Ask the Imam -- Is it OK to have SEX with my SLAVES?

Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com) ^ | Oct 22,2002 | The Imam

[JohnathanRGalt]

Ask the Imam -- Is it OK to have SEX with my SLAVES? -- Can the master and slave have bodily contact and to what extent?

Question #26067: He hired a woman to serve him then he agreed with her that she would be his slave

Question:

Few years back, I needed a slave for comfort and support and to fulfill my jobs, I was able to pay the slave what they wanted and to comfort them too on their conditions. There was a Young Lady who agreed, on our conditions. My slave was only there when I needed her a bit like part employment she came over when I needed her and went away when not needed. We made a contract that she would serve me because she agreed and I agreed with my side.

Hence, this young lady still lives in her parents home and is not marries she agreed I be her master so it gives me the rights to touch her and look at her. We spent a lot of time together and I freed her from the contracts then got married together.

The point is that we get slaves from war time, but when will that come? Here she had agreed. And look after with the same standard of mine

Is there any haram element in this situation because the master only touched someone he owned, so this cannot be zinna.

-I would like to know the equities of slaves too
-How to you own a slave and what is the sharee condition?
-Can the master and slave have bodily contact and to what extent?
-Is there an age difference limit, i.e. they both can’t be same age?
-Can this kept secret or does everyone HAVE TO know?
-What is the minimum age the master and slave can be?
-IS SLAVES ARE ONLY AVAILABLE AT WAR-TIME, , IS THERE ANOTHER WAS OF OWNING A SLAVE?

Is it true our prophet (pbuh) owned many slaves, and called one ship?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.  

Some of the questions are repeated and interconnected. We will answer them all – in sha Allaah – in the following points. 

Firstly: 

What you did with the servant woman is haraam and is not permissible. A servant woman is not a slave woman whom it is permissible to touch and have intercourse with. A servant woman is free and is not permissible for you except through marriage, which is what you did, but unfortunately you did it late. 

The contract that existed between you and the servant woman was a contract of employment, which was to serve you in your house. It was not a contract that permitted you to have intercourse with her. You say that she agreed that you would be her master and she let you touch her and look at her, and that you freed her from the contract, but this has no basis of validity in sharee’ah in the sense that you refer to. A free woman cannot become a slave unless she is a kaafir woman from a state that is at war with the Muslims and the Muslims have captured her. This does not apply in the case which you are asking about. 

Secondly: 

Slaves (men and women) may be taken in the wars that take place between Muslims and kaafirs, not in wars that are fought amongst the Muslims at times of tribulation. 

Islam limited the sources of slaves which existed before the mission of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to just one source, namely slavery resulting from capturing prisoners from among the kuffaar, including women and children. 

Shaykh al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The reason why a person may be taken as a slave is his being a kaafir and waging war against Allaah and His Messenger. If Allaah enables the Muslims who are striving and sacrificing their lives and their wealth and all that Allaah has given them to make the word of Allaah supreme over the kaafirs, then He allows them to enslave the kuffaar when they capture them, unless the ruler chooses to free them or to ransom them, if that serves the interests of the Muslims. 

Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 3/387 

Thirdly: 

The mujaahideen take possession of slave women as they take possession of the spoils of war. It is permissible for the one who gains possession of male or female slaves to sell them. In both cases – owning a slave through battle or through purchase – it is not permissible for a man to have intercourse with a slave woman until after she has had one menstrual cycle from which it may be established that she is not pregnant. If she is pregnant, then he must wait until she has given birth. 

It was narrated that Ruwayfi’ ibn Thaabit al-Ansaari said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say on the day of Hunayn: “It is not permissible for any man who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to irrigate the crop of another else – meaning to have intercourse with a woman who is pregnant. And it is not permissible for a man who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to have intercourse with a captured woman until he has established that she is not pregnant. And it is not permissible for a man who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to sell any booty until it has been shared out.” 

Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2158; classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1890. 

Fourthly: 

It is permissible for there to be a physical relationship between a man and his female slave just as there is between a man and his wife, unless he marries her off  to someone else, in which case it is not permissible for him to have intercourse with her because it is not permissible for a woman to be in an intimate relationship with two men at the same time. 

Fifthly: 

There are no limits with regard to the age difference between a man and his female slave, apart from the fact that it is not permissible for him to have intercourse with her until after she has become able for that. 

Sixthly: 

The relationship between a man and his female slave should be announced publicly and not kept secret. That is because there are rulings that stem from this announcement, such as if they have children, and so as to ward off any suspicions that people who see them together may have concerning him and her. 

Seventhly: 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) owned some male and female slaves, among whom were the following: 

Ibn al-Qayyim said: 

Zayd ibn Haarithah ibn Shuraaheel, the beloved of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He freed him and arranged his marriage to his freed slave woman Umm Ayman, and she bore him Usaamah. His other slaves include Aslam, Abu Raafi’, Thawbaan, Abu Kabshah Sulaym, Shaqraan (whose name was Saalih), Rabaah (who was Nubian), Yassaar (who was also Nubian and was killed by the ‘Arniyeen); Mid’am and Kirkirah (another Nubian) – these two were killed at Khaybar. They also included Anjashah al-Haadi and Safeenah ibn Farookh, whose real name was Mihraan, but the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called him Safeenah (= “ship”) because they used to make him carry their luggage when they traveled, so he said, “You are a ship (anta safeenah).” Abu Haatim said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) freed him; someone else said that Umm Salamah freed him. The Prophet’s slaves also included Anasah, whose nickname was Abu Mashrah; Aflah; ‘Ubayd; Tahmaan – also known as Keesaan; Dhakwaan; Mihraan; Marwaan – although it was said that this was another name of Tahmaan, and Allaah knows best; Hunayn; Sandar; Fudaalah (who was Yemeni); Maaboor (who was a eunuch); Waaqid; Abu Waaqid; Qassaam; Abu ‘Usayb and Abu Muwayhabah.  

His female slaves included: Salma (Umm Raafi’); Maymoonah bint Sa’d; Khadrah; Radwa; Razeenah; Umm Dameerah; Maymoonah bint Abi ‘Usayb; Maariyah and Rayhaanah. 

Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/114-116 

Eighthly: 

It is rare nowadays to find slaves in the shar’i sense in which it is permissible to be intimate with them etc. That is because most of the Muslims have long since given up the obligation of jihad for the sake of Allaah, in addition to their position of weakness and humiliation before their kaafir enemies, so that many of the majority-Muslim nations have signed the protocol that expressly forbids slavery and strives to put an end to it, which was agreed upon in the United Nations in 1953. 

Based on that we must be very careful in examining any case where people are bought and sold as slaves, and we must also beware of the misinterpretation of the word amah (pl. imaa’) (= slave woman) which some new Muslims understand to mean that enslavement takes place simply by paying the woman some money and agreeing to have intercourse with her. This is like prostitution which is now widespread in some immoral places, night clubs and telephone sex services. 

We ask Allaah to help us and you to be patient with regard to matters of our religion and to protect us from falling into evil. 

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)

[weegee]

There are plenty of questions to the Imam about passing wind. I think it has something to do with the diet.

[FITZ]

You have to wonder why certain black Americans would be attracted to this religion which still practices slavery.

[weegee]

Dig a little deeper and you will find some of the Imam's answers mention "actual jihad" and that this is indeed war.

[weegee]

What about traffic cones, I mean if they are really sexy...

Court told of sex with traffic cone

[weegee]

You have to wonder why these same people deny that slavery still exists in the Sudan.

[Revolting cat!]

Is Ask Imam syndicated in the US? Well, he should be, along with Blondie, Garry Trudeau, Ann Landers and Dear Abby. Americans have a lot to learn. To quote another thread "the public has a right to know"!

[weegee]

Developing morality would imply that things are changing. I don't see it. There are those who believe that they follow a tolerant Islam but when they ask the Imam at these sites, they are directed back to the fold of traditional Islam.

[isthisnickcool]

Like some sick and twisted Ghepetto, Islam carves it's little wooden puppets in it's workshop called the Mosque.

[John Lenin]

You have to wonder why certain black Americans would be attracted to this religion which still practices slavery.

My vote for Quote of the Day !

[weegee]

The advice seems spot on with Dear Abby Landers, if it were printed in the paper everyday people would read it.

[Lael]

You have to wonder why certain black Americans would be attracted to this religion which still practices slavery.

African slaves took two routes out of Africa...the so called Middle Passage, and the Trans Sahara route to the Middle Eastern Islamic States. More slaves by far took the Trans Sahara Route.

Question...how is it that the Black population of the Western Hemisphere is significant, yet the Black population of the Middle East is trivial???

Answer...Most of the slaves sent to the Middle East were destined to be household slaves, and, er...Males just wouldn't do. So, certain physical alterations were deemed necessary. Black males weren't allowed in the Haram (technically a Zananna), so the Arabs employed "people of the Book" to emasculate them [the Holy Qu'ran strictly disapproves of human castration, but is tolerates the employment of Eunuchs].

BTW, the Imam's points about Jihad as how a Moslem [ I prefer the original spelling] directly acquires a slave to be correct. But note well, any other slave he acquires (through purchase or gift) must already be a slave. Hence, it required that the slaves have been already enslaved in Africa prior to the sale.

When Europeans became involved, they were not enslaving Africans, they were purchasing the already enslaved. This is an important distinction.

[AlaskaErik]

Question: I read that white discharge breaks the wazu, but most women have this discharge all the time. Like this we will not be able to pray.

Answer: a woman has a white discharge all the time, she will be a Ma'zoor. Kindly refer attached 'Laws Pertaining to the Ma'zur'.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

I've heard of having money out the wazu, but never a white discharge!

[xJones]

The fascinating part is that this is even a serious question that someone would want an answer to! It shows how ridiculous these people are.

'Wake, there seems to be a fatwa (ruling) on just about everything. I've read Muslims asking the imams how to go to the bathroom correctly. For instance, if you're afraid of jinn (devils) attacking you in the bathroom (or wherever you are relieving yourself) you can't pray to Allah while doing that, so there's a special prayer of protection before you enter that area. Or, for instance, here's this very recent question: " Passing Urine While Standing: Is It Permissible? ". They ask the most childlike questions sometimes.

[FITZ]

The Muslims even have to ask how to clean their noses and for some reason there's a special way because they think the devil gets up in their noses at night.

[wideawake]

Interesting. Orthodox Jews have very similar structures for dealing with questions (although their questions are quite different and relate to human behavior).

I'm a Catholic and have done extensive study into the disputations of our medieval theologians - while they might have argued about whether an angel was a separate substance and therefore indivisible by genus into species, they never tackled such topics as praying while on the thunderbox.

[Woahhs]

Do you think the LORD thought slavery was a bad thing? Or was it just a phase we had to go through to grow up? Since the LORD of the Jews, Muslims, and Christians stolerated slavery why should we pay reparations? Interested people want to know.

One thing I learned long ago...when discussing subjects across cultural/religious lines you MUST define your terms!

A quick read of the Bible where "slaves" are discussed will show the reader the biblical concept of slavery would be better described as "contract employment" in today's terms. (It was neither permanent, nor absolute) That as opposed to the "chattle slavery" practiced in Islamic circles and early America.

Now I can't say if early Israelis actually practiced the biblical version of slavery, just as they ignored the "sabbath for the land" for so long, but that's not the Bible's fault.

The short answer to your question is...depends on how you're defining "slavery."

BTW...what makes you think we're "grown up?"

[Lael]

BTTT!!!

[429CJ]

irrigate the crop of another? Boy that Profit had a way with words.

[drb9]

I particularly like reason #8, where the sheik attributes the infrequency of slavery to the Muslim states' "position of weakness and humiliation before their kaafir enemies."

In other words, we keep losing our wars, so can't get any slaves.

[Sungirl]

To: Sungirl

,,, I have a buyer here who wants to look you over.

28 posted on 10/22/02 10:01 PM Eastern by shaggy eel

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Hi...what is this supposed to mean?