Warning: Hardball question inbound. But you knew this would happen sometime.

[Kori Harpoon]

[Sura 23:5] And they maintain their chastity.

[Sura 23:6] Only with their spouses, or those who are rightfully theirs, do they have sexual relations; they are not to be blamed.

You know ISIL uses this to justify the the sex slavery of women and girls. Can you explain this? But please don't explain it in a way you are trying to explain it to me explain it to me the way you explain it to yourself. If I am being rude well so be it since I am talking about a VERY serious issue but of all the things you can say about me you cannot say I am lying. Let me be clear I feel rape is worse than murder. And to be honest in Viking law a male could rape his female slave and no punishment would happen. I do not give my people a pass just because they are my people. I am proud and ashamed at what my people have done. On a personal note I think that is why I am so Anti-Rape and Pro Female.

[Search]

:bism:

First and foremost, the absolute truth is that raping is considered an oppression in Islam and thereby Islamically forbidden.

The reason ISIL or their likes justify sex slavery with the specific verses of the Quran you've cited above is for much the same reason that some serial killers cite John Fowles' "The Collector" or J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" as reasons or inspiration for committing murders. Millions of people read or have read the same book, yet do not become serial killers. So, what I see is that any person already so inclined to evil can use any novel or even holy books like the verses of the Quran are twisted to justify egoistic desires and so perpetrate unlawful crimes against humanity and God.

Now, for the detailed explanation, I provide you the following words that God-willing will help you contextualize the matter into the broader perspective of jihad (lawful war) which were known then as "right hand possessions:"

Right hand possessions are not “sexual slaves” or even “concubines.” Right hand possessions were usually earned in a war as prisoners[, and they were given the same status as wives in Islamic society]. The term [“right hand possessions”] is not to be confused with the linguistic term “sexual slave” and is in fact an erroneous presumption leveled by the present-day kuffar against Islam and many Muslims even have fallen short of the English term’s comprehension.

Today, in many wars fought historically and in our contemporary times globally, violence against women occur by way of rape and/or forcing them into sexual slavery under the power of the victorious men. This means that these women are powerless, helpless, and treated worse than animals as their feelings and their bodies are not considered their own but under the ownership of men. Also, sexual slavery cases across the globe have a distinct pattern: the women are forced into servicing many men and are the recipient of dominance and debased subjugation that commits them without any rights to accomplish pornographic fantasies of men under physical harm and threats and even at times corruption of mind. Sexual slavery is a form of psychological and physical torture inflicted upon women that in no way, shape, or form comparable or resembles to what Islam taught about treatment that right hand possessions merit. Moreover, sexual slaves are necessarily the extreme givers of sexual pleasure, not the recipients, and any pleasure ever derived is evoked not out of their own will or power which means they are further psychologically damaged because to them (should that ever occur) this mistakenly means that they do deserve the dehumanizing outlook and behavior of the men under whose control they only function perfunctorily.

Right hand possessions were in many aspects similar to that of marriage, as explained in the link, which gives a detailed background to understanding the concept of right hand possessions [and why their rights and their status has been likened to the honorable status of marriage].

Moreover, the right hand possessions gained under the Shariat [divine law] when jihad [lawful jihad] occurred meant that they merited their unique rights under Islam. They were not ever to be “used” and “abused” as the term sexual slavery connotes. But rather, when captured without their husbands or any protector, they were given protection of Muslim men and given dignity in the households. Since Islam is a religion based in practicality, reality means recognizing probabilities and then giving rules and regulations and rights based on them. Thus, Islam recognizes that men under whom these women are given as slaves might be inclined sexually towards them and thus Islam laid out the rules, regulations and rights regarding these women. This was not given so the female slave could be forced or abused as they were not to be compelled to copulate neither marry their Muslim protectors nor convert forcibly to Islam.

Muslims of our time must be careful in understanding that what has been made permissible under Islam (i.e. allowing for sex with a slave acquired in jihad as "right hand possession") does not mean that which is also advanced by Islam.

Also, I wanted to clarify that even while the any slaves widespread in paganistic Arabia or gained through jihad were not forced under Islam to be freed overnight, the practice was highly encouraged which is why the practice as per the correct understanding of the rightly guided Caliphs led eventually history to witness abolishment of slavery under Islamic rule peacefully. Moreover, Islam encourages Muslims to treat any slaves (man or woman) the same that they would treat themselves in terms of clothing, food, and shelter. The humane treatment and particular rights given to them as well as voluntary manumission is also primarily why many, even can be said to umpteen, non-Muslim slaves accepted Islam from their own volition as they recognized that such was unprecedented up to that time and that if they as slaves could merit such recognition of their humanity then that Scripture must be honored.

Verily, Allah honored mankind by enjoining upon them Islam.

[Kori Harpoon]

That sounds great but do I need to remind you I quoted the Qur'an and you didn't. Now does the Qur'an itself give more details on this subject? I'm talking about your Holy Book, not what someone else says. The absolute truth is ANY form of slavery is oppression. Period. A human beings status/class that not equal to another's is oppression. Period. One of the things that makes me feel so much shame at being human is our absolute willingness to treat other people horribly for status/class reasons. Yes there are exceptions. There have been slaves that have been treated in the realm that would be considered decent but far too few. I have so much empathy for others it's actually a bad thing I get overwhelmed with depression at all forms of injustice. I have a challenge for you. Why don't you become a right hand possession to a Muslim for 3 days?

[AabiruSabeel]

Hello Kori

This topic has been discussed at length on the forum. Please see detailed answers here:

http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...ml#post1064286

http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...ave-girls.html

http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...ml#post1399170

http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...ave-girls.html


We have a really good index of useful threads and posts available in the Clarifications about Islam section. Please see this thread for more information: http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...l-threads.html

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

[Futuwwa]

The classical Islamic view is that slavery is simply a matter of social organization. It doesn't imply subhuman status or legitimize abuse. You make an issue about how you quoted the Quran and she didn't. Well, here:

[24:33] And let those who cannot find a match keep chaste till Allah give them independence by His grace. And such of your slaves as seek a writing of emancipation, write it for them if ye are aware of aught of good in them, and bestow upon them of the wealth of Allah which He hath bestowed upon you. Force not your slave-girls to whoredom that ye may seek enjoyment of the life of the world, if they would preserve their chastity. And if one force them, then unto them, after their compulsion, lo! Allah will be Forgiving, Merciful.

[Kori Harpoon]

Thank you Comrade ibn-Adam. I'll take a look.

[Futuwwa]

There is no contradiction. I already told you that in the Islamic view, slavery isn't a license to do whatever you want to your slaves.

[sister herb]

Why do you repeat here about raping?

Do you understand that - though sex with slave is allowed - rape isn´t. Yes, man can has sex with slave woman but only if slave woman allows it. It´s same like in marriage: to man it isn´t allowed to rape his wife either.

More: http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/do...r_slave_girls_

[Kori Harpoon]

Why do you repeat here about raping?

Do you understand that - though sex with slave is allowed - rape isn´t. Yes, man can has sex with slave woman but only if slave woman allows it. It´s same like in marriage: to man it isn´t allowed to rape his wife either.

More: http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/do...r_slave_girls_

If a slave could say no to anything her master said that would be a first.

[AabiruSabeel]

Did you know that ‘Umar :ra: and his servant took it in turns to ride on the camel from Madina to Jerusalem on their journey to take control of Masjid al-Aqsa. While he was the head of the state, ‘Uthman :ra: had his servant pull his own ears in front of the people since he had pulled his. Abu Dharr :ra:, applying the hadith literally, made his servant wear one half of his suit while he himself wore the other half.

Read more at http://www.central-mosque.com/fiqh/slav1.htm

---

Ḥasan :ra:, The Slave, and the Jug

Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) had a slave and he asked the slave to pour him a glass of water. The slave dropped the jug, which fell on his foot. The slave sees that Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) is upset, as is only expected. In order to diffuse the situation, the slave quotes part of the above āyah, “who swallow anger” and then Ḥasan says immediately “I swallowed my anger.” So the slave thinks that this is as good of an opportunity as ever, and the slave continues to the next part of the āyah and says “who forgive people” and then Ḥasan said to the slave, “I forgive you.” The slave persists and completes the āyah, telling Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) that “Allah loves those who do good to others” (also a meaning of “ihsān”).

And then Ḥasan :ra: said “Go, you're free.”

…………………………………………� �…………………………………………� ��………………………………………… ………………………………

This beautiful story from the life of Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) is one that most obviously is a story about controlling anger, but it made me think about a few other points, which I will discuss below.

First, look at the level of Islamic education that was not only available but attained by all people in society. The slave, from the lowest possible strata of society, was the one who had this knowledge of the āyah so down, to the point where it was the slave himself who reminded Ḥasan (RA) of this āyah, and he was the son of one of the best teachers you could ever have prayed for, 'Ali (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu).

Second, notice the immediacy of the practical attitude that the ṣaḥābi had towards the Qurʾān. They learned it and applied it in their lives and they knew it to so well that it simply popped into their minds. They didn't just keep the Qurʾān on a shelf wrapped in a pretty cover, or even memorize it and carry around a pocket-size mushaf…they actually lived by the Qurʾān. It was internalized so much that it was the first thing that they would think of. How many times in our own lives has there been an instance, any instance, in which an āyah pops into our heads?

Third, the Qurʾān was more than just a theory for them, it was practice. As soon as the slave reminded Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) a part of the ayah which is describing the people of Jannah, he immediately acts according to Allah's descriptions of these people. This is an example in which “We hear and we obey” does not even fully explain the level of submission that these people had towards their Master, Creator, and Sustainer. We spend hours, days, weeks, months, even years, to finally come to the point where we are ready to accept something that Allah has commanded us to do in the Qurʾān.
Now look at the example of Ḥasan -(raḍyAllāhu 'anhu)–as soon as the instance presented itself in which these 3 things (swallowing anger, pardoning people, and doing good to others) could be applied came, he applies them without a second thought! And Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) doesn't just go halfway or shoot for hitting the minimal, he strives to maximize and excel. Sometimes we think, at least I'm covering my hair, who cares about dressing in loose-fitting clothes; or I'm praying the 5 farḍ prayers on time everyday, doing the sunnah and nawafil prayers are too much to ask. Look at how far Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) went– he freed his slave.

Fourth, observe the relationship between the slave and Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu), especially Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu)'s incredible humility. Firstly, Hassan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) does not explode when the slave drops the jug on his foot. Imagine that was you and a waiter just spilled a jug of water on you, let alone dropped the whole thing, jug and all, on your foot. What would our reaction be? How angry would we be? This is not just a waiter, this is his slave.
Furthermore, Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) is so humble that he is actually able to listen to the slave. Imagine again a circumstance between a parent and a child who's at the college age. The parent is doing something and the child decides to advise them in a certain way according to something they've studied or an understanding that they might have. How willing would the parent be to listen to the child? And even if he listened, how much would he listen? Especially if the child had just committed an offense against him (like dropping a jug on his foot) or if the parent was angry with the child for some reason. Or imagine this situation between the president of the MSA and a freshman, or the masjid board and some poor, zealous teenager in the Youth Group, or even a ruler and a peasant. Would we expect any of these people to respect what the lower person advised them or reminded them of? No, we wouldn't. Honestly, we would probably expect that it would make the person even more upset. Yet we see Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) listening to his slave. It makes me not only think about how down to earth he must have been, but also how earnest he was to please Allah that it in the end, to him it didn't matter WHO was delivering the message of Allah, all that mattered was that the message itself was ultimately Allah's. Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu) looked past the person and focused on the content. Many times we will refuse to listen to someone because of our supposed superiority over them (whether it be in social status, education, wealth, or even “religiosity”) or because they have wronged us in some way. Our pride will get in the way of us listening to others and therefore we are the ones who cut ourselves off from benefiting from them, whether they are good or bad people and have treated us well or poorly.
I pray that I will one day soon be at the level where I have a grasp of the Qurʾān like the slave and the submission, passion to strive for excellence, and humility of Ḥasan (raḍyAllāhu 'anhu). This story really showed to me a concrete example of how difficult it would be to find a person who fits all 3 qualities of swallowing anger, lovingly pardoning others, and doing good to others and in turn how difficult it would be to qualify for a such a high level of Jannah.
May Allah make us of those people. ameen.


Taken from http://muslimmatters.org/2012/01/05/...e-and-the-jug/

[Kori Harpoon]

I know there are times where the slave actually had a human in charge of them. I know that. But most of the time and I really mean most slaves were treated badly...anywhere. Now those who were Muslim or claimed to be Muslism when they did mistreat their slave one may say that they are not real Muslims. You may very well be right. But I quoted your Holy Book it says what it says.

[MuslimInshallah]

Greetings Kori,

Mmm... I think you might find the following sayings of the Prophet Mohammed of interest:


Narrated Al-Ma'rur:
At Ar-Rabadha I met Abu Dhar who was wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a similar one. I asked about the reason for it. He replied, "I abused a person by calling his mother with bad names." The Prophet said to me, 'O Abu Dhar! Did you abuse him by calling his mother with bad names You still have some characteristics of ignorance. Your slaves are your brothers and Allah has put them under your command. So whoever has a brother under his command should feed him of what he eats and dress him of what he wears. Do not ask them (slaves) to do things beyond their capacity (power) and if you do so, then help them.' "

حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ وَاصِلٍ الأَحْدَبِ، عَنِ الْمَعْرُورِ، قَالَ لَقِيتُ أَبَا ذَرٍّ بِالرَّبَذَةِ، وَعَلَيْهِ حُلَّةٌ، وَعَلَى غُلاَمِهِ حُلَّةٌ، فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ إِنِّي سَابَبْتُ رَجُلاً، فَعَيَّرْتُهُ بِأُمِّهِ، فَقَالَ لِيَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " يَا أَبَا ذَرٍّ أَعَيَّرْتَهُ بِأُمِّهِ إِنَّكَ امْرُؤٌ فِيكَ جَاهِلِيَّةٌ، إِخْوَانُكُمْ خَوَلُكُمْ، جَعَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَحْتَ أَيْدِيكُمْ، فَمَنْ كَانَ أَخُوهُ تَحْتَ يَدِهِ فَلْيُطْعِمْهُ مِمَّا يَأْكُلُ، وَلْيُلْبِسْهُ مِمَّا يَلْبَسُ، وَلاَ تُكَلِّفُوهُمْ مَا يَغْلِبُهُمْ، فَإِنْ كَلَّفْتُمُوهُمْ فَأَعِينُوهُمْ ".
End hadith
Reference
: Sahih al-Bukhari 30
In-book reference
: Book 2, Hadith 23
USC-MSA web (English) reference
: Vol. 1, Book 2, Hadith 30
(deprecated numbering scheme)
http://sunnah.com/bukhari/2/23

Shu'ba said, "Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said to me, 'What is your name?' I replied, 'Shu'ba.' He said, 'Abu Shu'ba related to me that when Suwayd ibn Muqarrin al-Muzani saw a man strike his slave, he said. 'Do you not know that the face is forbidden? In the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, we were seven brothers and we only had one servant. Then one of us slapped him (sic.) and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded that we set him free.'"


حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ مَرْزُوقٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا شُعْبَةُ قَالَ لِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُنْكَدِرِ: مَا اسْمُكَ؟ فَقُلْتُ: شُعْبَةُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو شُعْبَةَ، عَنْ سُوَيْدِ بْنِ مُقَرِّنٍ الْمُزَنِيِّ، وَرَأَى رَجُلاً لَطَمَ غُلاَمَهُ، فَقَالَ: أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ الصُّورَةَ مُحَرَّمَةٌ؟ رَأَيْتُنِي وَإِنِّي سَابِعُ سَبْعَةِ إِخْوَةٍ، عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، مَا لَنَا إِلاَّ خَادِمٌ، فَلَطَمَهُ أَحَدُنَا، فَأَمَرَنَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ نُعْتِقَهُ.End hadith
Grade
: Sahih (Al-Albani)صـحـيـح (الألباني)

حكم :

Reference
: Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 179
In-book reference
: Book 9, Hadith 24
English translation
: Book 9, Hadith 179
http://sunnah.com/adab/9/24

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
None of you should say: My bondman and my slave-girl, for all of you are the bondmen of Allah, and all your women are the slave-girls of Allah; but say: My servant, my girl, and my young man and my young girl.

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ أَيُّوبَ، وَقُتَيْبَةُ، وَابْنُ، حُجْرٍ قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ جَعْفَرٍ - عَنِ الْعَلاَءِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لاَ يَقُولَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ عَبْدِي وَأَمَتِي . كُلُّكُمْ عَبِيدُ اللَّهِ وَكُلُّ نِسَائِكُمْ إِمَاءُ اللَّهِ وَلَكِنْ لِيَقُلْ غُلاَمِي وَجَارِيَتِي وَفَتَاىَ وَفَتَاتِي " .
End hadith
Reference
: Sahih Muslim 2249 a
In-book reference
: Book 40, Hadith 13
USC-MSA web (English) reference
: Book 27, Hadith 5591
(deprecated numbering scheme)
http://sunnah.com/muslim/40/13


May God, Who Knows, Protect us from the ignorance of thinking that we can ignore the dignity of any human being.

[Futuwwa]

If a slave could say no to anything her master said that would be a first.

God is above your notions of what slavery implies.

[sister herb]

I know there are times where the slave actually had a human in charge of them. I know that. But most of the time and I really mean most slaves were treated badly...anywhere. Now those who were Muslim or claimed to be Muslism when they did mistreat their slave one may say that they are not real Muslims. You may very well be right. But I quoted your Holy Book it says what it says.

We see it´s better to leave kind of matters to Allah only like judging who is real Muslim and who is not. Allah knows the best.

Prophet Muhammad said:

“If a man addresses his brother as, ‘O’ Disbeliever’ (Kaafir) it returns to one of them; either it is as he said or it returns to him.”

Sahih Bukhari 10/427 and Sahih Muslim 60, Narrated by Ibn Umar

This means that if a Muslim calls a Muslim a Kaafir, then one of them is a Kaafir but it is not the one who is being accused but rather the one who is making the judgement.

Source: https://themeaningofislam.wordpress....-judge-people/

Quoting few lines from the Quran isn´t very much. You also should understand the entity to which they relate and understand their meaning.

[MuslimInshallah]

But I quoted your Holy Book it says what it says.

Hello again Kori,

(smile) What it says is that a man can have sexual relations with a woman who is part of his household, and who is not legally married to him. It doesn't say he can rape her. There is a difference. (sigh) But there are definitely men who call themselves Muslim who rape and abuse women. And there are those that will take snippets from the Qur'an to justify their wrongdoing.

(sad) Those who want to do wrong will always try to justify themselves in one way or another.


May God, the Just, bring the wrongdoers to account.

[TMGuide]

I am not sure what your question is exactly but slaves have many rights in Islam, the quran proof they used does not justify rape it actually shows the slave woman/girls right to be treated just like the spouse. (they are free from blame. But whoever seeks beyond that) meaning, other than a wife or slave girl, (then those are the transgressors.) Both wife and slave are mentioned equally because if a man seeks relations with anyone other than them, than he has transgressed.
Slave (woman/girls) are referred to as, The ‘Right hand woman ’ ' right hand possessions' signifies that which is ‘blessed’ which supports you (In Islam everything good is done with right hand i.e eating, greeting and in the hereafter those who get their books by their right hand are the ones who will enter heaven).
One of the rights a slave woman has is that her children are born free, they can inherit money from the father and slaves can also buy themselves from their master and be free.

(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 servants as seek a writing (of emancipation), give them such writing, if you find that there is good and honesty in them. And give them something (yourselves) out of the wealth of Allah which He has bestowed upon you. And force not your slave-girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, in order that you may make a gain in the goods of this worldly life. But if anyone compels them, then after such compulsion, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) Ibn Abi Talhah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "If you do that (force them into prostitution), then Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful, and their sin will be on the one who forced them to do that. Source

As for the punishment than there are many hadith's and it is also mentioned in the quran that that Allah will deal with those who mistreat others.

[Search]

:bism:

I appreciate your concern and care for humanity and women. However, as a person who used to be agnostic/atheist, I can honestly tell you that many of the things that probably form the crux of outright rejection for contemporary non-Muslims are probably what led me to appreciate the perfection of Islam. Others have beautifully explained to you and quoted to you various sources, which I think explains the subject matter well. I agree with you that any type of slavery is oppression, and it is with this understanding that Islam came to remove jahiliyyah (ignorance) from people but prescribed a way to rid the society of the evil that had become rooted in society as a way of life without having the society experience economic collapse. For example, during the Civil War, after slavery was abolished overnight with the war won, the South experienced an economic collapse. The economic collapse negatively affected both the slaves and previously people who were slave masters.

In regards to right hand possessions, I think you're conflating the type of evil or injustice that is possible to occur with the idea that such evil or justice will occur naturally as a consequence of the permissiblity given. I'm not saying that the practice does not have potential for abuse, but that is true with any permissibility. For example, in the United States, EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) allows certain qualified peoples to receive benefits. Is there potential for abuse with this system? Yes. That said, the availability of the benefit in itself does not encourage abuse, but some people will abuse the system for their own ill-intentioned gain or selves.

Perhaps you did not have a chance to peruse the link provided within the post that I'd originally quoted, which is why I'm referencing the link within here as a quote:

Wa alaykum salaam waramatullah wabarakatuh!

Dear sister Julia, thanks for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

You are right. Islam forbade slavery for it is the religion that gives rights of individuals, males or females. It made this as clear as daylight, many centuries ago, before the slogan of “human rights” came to be known to the Westerners.

Slavery was not initiated by Islam, it had been in practice long before the advent of Islam. As we know, it’s the custom of war to have captives and those captives or prisoners used to be turned into slaves and concubines by their masters. This was not the case only in the pre-Islamic Arab regions, but it was there every other place.
It was even worse in some societies, especially with women. She was subject to all kinds of injustice, oppression and barbarian treatment. This went as far as that Greeks used to consider her a mere commodity, to be bought and sold. As for Romans, she was a slave already by nature, even without being captured at war!

In short, Islam is not the religion that jeopardizes the rights of woman, as Western scholars would have us believe, concocting any ideas to distort the image of Islam. Was it Islam that considered woman as being responsible for the banishing of man from Paradise? Was it Islam that took women as being the cause of all evils or regarded her as serpents? Was it in Islam that a meeting was held to debate whether woman could be regarded as a human being or not? No! This took place in France in 587 C.E. Actually all this was the norm of the day in the past Western civilizations. Yes, it was also the habit in the pre-Islamic Arab, when female babies used to be buried alive.

When Islam came, it tried to put an end to all such inhumane practices. It left no stone unturned in its quest to let women have their rights and dignity restored. This is clearly manifest in the way Islam handled the issue of slavery. Right from the start, Islam set a goal to eradicate this barbaric system. Yet, it needed to be done gradually, as the case with all bad habits that have gained ground. People never give up easily!

So, first of all it confined the issue of taking captives to the period of warfare. This is just as a situation necessitated by hostility between warring states. Then it allowed the female captives to be married by their captors. But why? Does this mean giving men a golden chance to unleash their sexual desires or to sexually brutalize those captives? No, not at all!

Here lies certain wisdom that completely escapes the mind of those Western scholars, who take this issue to launch attacks against Islam.

As we know, after the end of hostility, it’s the norm that prisoners of war be freed and exchanged through mutual agreement between the parties. Islam has made this clear in its divine texts that the captives must be freed through ransom or without ransom. Also, it’s socially understood that marrying freed female captives, would normally secure their rights, more than would be the case if they were set free without any guarantee for survival or for preserving their dignity.

Thus, Islam gave them hope of survival, trying to prevent their becoming prostitutes. In fact, they would have definitely found it hard to find suitors, even from among their free male counterparts, who’d suspect them of being ravished by their captors. Though glimmer it may be in the beginning, this hope soon turned glittering by securing them a marital home, whereby their rights and dignity would be secured.

Here comes the issue of “ma malakat aimanukum” (what your right hands possess). This is mentioned in many verses in the Quran, like the following:

{If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess: And God hath full knowledge about your faith. Ye are one from another: Wed them with the leave of their owners, and give them their dowers, according to what is reasonable: ...}

Surah 4 Verse 25

This verse confirms what I have just said; opening the door for female slaves or captives to be married by destitute Muslims who cannot afford the dowry of free women. Notice here that the Quran uses the expression “what your right hands.” What is the significance of this expression?

The word “right hands” here refers to women taken as prisoners of war. It is by no means an implication of concubinage, for this is totally prohibited in Islam. Nor does it refer to purchasing female slaves from market to be used to satisfy sexual urge. It’s during warfare that the right hand actually takes possession of captives, and this is what the Quran means. That’s point number one.

Point number two is that, the word “right hands possess” also has another significance that clearly reflects the great concern Islam has for preserving the rights of those captives. As we know, the right hand has its special merit and privileged functions that man instinctively reserve for it. Imam Kurtubi, in his commentary on this verse, says: “Allah Almighty uses the word ‘right hand’ here for it denotes great honor and respect. It suffices that it’s the one used when referring to spending, as mentioned in the hadith ‘… he who provides charity (seeking only Allah’s reward) in a way that his left hand does not know what his right hand spends …’ And it is the very hand used in making pledge of allegiance … etc.”

All this indicates that the word “what your right hand possess” has a special and glorified meaning in Islamic usage. In fact, it signifies the great care and good treatment that captives or prisoners of wars should be accorded. This is how Islam dealt with the issue from the earliest stages.

All this did not materialize all of a sudden, for slavery was a social ailment that needed to be addressed. So it was a gradual strategy laid down by Islam, not only to eradicate slavery, but also to give the freed slaves a complete social rehabilitation. First of all, Islam stipulated that all masters should take care of their captives; they should not be overburdened with tasks, nor should they be deprived of their human rights. The Prophet (pbuh) made this clear in his hadith that masters should treat their slaves as their brothers and female captives as their sisters, if not in faith, at least in humanity. He said:

“Your servants are thy brethren. Allah has put them under your control. He could, if He willed, make you under their control. Thus, whoever has his brother under his control, let him feed him of his same food and dress him of his same dress. Never saddle them with work that goes beyond their capability. If the work happens to be somehow difficult, lend them a helping hand.”


As for female captives, Imam Bukhari quotes the Prophet, as saying:


“If any of you have a slave girl, whom he gives good education and excellent training, and then he emancipates her and marries her, he shall have a two-fold reward.”

You see; that’s how Islam set the course of emancipating slaves. They should definitely be well treated. Also, educating female captives and marrying them, after emancipation is considered an act of charity, which would earn one great reward. Not only that. Islam further put an end to the habit of using derogative names of “slaves” or “servants”. For in Islam, man must not show servitude to anyone besides Allah the Almighty. So it was stipulated that the captives should be addressed by “fatah” (boy) or “fatat” (girl). Besides, the act of emancipating slaves used to be a competitive work among the Prophet’s Companions, for it was highly recommended by Islam and was considered an act of worship.

What’s more, Islam has also made use of what was an international custom during that era; i.e. the custom of having intercourse with female captives. Here Islam stipulated that if through sexual intercourse, the female slave got pregnant from her master, she would automatically gain her freedom. So would her child, for he’d be born free then. What a wise approach to eliminate a bad habit! So it was not a means of unleashing sexual desires. Otherwise, it would have been something permanent, being pregnant would have availed the slave woman nothing, for she’d remain the property of her master no matter how. No, Islam was not after such a sensual and voluptuous goal.

Sister Julia, to cover all the aspects of humane treatment of slave women in Islam, it’d take volumes of books. So I think this brief remark will do for now.

For more information, you can check this link:

Does Islam Allow Slavery?

Islam is a holistic way of life, and that means that Islam deals with the reality of situations and reality of human nature as both rather than from a utopian perspective. Of course, it would be awesome if wars never happened. However, the reality is that wars do happen. In modern times, women on the opposing side are often raped and sold into prostitution, to which Amnesty International is often a witness. On the other hand, Islam specifically laid out guidelines for women's treatment within the context of war so that men knew they couldn't and shouldn't abuse, use, rape women or sell them into prostitution because of how they are to fear God in regards to these women with which they are entrusted in terms of upkeep and safety. There are so many hadiths (prophetic traditions) that talk about the honor that women are to be afforded by men and so many verses in the Quran that focus on how high heavenly ranks and honored distinction a pious, chaste, absentiminous woman can gain with the example of Mariam (also known as "Mary") alayhis salaam and others beautifully god-conscious like Asiya alayhis salaam, the wife of the cruel Pharoah. So, in this situation, as in others, women have been understood within Islam to be equal to men in terms of their spiritual consciousness, and the interest of men during the Caliphate to have non-Muslim bear witness to the beauty of Islam necessarily meant that limits were observed. Also, Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam had said that the best generations comprised of the generation of Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasallam and the two subsequent generations, and slavery was abolished itself during the time of Caliphate of Umar r.a. which was within some decades of the death of Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasallam, which is a greatly impressive feat considered the historical time in which they were living.

That sounds great but do I need to remind you I quoted the Qur'an and you didn't. Now does the Qur'an itself give more details on this subject? I'm talking about your Holy Book, not what someone else says. The absolute truth is ANY form of slavery is oppression. Period. A human beings status/class that not equal to another's is oppression. Period. One of the things that makes me feel so much shame at being human is our absolute willingness to treat other people horribly for status/class reasons. Yes there are exceptions. There have been slaves that have been treated in the realm that would be considered decent but far too few. I have so much empathy for others it's actually a bad thing I get overwhelmed with depression at all forms of injustice. I have a challenge for you. Why don't you become a right hand possession to a Muslim for 3 days?

[czgibson]

Greetings, Search,

I would like to address you on this topic, first because you seem to be an intelligent and reasonable person, and secondly because you have brought the following quote into the discussion:

Islam forbade slavery for it is the religion that gives rights of individuals, males or females. It made this as clear as daylight, many centuries ago, before the slogan of “human rights” came to be known to the Westerners.

This seems to me to be precisely the opposite of the truth.

Can you show me a verse (or any portion) of the Qur'an which condemns or forbids slavery?

If Islam forbade slavery and made this clear before human rights became known to the Westerners, why is it that some Muslim majority countries have taken so much longer than Western countries to abolish slavery?

Saudi Arabia, 1962
Yemen, 1962
Oman, 1970

Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan still practise slavery, and Islamic scripture is used as justification for this.

---

Peace

[sister herb]

post was edited

We humans can´t start to advice the God, what would be wise or what wouldn´t as we believe that the God knows all these things much better than we humans. There are the reasons why the God has allowed the slavery and why he has announced about it by this way as He has done in the Quran. All of this is just only because to protect us.

I also believe that misguided people, whose only purpose is to oppress others, would twist the words of the Quran, just same how they are expressed.

[Muhammad]

Greetings,

We have numerous threads about the concept of slavery in Islam. If people are serious in wishing to know about it, there are plenty of resources.

This seems to me to be precisely the opposite of the truth.

Can you show me a verse (or any portion) of the Qur'an which condemns or forbids slavery?

If Islam forbade slavery and made this clear before human rights became known to the Westerners, why is it that some Muslim majority countries have taken so much longer than Western countries to abolish slavery?

Saudi Arabia, 1962
Yemen, 1962
Oman, 1970

Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan still practise slavery, and Islamic scripture is used as justification for this

I know you were addressing Search, but I'll respond to this before closing the thread.

The issue is deeper than simply being about who abolished slavery and when (especially when there is ongoing slavery across the world). It is about vastly different attitudes towards slavery which is realised by going back to the actual teachings of Islam.

The Prophet :saws: said "If any of you have a slave girl, whom he gives good education and excellent training, and then he emancipates her and marries her, he shall have a two-fold reward." (Bukhari).

The Prophet :saws: also said: “They are your brothers whom Allaah has put under your authority, so if Allaah has put a person’s brother under his authority, let him feed him from what he eats and clothe him from what he wears, and let him not overburden him with work, and if he does overburden him with work, then let him help him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6050)

Clearly, we are talking about two incomparable concepts here, one being the usual depiction of cruel treatment of slaves and the other being the Islamic concept of treating slaves like a part of one's own family. With that in mind, the question of whether slavery is totally forbidden in Islam is irrelevant. What is worth pointing out is that you'll be hard pressed to find any text in the Qur’an or Sunnah which enjoins taking others as slaves, whereas there are dozens of texts in the Qur’an and the Sunnah which call for manumitting slaves and freeing them. This speaks volumes for those who are truly interested in learning how Islam approaches the topic of slavery.

There's no need to repeat former discussions so this one will now be closed.