Khalid Zaheer
“I am convinced about the veracity of my opinions, but I do consider it likely that they may turn out to be incorrect. Likewise, I am convinced about the incorrectness of the views different from mine, but I do concede the possibility that they may turn out to be correct.” — Imam Shafa’i
MORE Q/A

Why is courting of slave girls allowed to Muslim men but courting of slave men not allowed to Muslim women?

Question:
If it is mentioned in quran that a man is allowed to have sexual intimacy with thier wives as well as thier slave girls, doesnt it apply to any period of time as Quran is a instruction manual of living life uptill Judgementday? Even if it is not, doesnt this gives a back door to men to have sexual intimacy with women. What if a situation is created (hypothetically) in which there is war between two muslim countries and one wins over the other. Let's say there are slave women in that war and they are Muslim, so how does islam allow other muslim men to have those muslim women as slave girls? And what will be the fate of those women in the sight of Allah. Also, why were not women allowed to court with slave men just as men were allowed to court with slave women? If you think my questions are childish, please pardon me, I am sure you will appreciate that I am asking all this so that i can better understand it.

Response:
Deep-rooted traditions and systems do not disappear overnight. Slavery was one such institution. The Almighty rooted it out gradually. Overnight change would have caused more harm than good. Slave men would have become helpless beggars and slave women may have had to resort to prostitution to make a living. The change was therefore introduced in an intelligent, gradual way. In the meanwhile the change got fully implemented, the old ways were allowed.

Every word of the Qur'an is God's message for all times to come, but every injunction of the Qur'an is not applicable for all times. There are mentions in the Qur'an that were clearly applicable for the prophet's time alone, like for example the guidance that the prophet's wives cannot get married to anyone after his death is a stipulation that is not applicable to our times. Similar is the case with many of the mentions in the Qur'an on slavery. An objective reading of the Qur'n itself clarifies which injunctions of it are time barred and which of them are eternal.

Now that we know that prisoners of war have either got to be freed on payment of ransom or without asking for any compensation (Qur'an; 47:3), no prisoner of war, man or woman, can be enslaved. Moreover, Muslims are bound by the Almighty to honour all treaties they sign (Qur'an; 5:1). After having signed the treaty of Geneva Convention, all Muslim countries are bound to honour their commitment that they would repatriate the prisoners of war to their countries of origin.

Views: 842

 
 

 
 

If you experience problems accessing any area of this website, please e-mail webmaster@khalidzaheer.com