provides the slave woman under
him with proper manners, provides her with the best education, then
frees her and ultimately marries her will be given a double reward.’’
(Bukhari, Muslim)
The guardian of the slave is the master whether it be a male or
a female slave. The guardianship of the slave woman who is under a
male master rests with that man. Even if she is to be married off, it is
he who will have to carrry it out. It is also he who is to take care of all
her affairs. It is for this very reason that there is not the need for the
act of marrying her. In Islam, marriage is a contract that is solemnized
by the guardian of the woman and the bridegroom. In this case, he is
both the master and bridegroom. Then the marriage ceremony becomes
irrelevant in itself.
The Qur'an instructs that the maximum number of wives for a
man must be four (4:3). Let us suppose that there is a slave woman
under the care of a man who has four wives He cannnot, in that case,
marry her. If he is not ready to grant her freedom, liberation from
dependence will remain for her a dream. She will then be forced to
resort to adultery in her bid to satisfy her sexual desire. But since
there is the law that the master can engage in sexual relations with her
without recourse to marriage, a solution for all such problems manifests
itself. It becomes possible for her to walk into freedom when she
gives birth to her master’s child. It will also be the solution for her
sexual needs. In a society where slavery prevails, if a solution is not
provided for such problems it will lead to a large scale erosion of
values. Along with this, there will also be the problem of the children
born from adulterous relationships. Naturally, they ,too,will end up as
slaves. The end result of all this will be that slavery becomes entrenched
as a system that can, is, no wise, be terminated.
In the case of Islam, however, the provision is made such that
the masters are permitted to have sexual relations with woman slaves,
whereby, within the span of a single generation, slavery is made extinct.
If ‘marriage’ is made a condition for it, it is not possible then to obtain
the results envisaged by Islam. Certainly, all masters would not be
willing to marry their slaves woman Besides, it is impossible for those
who already have four wives.
Why did Islam not limit the number of one’s slave woman ?
Islam, which commanded that marriages should be restricted to
four, has, however, not imposed any restriction on the number of
woman-slaves who may be kept in one’s possession. This means that
a man may keep as many slave-women as he likes under him. Why
did Islam allow this?
Slaves comes into the possession of the master in three ways.
These ways are: as inheritance, personal purchase and as captured
prisoners-of-war. Of these three, a man can decide the number of
slaves to be under him only in the case of personal purchase. He is,
however, unable to control, or limit, the number of slaves who come
into his possession by way of inheritance and as prisoners-of-war who
are captured and enslaved. If the governments decision is to enslave
the captured prisoners-of-war, the usual practice is to divide them
amongst all those who participated in the war. In the event that a large
number of prisoners-of-war are captured, then the number of slaves
who come into the possession of each individual will increase. It may
be seen from history that nearly six thousand men were captured in
the Battle of Hunain.
The prisoners-of-war who were captured were, however, made
slaves only under inevitable circumstances . The Muslims were not in
the habit of capturing women and children when, in battle, the enemies
were defeated at their hands. It may be seen that during the wars that
took place in the time of the Caliphs, nobody was enslaved in Syria,
Palestine, Iraq and Egypt. If in war, the men were killed or taken as
prisoners, the women and children will, as a result, become orphans.
Islam has commanded that they are never to be killed in war. Even if
the children and women who went to war with their men are captured
as prisoners, more often than not they were exchanged for Muslim
prisoners. However, in some instances, Islam did permit their
enslavement. It will be remembered that this permission was granted
in a society in which slavery was prevalent.
In any case, to limit the number of slaves who came into one’s
possession, by these means under the existing circumstances was quite
impractical. This was so in the case of slave women also. The question
here is what could be done with the slaves that come into one’s
possession through various ways. They could be married off, indeed,
but to find suitors for slave women is not an easy task. If they are
married to male slaves who are in his possession, the children that
they beget will belong to the master. It is only natural that the children
of slaves have no option but to be the possession of the master who is
the owner of their parents.
This meant that they, too, would end up being slaves. Apart
from either option, they may be unconditionally set free. But such
freedom will lead to their being rendered orphans, and to a serious
erosion of values as well. Another option will be to allow her the
exercise of all her human rights without yet marrying her and to let her
live with her master. (After all, it would not be practical for all masters
to set her free and then to marry her). The number of slaves living in
such wise is limited, the question arises as to what is to be done with
the other slave women who come beyond this limit but are still staying
with the master. There would then be no means for them to attain
their freedom. Their sexuality will then be either neglected or exploited.
This will thus become the cause of great moral degeneration.
If these problems are seen in the context of a society in which
slavery is in existence, the fact that the laws envisioned by Islam in
the matter are, indeed, very practical ones will become clearly
manifested. In such a society, it is not possible to fix a limit for the
number of male slaves who will come into one’s possession. This is
also the case with slave women as well. Such restrictions are never
practical in such a society. It was for the same reason that Islam
never took the trouble to impose them.
ISLAM PROMOTING MASTER MARRIAGE WITH SLAVE GIRL:
Bukhari :: Book 4 :: Volume 52 :: Hadith 255 ,Bukhari :: Book 4 :: Volume 55 :: Hadith 655, Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 46 :: Hadith 720, Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 46 :: Hadith 723 , Muslim :: Book 8 : Hadith 3327 , 3327, Muslim :: Book 1 : Hadith 285
Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari:
Allah's Apostle said, "If a person teaches his slave girl good manners properly, educates her properly, and then manumits and marries her, he will get a double reward. And if a man believes in Jesus and then believes in me, he will get a double reward. And if a slave fears his Lord (i.e. Allah) and obeys his masters, he too will get a double reward."
Marrying slave girl:
4: 25. And whoever of you have not the means wherewith to wed free, believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those (captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess, and Allâh has full knowledge about your Faith, you are one from another. Wed them with the permission of their own folk (guardians, Auliyâ' or masters) and give them their Mahr according to what is reasonable; they (the above said captive and slave-girls) should be chaste, not adulterous, nor taking boy-friends. And after they have been taken in wedlock, if they commit illegal sexual intercourse, their punishment is half that for free (unmarried) women. This is for him among you who is afraid of being harmed in his religion or in his body; but it is better for you that you practice self-restraint, and Allâh is Oft¬Forgiving, Most Merciful.
24: 32. And marry those among you who are single (i.e. a man who has no wife and the woman who has no husband) and (also marry) the Sâlihûn (pious, fit and capable ones) of your (male) slaves and maid-servants (female slaves). If they be poor, Allâh will enrich them out of His Bounty. And Allâh is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knowing (about the state of the people).
Muslim :: Book 43 : Hadith 7158
Slave rape prohibited:
Malik :: Book 36 : Hadith 36.16.14
Malik :: Book 41 : Hadith 41.2.13
Slave prostitution prohibited:
24:33. and let those who find not the financial means for marriage keep themselves chaste, until Allah enriches them of His Bounty. And such of your slaves as seek a writing (of emancipation), give them such writing, if you know that they are good and trustworthy. And give them something yourselves out of the wealth of Allah which He has bestowed upon you. And force not your maids to prostitution, if they desire chastity, in order that you may make a gain in the (perishable) goods of this worldly life. But if anyone compels them (to prostitution), then after such compulsion, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to those women, i.e. He will forgive them because they have been forced to do this evil action unwillingly).
Bukhari :: Book 7 :: Volume 63 :: Hadith 260
Bukhari :: Book 8 :: Volume 82 :: Hadith 822,823
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 46 :: Hadith 731
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 36 :: Hadith 483
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 34 :: Hadith 440 ,436,439
Muslim :: Book 43 : Hadith 7180, 7181
Public people Sex with slave act of ignorance:
Muslim :: Book 40 : Hadith 6856
……Qatada said: Abu Abdullah, would this happen? Thereupon he said: Yes. By Allah, I found this in the days of ignorance that a person grazed the goat of a tribe and did not find anyone but their slave-girl (and he did not spare her) but committed adultery with her.
Muslim :: Book 20 : Hadith 4554
It his been narrated through a different chain of transmitters, on the authority of Hudhaifa b. al-Yaman who said: Messenger of Allah, no doubt, we had an evil time (i. e. the days of Jahiliyya or ignorance) and God brought us a good time (i. e. Islamic period) through which we are now living Will there be a bad time after this good time? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes. I said: Will there be a good time after this bad time? He said: Yes. I said: Will there be a bad time after good time? He said: Yes.
Bukhari :: Book 9 :: Volume 83 :: Hadith 21
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The Prophet said, "The most hated persons to Allah are three: (1) A person who deviates from the right conduct, i.e., an evil doer, in the Haram (sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina); (2) a person who seeks that the traditions of the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance, should remain in Islam (3) and a person who seeks to shed somebody's blood without any right."
Slave sex allowed only with master:
Malik :: Book 41 : Hadith 41.6.19
Slave illegal sexual intercourse /adultery prohibited:/blame prohibited even sinner
4:24,70:30
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 34 :: Hadith 435, 436, 362 ,363
Muslim :: Book 17 : Hadith 4219,4221, 4224
Malik :: Book 41 : Hadith 41.2.13
Adultery with slave girl prohibited, stone death punishment:
Muslim :: Book 17 : Hadith 4201
Muslim :: Book 37 : Hadith 6676
Muslim :: Book 40 : Hadith 6856
Malik :: Book 41 : Hadith 41.2.13
Public Slave sex prohibited:
Bukhari :: Book 9 :: Volume 93 :: Hadith 506
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
That during the battle with Bani Al-Mustaliq they (Muslims) captured some females and intended to have sexual relation with them without impregnating them. So they asked the Prophet about coitus interrupt us. The Prophet said, "It is better that you should not do it, for Allah has written whom He is going to create till the Day of Resurrection." Qaza'a said, "I heard Abu Sa'id saying that the Prophet said, 'No soul is ordained to be created but Allah will create it."
Muslim :: Book 8 : Hadith 3432
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah her pleased with him) reported that at the Battle of Hanain Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) sent an army to Autas and encountered the enemy and fought with them. Having overcome them and taken them captives, the Companions of Allah's Messenger (may peace te upon him) seemed to refrain from having intercourse with captive women because of their husbands being polytheists……….
Bukhari :: Book 8 :: Volume 79 :: Hadith 706
Bukhari :: Book 8 :: Volume 77 :: Hadith 600
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 46 :: Hadith 718
Malik :: Book 29 : Hadith 29.32.95
Muslim :: Book 17 : Hadith 4201
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 34 :: Hadith 432
Forced sex with slave prohibited:
Bukhari:6949
Muslim :: Book 43 : Hadith 7181
Dawud :: Book 12 : Hadith 2304
Dawud :: Book 38 : Hadith 4445
Malik :: Book 54 : Hadith 54.16.42
Malik :: Book 41 : Hadith 41.3.15
Divorced Slave not halal for master:
Malik :: Book 28 : Hadith 28.13.30, 28.13.31
Forbid sex with both slave and her mother:
Malik :: Book 28 : Hadith 28.14.33
Forbid sex with both slave and her sister:
Malik :: Book 28 : Hadith 28.14.35
Slave only for his master, other person sex with her prohibited:
Malik :: Book 28 : Hadith 28.15.36 ,28.15.37, 28.15.38
Slave sex prohibited during menstruation period/ pregnant:
Dawud :: Book 11 : Hadith 2153
Narrated Ruwayfi' ibn Thabit al-Ansari:
Should I tell you what I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say on the day of Hunayn: It is not lawful for a man who believes in Allah and the last day to water what another has sown with his water (meaning intercourse with women who are pregnant); it is not lawful for a man who believes in Allah and the Last Day to have intercourse with a captive woman till she is free from a menstrual course; and it is not lawful for a man who believes in Allah and the Last Day to sell spoil till it is divided.
Malik :: Book 28 : Hadith 28.15.37
