Concubines in Islamic Law
Islamic law (Sharia) contains detailed regulations governing concubinage—the practice of keeping female slaves for sexual purposes. Far from being a historical footnote, these laws remain part of classical Islamic jurisprudence across all major schools of law, codified in authoritative legal manuals that are still studied and respected today.
Legal Definition and Status
In Islamic law, a concubine (سُرِّيَّة, surriyya) is a female slave with whom her master has sexual relations. The Quran explicitly permits this practice:
"And those who guard their private parts except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed." (Quran 23:5-6)
The phrase "those their right hands possess" (ma malakat aymanukum) is the Quranic euphemism for slaves. This verse establishes that sexual relations with enslaved women are legally equivalent to marital relations—both are permissible and not considered fornication.
Acquisition of Concubines
Islamic law specifies how a man can lawfully acquire concubines:
"A man may have sexual intercourse with his concubine, for Allah Most High says, 'Or those their right hands possess' (Quran 23:6). A man may have relations with a slave girl if he owns her." (Reliance of the Traveller, m5.4)
Concubines could be acquired through:
- Capture in jihad warfare (as war booty)
- Purchase in the slave market
- Receiving them as gifts
- Inheritance from one's father (excluding those whom the father had sexual relations with)
"When a slave gives birth to her master's child, she becomes an 'umm walad' (mother of a child), and cannot be sold, though she remains enslaved until her master dies, at which point she becomes free." (Multiple sources in fiqh)
Rights of the Master
Islamic law grants the master extensive rights over his concubine:
"The master has the right to have sexual intercourse with his female slave who has been singled out for him through private property." (Reliance of the Traveller, o12.2)
The concubine cannot refuse her master's sexual demands:
"It is not permissible for the slave woman to refuse her master's requests unless she has a valid excuse such as menstruation, postnatal bleeding, or fasting a required fast." (Reliance of the Traveller, o12.4)
The master can have sexual relations with multiple concubines simultaneously, unlike wives (who are limited to four):
"A man can have sexual relations with an unlimited number of concubines." (Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni)
Dissolution of Prior Marriages
When a married woman is enslaved, her marriage is automatically dissolved:
"And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess." (Quran 4:24)
The classical tafsir (Quranic commentary) of Ibn Kathir explains:
"Also prohibited are women already married, except those whom your right hands possess (i.e., slaves). This means that when a woman is captured in war along with her husband, her marriage is annulled and she becomes lawful for the one who owns her."
This means that enslaving a woman severs her marriage bond, making her immediately available to her captor, even if her husband is still alive but also enslaved.
Treatment and Obligations
While Islamic law requires masters to provide food, clothing, and shelter to concubines, this does not constitute equality or dignity:
"The master must provide his slave with food and clothing and not burden him with work beyond his capacity." (Sahih Muslim 1661)
However, the concubine remains property. She can be given away as a gift (though not sold after bearing a child), and has no freedom of movement, occupation, or choice of sexual partners.
Children of Concubines
Children born to concubines have a unique legal status:
"A child born to a concubine is legitimate and equal in inheritance to children born to free wives." (Consensus across madhabs)
While this might seem progressive, it serves primarily to legitimize the master's children and preserve his lineage, not to honor the enslaved mother. Many prominent Muslims in history were children of concubines, including three of the four "Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Umar, Uthman, and Ali all had concubine mothers or fathered children with concubines).
Modern Legal Status
While slavery has been abolished in most Muslim-majority countries through secular law, classical Islamic jurisprudence has never been officially reformed or abrogated regarding concubinage. The legal rulings remain in authoritative texts:
"These rulings remain valid in Islamic jurisprudence, though their application is suspended due to the absence of legitimate slavery." (Contemporary fiqh position)
This means that if conditions arose where slavery became possible again under Islamic authority—as ISIS demonstrated in 2014—these laws would theoretically be reactivated. ISIS's enslaving and sexual exploitation of Yazidi women was not an innovation but an application of classical Islamic jurisprudence.
Apologetic Responses
Muslim apologists offer several defenses of concubinage:
Argument 1: "Islam improved the status of slaves." While Islam did introduce some protections, it fundamentally accepted and codified slavery, including sexual slavery. Improvement within an evil system does not make that system good.
Argument 2: "This was the norm for the time." If the Quran is eternal divine guidance, it should transcend its historical context. Allah could have prohibited slavery explicitly, as He did with alcohol and pork.
Argument 3: "The relationship could be consensual." A slave, by definition, cannot give meaningful consent to her owner. The power differential and threat of punishment make genuine consent impossible.
Argument 4: "These laws are no longer applicable." Yet they remain codified in fiqh manuals studied in Islamic universities today, and no major Islamic council has issued a definitive declaration that these verses no longer apply.
Biblical Contrast
The Bible's sexual ethic stands in stark contrast to Islamic concubinage. Sexual relations are confined exclusively to marriage between one man and one woman:
"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous." (Hebrews 13:4)
"But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2)
There is no provision in the New Testament for sexual relations with slaves, concubines, or any woman outside of marriage. When Jesus discussed sexual morality, He elevated rather than lowered the standard:
"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28)
Paul's teachings revolutionized the master-slave relationship by emphasizing spiritual equality:
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
This radical equality undermined the very foundations of slavery, providing the moral basis for the Christian abolitionist movement centuries later.
Questions to Consider
- Can a person owned as property give meaningful consent to sexual relations with her owner?
- If Allah is all-knowing and all-powerful, why did He permit sexual slavery rather than forbidding it?
- What does it say about a moral system that grants men unlimited sexual access to women they capture in war?
- Why do these laws remain codified in Islamic jurisprudence if they are morally wrong?
- How can Muslims claim moral superiority while defending a system that explicitly permits sexual slavery?
- If these laws were from a perfect, eternal God, why would they need to be suspended rather than explicitly abrogated?