Spotlight On Islam

Part 1 – Was Concubinage Allowed in Islam?

The Moral Collapse of Consent in the Qur’an and Sunnah

🔥 Introduction: Sex, Slaves, and Silence

Imagine this: A man buys a woman in a market, calls her his "property," and proceeds to have sex with her—without marriage, without ceremony, and without any need for her consent.

Now imagine this same man being described as the “best of creation”, the ultimate moral example for all mankind.

That man is Muhammad.

That religion is Islam.

And that act—sex with a slave woman you own—is not an anomaly. It’s explicitly permitted in the Qur’an, modeled by the Prophet himself, and codified in every major school of Islamic law for over 1,300 years.

This is not an attack. This is an audit.

We begin our series on Slavery, Concubinage, and Quranic Morality with the foundational question:
Did Islam allow concubinage?
And if so—is that morally defensible?

The answer, as you’ll see, is not only yes — but devastatingly so.

📖 Step 1: What the Qur’an Actually Says

Let’s go directly to the source. The Qur’an makes multiple direct references to sex with female slaves.

📌 Surah 4:24 – The Foundational Verse

“And [forbidden to you are] married women, except those your right hands possess. This is Allah’s decree upon you...”
— Surah An-Nisa 4:24

Translation after translation confirms it:

Married women are forbidden
Unless they are your “right hand possessions” (a euphemism for slaves)
In that case, even married female slaves may be lawfully used for sex

Let that sink in.

If a woman is married but captured in war and made a slave, her marriage is nullified — and her owner may sleep with her.

There is no mention of consent. None.

📌 Surah 23:5–6

“And they guard their private parts—except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they are not to be blamed.”
— Surah Al-Mu’minun 23:5–6

Here, the Qur’an says sexual access is lawful with wives or slave women.

No marriage. No nikah. Just ownership.

📌 Surah 70:29–30 – Identical Wording

“And those who guard their private parts, except with their wives and those their right hands possess, for [then] they are not blameworthy...”
— Surah Al-Ma’arij 70:29–30

This is not a rare or obscure doctrine. It is repeated, codified, and normalized throughout the Qur’an.

🧠 Step 2: What the Hadith Literature Confirms

If the Qur’an gives permission, the Hadith shows how it was implemented—often with shocking candor.

🔹 Sahih Muslim 3433:

“Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that at the Battle of Hunayn... [some men hesitated] to have intercourse with their female captives in the presence of their husbands. So Allah revealed: ‘And women already married, except those whom your right hands possess’...”

Let’s break that down:

These women were married
Their husbands were still alive
Yet they were considered lawful to the captors for sex
Muhammad affirms this by quoting Qur’an 4:24

This is not rape despite Islam. This is rape sanctioned by Islam.

📚 Step 3: What Classical Tafsir and Sharia Say

🧾 Tafsir al-Jalalayn on 4:24:

“It is lawful for you to have intercourse with [slave women] after they have had a menstrual cycle, even if they are married, for their marriage is annulled by captivity.”

🧾 Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 4:24:

“It is permissible to have sexual relations with female captives after confirming they are not pregnant... even if they are married.”

Note: This is not just theological theory. These were the legal rules governing sex slavery.

⚖️ Step 4: Sharia Law and Ownership of Women

The four Sunni madhhabs (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali) unanimously agreed:

A man has the right to have sex with his female slave, without her consent, and without marriage.

Key rule in Hanafi jurisprudence:

"Ownership replaces consent. There is no need for the slave’s permission."

Maliki school: The master may not be punished for sleeping with his slave woman. Her consent is not a factor in legal rulings.

Reliance of the Traveller (Shafi’i manual):

Sex with slave women is legal
If a man rapes a slave that he owns, he is not guilty of zina
If she is someone else’s slave, then he owes a fine to the owner, not punishment for rape

This is not metaphor, not poetry, not “cultural context.”
This is property law. Women were legally objects.

💣 Step 5: The Moral Implosion

Let’s now turn the question into a trap:

"So, are you saying that sex with a woman you own is morally acceptable—as long as you treat her well?"

If they say yes:

They’ve admitted rape is permissible under ownership
They’ve endorsed moral relativism: “It was okay back then”

If they say no:

They’ve condemned the Prophet
And rejected multiple Qur’anic verses (4:24, 23:6, 70:30)

This is not a trap based on trickery. It’s a trap built from Islam’s own framework.

🧱 Step 6: Muslim Apologetics — And Why They Fail

❌ “But Islam encouraged freeing slaves!”

Yes, it did. Just as it encouraged treating them kindly.
But it never outlawed the institution. It legitimized it.

Encouraging manumission is not the same as recognizing bodily autonomy or abolishing sexual violence.

❌ “But this was common in all societies at the time!”

True. But Islam claims:

To be the final revelation
The perfect guidance
And timeless in its application

You cannot excuse Islamic slavery by appealing to other cultures — and then claim Islamic morality is superior or divinely revealed.

❌ “But the Prophet never raped anyone!”

There is no record that he asked Maria the Copt for her consent. There is no record she was freed or married.

Silence is not consent — especially from a slave girl taken across the desert to live in a man’s house.

🔄 Step 7: The Trap in Action

Let’s walk through how this unfolds in debate:

You ask:

“Did Islam allow concubinage?”

They say:

“Yes, but it was regulated and humane.”

You follow up:

“So sex without consent is okay if regulated?”

Now they must either:

Defend rape-by-ownership, or
Condemn the Prophet and the Qur’an

Either way, they lose.

🧨 Final Verdict: The Moral Failure Is Built-In

Let’s be blunt.

Islam did allow concubinage. It legalized rape by redefining it as ownership. The Prophet himself participated. The Qur’an sanctioned it, and Islamic law codified it for 13 centuries.

You don’t need outside accusations.
You only need Islam’s own scriptures.

Any defense today amounts to:

Special pleading
Moral relativism
Or outright denial of the sources

And if your religion requires you to excuse non-consensual sex, then the problem isn’t with the critics.

The problem is with the religion.

⏭️ Coming Next in the Series…

Part 2: Did Muhammad Have Concubines?

We’ll examine the case of Maria al-Qibtiyya, the Prophet’s slave-concubine, and ask:
Was she a wife or a woman he used without her consent?
Get ready — the sources are clearer than many want to admit.