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Slavery in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions
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Slavery was a widespread institution in antiquity and a major topic of Islamic legal jurisprudence, which addressed matters of buying and selling slaves, rights of owners including sexual relations, marriage, and many other facets. The two legitimate sources of slaves agreed upon by the Ulama were captives taken in war, and children born to slaves (unless the slave-owner was the father), though in practice various other means of slave acquisition occurred. The Quran assumes the existence of slavery and grants sexual access to slave owners, including for the prophet himself to enjoy from among the war-captives, as well as control over their marital status. It commands the capture of slaves during battle, though also their ransom or release after the war, and encourages owners to grant contracts by which virtuous slaves may purchase their freedom, a practice also found in other late antique cultures. Largely as a result of pressure from colonial powers as well as economic and demographic changes, slavery was eventually made illegal throughout the Muslim world in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is now considered forbidden in the modern context by most scholars, though a minority argue that slavery remains Islamically legitimate.<ref>"Although the vast majority of contemporary Muslims agree that there is no place for slavery in the modern world, and some nineteenth and twentieth-century reformers such as Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan opposed the practice, the pressure to abolish slavery generally came from some combination of European colonial powers and economic and demographic shifts [...] Although abolition did eventually occur, there was not a strong internally developed critique of slaveholding based in religious principles."<BR />Kecia Ali, Sexual Ethics and Islam, London: Oneworld Publications, 2006, pp. 42 ff.</ref> | Slavery was a widespread institution in antiquity and a major topic of Islamic legal jurisprudence, which addressed matters of buying and selling slaves, rights of owners including sexual relations, marriage, and many other facets. The two legitimate sources of slaves agreed upon by the Ulama were captives taken in war, and children born to slaves (unless the slave-owner was the father), though in practice various other means of slave acquisition occurred. The Quran assumes the existence of slavery and grants sexual access to slave owners, including for the prophet himself to enjoy from among the war-captives, as well as control over their marital status. It commands the capture of slaves during battle, though also their ransom or release after the war, and encourages owners to grant contracts by which virtuous slaves may purchase their freedom, a practice also found in other late antique cultures. Largely as a result of pressure from colonial powers as well as economic and demographic changes, slavery was eventually made illegal throughout the Muslim world in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is now considered forbidden in the modern context by most scholars, though a minority argue that slavery remains Islamically legitimate.<ref>"Although the vast majority of contemporary Muslims agree that there is no place for slavery in the modern world, and some nineteenth and twentieth-century reformers such as Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan opposed the practice, the pressure to abolish slavery generally came from some combination of European colonial powers and economic and demographic shifts [...] Although abolition did eventually occur, there was not a strong internally developed critique of slaveholding based in religious principles."<BR />Kecia Ali, Sexual Ethics and Islam, London: Oneworld Publications, 2006, pp. 42 ff.</ref> | ||
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====War captives and children born into slavery as the legitimate sources==== | ====War captives and children born into slavery as the legitimate sources==== | ||
It is commonly claimed that in Islam only war captives may be enslaved. However, this is not entirely correct. In his detailed academic book ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'' Wiliam Gervase Clarence-Smith writes of the Sunni compromise on slavery determined by 800 CE, "One mode of enslavement was the capture of obdurate infidels in holy war. The other was birth to a slave mother, unless she was a concubine whose master acknowledged paternity."<ref> | It is commonly claimed that in Islam only war captives may be enslaved. However, this is not entirely correct. In his detailed academic book ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'' Wiliam Gervase Clarence-Smith writes of the Sunni compromise on slavery determined by 800 CE, "One mode of enslavement was the capture of obdurate infidels in holy war. The other was birth to a slave mother, unless she was a concubine whose master acknowledged paternity."<ref>{{Citation|title=Islam and the Abolition of Slavery|page=22|publisher=Oxford University Press|ISBN=978-0-19-522151-0|author=William Gervase Clarence-Smith|year=2006}}</ref> | ||
As noted above, the Quran itself only mentions acquisition of slaves as captives resulting from battle. These were an important part of the [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Booty|war booty]] resulting from the defeat of disbelievers.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/508/1/uk_bl_ethos_443314.pdf|title=The legal and social status of women in the Hadith literature (PDF)|author=Salma Saad|page=242|year=1990}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MC0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17|title=Islamic Jurisprudence on the Regulation of Armed Conflict: Text and Context|author=Nesrine Badawi (1 October 2019)|page=17|publisher=BRILL|ISBN=978-90-04-41062-6}}</ref> | As noted above, the Quran itself only mentions acquisition of slaves as captives resulting from battle. These were an important part of the [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and Booty|war booty]] resulting from the defeat of disbelievers.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/508/1/uk_bl_ethos_443314.pdf|title=The legal and social status of women in the Hadith literature (PDF)|author=Salma Saad|page=242|year=1990}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MC0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17|title=Islamic Jurisprudence on the Regulation of Armed Conflict: Text and Context|author=Nesrine Badawi (1 October 2019)|page=17|publisher=BRILL|ISBN=978-90-04-41062-6}}</ref> | ||
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====Other sources of slaves in practice==== | ====Other sources of slaves in practice==== | ||
'''Tributes and slave trading'''<BR /> | '''Tributes and slave trading'''<BR /> | ||
In practice, though without reference to the Quran, hadiths, nor founders of the legal schools, many slaves were acquired as tribute from non-Muslim states (a precedent was an annual tribute from Nubia, which probably began in the 8th century CE though was claimed to date to the mid 7th), and by purchase. Clarence-Smith writes, "Purchase, alledgedly first permitted by the Umayyad Caliph Mu'awiya (r. 661-680), probably yielded the largest number of slaves. He also notes that "Ibn Taymiyya permitted Muslims to purchase debt slaves from infidels who had no covenant with Muslims." and notes various places where this type of slave-purchase was practiced, as well as purchasing as slaves those who had been condemned for various types of misconduct.<ref> | In practice, though without reference to the Quran, hadiths, nor founders of the legal schools, many slaves were acquired as tribute from non-Muslim states (a precedent was an annual tribute from Nubia, which probably began in the 8th century CE though was claimed to date to the mid 7th), and by purchase. Clarence-Smith writes, "Purchase, alledgedly first permitted by the Umayyad Caliph Mu'awiya (r. 661-680), probably yielded the largest number of slaves. He also notes that "Ibn Taymiyya permitted Muslims to purchase debt slaves from infidels who had no covenant with Muslims." and notes various places where this type of slave-purchase was practiced, as well as purchasing as slaves those who had been condemned for various types of misconduct.<ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', pp. 31-33</ref> | ||
A number of hadiths mention Muhammad himself purchasing and selling his own slaves or occasionally on behalf of others, though not as a professional slave trader (see [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Slavery]]). The Ulama failed to condemn slave-trading, though the occupation was often held to be reprehensible according to Clarence-Smith.<ref>Ibid. pp. 34-35</ref> | A number of hadiths mention Muhammad himself purchasing and selling his own slaves or occasionally on behalf of others, though not as a professional slave trader (see [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Slavery]]). The Ulama failed to condemn slave-trading, though the occupation was often held to be reprehensible according to Clarence-Smith.<ref>Ibid. pp. 34-35</ref> | ||
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Non-Muslim residents of an Islamic state who failed to pay [[Jizyah|jizya]] or broke their contract with the state could also be enslaved according to some scholars.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyZ-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|title=Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and its Demise 1800-1909|author=Y. Erdem (20 November 1996)|page=26|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|ISBN=978-0-230-37297-9}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3VoBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|title=Muslim and Christian Contact in the Middle Ages: A Reader|author=Jarbel Rodriguez (2015)|page=2|publisher=University of Toronto Press|ISBN=978-1-4426-0066-9}}</ref><ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', p. 39</ref> | Non-Muslim residents of an Islamic state who failed to pay [[Jizyah|jizya]] or broke their contract with the state could also be enslaved according to some scholars.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyZ-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|title=Slavery in the Ottoman Empire and its Demise 1800-1909|author=Y. Erdem (20 November 1996)|page=26|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|ISBN=978-0-230-37297-9}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3VoBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2|title=Muslim and Christian Contact in the Middle Ages: A Reader|author=Jarbel Rodriguez (2015)|page=2|publisher=University of Toronto Press|ISBN=978-1-4426-0066-9}}</ref><ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', p. 39</ref> | ||
=== | ===Manumission of slaves=== | ||
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Slavery}} | {{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Slavery}} | ||
The Quran presents the freeing of slaves as a virtuous act ({{Quran|2|177}}, {{Quran-range|90|12|17}}) as well as an expiation for certain sins ({{Quran|4|92}}, {{Quran|5|89}}). Hadiths add that slaves should be freed if they are slapped in the face or beaten without good cause. | The Quran presents the freeing of slaves as a virtuous act ({{Quran|2|177}}, {{Quran-range|90|12|17}}) as well as an expiation for certain sins ({{Quran|4|92}}, {{Quran|5|89}}). Hadiths add that slaves should be freed if they are slapped in the face or beaten without good cause. On the other hand, hadiths narrate numerous occasions when Muhammad made use of slaves or refer to him having concubines. There are also hadiths narrating incidents when Muhammad disapproved of companions who freed their slaves (see for example {{Muslim|15|4112}} or {{Bukhari|3|47|765}}). | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|2|177}}|It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the Allah-fearing.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|2|177}}|It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the Allah-fearing.}} | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran|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.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|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.}} | ||
As mentioned above, Muhammad is reported to have freed captives upon their adoption of the faith (although on the other hand {{Quran|2|221}} assumes the existence of believing slaves, who Muslims may marry; in Islamic law, "The male slave may marry up to two female slaves; the female slave may also marry a free man who is not her owner, and the male slave a free woman who is not his owner."<ref>Joseph Schacht, ''Introduction to Islamic Law'', p. 127</ref> | As mentioned above, Muhammad is reported to have freed captives upon their adoption of the faith (although on the other hand {{Quran|2|221}} assumes the existence of believing slaves, who Muslims may marry; Joseph schacht wrote that in Islamic law, "The male slave may marry up to two female slaves; the female slave may also marry a free man who is not her owner, and the male slave a free woman who is not his owner."<ref>Joseph Schacht, ''Introduction to Islamic Law'', p. 127</ref> Islamic law does not allow enslavement of free-born Muslims.<ref>{{Citation|url=|title=Violence in Islamic Thought from the Qur'an to the Mongols|author=Robert Gleave (14 April 2015)|page=142|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|ISBN=978-0-7486-9424-2}}</ref> | ||
If a person converted to Islam after being enslaved, their emancipation would be considered a pious act but was not obligatory.<ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', p. 22</ref> Many scholars were uneasy about the practice of freeing captives who professed to have converted to Islam, for fear that such conversions were a pretense by the slaves to gain their freedom. For this reason, Clarence-Smith writes, "The Ulama only accepted automatic liberation through conversion when slaves ran away from infidel owners to join the Islamic host", citing a precedent in which an Ethiopian slave who escaped the seige of Ta'if was freed by Muhammad.<ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', pp. 39-41</ref> | If a person converted to Islam after being enslaved, their emancipation would be considered a pious act but was not obligatory.<ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', p. 22</ref> Many scholars were uneasy about the practice of freeing captives who professed to have converted to Islam, for fear that such conversions were a pretense by the slaves to gain their freedom. For this reason, Clarence-Smith writes, "The Ulama only accepted automatic liberation through conversion when slaves ran away from infidel owners to join the Islamic host", citing a precedent in which an Ethiopian slave who escaped the seige of Ta'if was freed by Muhammad.<ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', pp. 39-41</ref> | ||
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===Other rights and protections=== | ===Other rights and protections=== | ||
The Quran forbids owners from forcing their slave women into prostitution in {{Quran|24|33}}, as traditionally interpreted. Possibly this refers to forced fornication in general according to some Islamic modernists, though sexual relations with their owners would not count as fornication since this is expressly permitted in other verses | The Quran forbids owners from forcing their slave women into prostitution in {{Quran|24|33}}, as traditionally interpreted. Possibly this refers to forced fornication in general according to some Islamic modernists, though sexual relations with their owners would not count as fornication since this is expressly permitted in other verses (see the section on sexual consent below). | ||
As mentioned above, a concubine who gives birth to her owner's child attains the status of Umm Walad (mother of the child). She can no longer be sold, is set free upon her owner's death, and their child is free from birth. | {{Quran|4|36}} lists those "whom your right hands possess" among the groups to whom kindness should be shown. | ||
As mentioned above, a concubine who gives birth to her owner's child attains the status of Umm Walad (mother of the child). She can no longer be sold (due to a ruling by Caliph Umar according to {{Abu Dawud||3943|Hasan}} and {{Ibn Majah||3|19|2517}}), is set free upon her owner's death, and their child is free from birth. | |||
{{Quran|4|25}} is a verse which recommends that a poor believer who cannot afford to marry a free woman should marry from among the believing slave women (who are owned by other believers, since "whom your right hands possess" switches to the plural). The verse tells them to first obtain permission from "her people" to marry her. If these women subsequently commit fornication, it says they should receive only half the punishment of free women. | {{Quran|4|25}} is a verse which recommends that a poor believer who cannot afford to marry a free woman should marry from among the believing slave women (who are owned by other believers, since "whom your right hands possess" switches to the plural). The verse tells them to first obtain permission from "her people" to marry her. If these women subsequently commit fornication, it says they should receive only half the punishment of free women. | ||
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A number of rights are given to slaves by Muhammad in one hadith. {{Bukhari|1|2|29}} reports Muhammad stating that "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." | A number of rights are given to slaves by Muhammad in one hadith. {{Bukhari|1|2|29}} reports Muhammad stating that "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." | ||
=== | ===Manumission and other slave rights in wider late antiquity=== | ||
While certainly an advancement for its time, the extent to which Islam brought exceptional treatment of slaves by ancient standards is often exaggerated. Before Islam, Zoroastrian law had protections for slaves against violence, and it was considered a virtue to free a slave.<ref>Irani, K.M. & Silver, M. (editors), [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ce7WjBvjENEC&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87 Social Justice in the Ancient World], Connecticut:Greenword Press, 1995, p.87</ref> Martin Klein writes: | While certainly an advancement for its time, the extent to which Islam brought exceptional treatment of slaves by ancient standards is often exaggerated. Before Islam, Zoroastrian law had protections for slaves against violence, and it was considered a virtue to free a slave.<ref>Irani, K.M. & Silver, M. (editors), [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ce7WjBvjENEC&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87 Social Justice in the Ancient World], Connecticut:Greenword Press, 1995, p.87</ref> Martin Klein writes: | ||
{{Quote|Martin. A. Klein, "Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition", p. 218<ref>Martin. A. Klein, "Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition", Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014, p. 218</ref>|We know much more about slavery under the Sassanians (224 CE to 647 CE), in part because there was extensive Sassanian legislation on slavery. [...] A slave who converted to Zorastrianism could purchase his freedom. Slaves could not be executed for a single crime. Freeing a slave was considered a good deed. Slaves had the right to property and three days of rest a month.}} | {{Quote|Martin. A. Klein, "Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition", p. 218<ref>Martin. A. Klein, "Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition", Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2014, p. 218</ref>|We know much more about slavery under the Sassanians (224 CE to 647 CE), in part because there was extensive Sassanian legislation on slavery. [...] A slave who converted to Zorastrianism could purchase his freedom. Slaves could not be executed for a single crime. Freeing a slave was considered a good deed. Slaves had the right to property and three days of rest a month.}} | ||
It was also common in ancient Rome to free slaves, so much so that Augustus [[w:Lex Aelia Sentia|had a law enacted]] to prevent manumission of slaves younger than 30 years old. Both in the time of Augustus and in the early Islamic era, slaves were abundant so there was plenty of scope to free slaves | It was also common in ancient Rome to free slaves, so much so that Augustus [[w:Lex Aelia Sentia|had a law enacted]] to prevent manumission of slaves younger than 30 years old. Both in the time of Augustus and in the early Islamic era, slaves were abundant so there was plenty of scope to free slaves. | ||
While rural slaves under the Romans were treated abysmally, educated slaves often served as business agents of their masters, mechanics and artisans in every kind of industry. Such slaves were able to consider part of the gains of this work as their own, called their peculium, property owned by the master but which from a practical point of view belonged to the slave and could even be used to buy their own freedom. The Constitution of Antoninus prohibited cruelty towards slaves and introduced punishment for owners who unjustly killed their slaves. Slaves were able to file complaints against their owners for cruelty who may then be forced to sell the slave. The Constitution of Claudius forbade the separation of slave husbands and wives, parents and children, or brothers and sisters when there was a sale or division of slave property.<ref>William Smith, "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities", London: Taylor and Walton, 1842, p. 869</ref> | While rural slaves under the Romans were treated abysmally, educated slaves often served as business agents of their masters, mechanics and artisans in every kind of industry. Such slaves were able to consider part of the gains of this work as their own, called their ''peculium'', property owned by the master but which from a practical point of view belonged to the slave and could even be used to buy their own freedom. The Constitution of Antoninus prohibited cruelty towards slaves and introduced punishment for owners who unjustly killed their slaves. Slaves were able to file complaints against their owners for cruelty who may then be forced to sell the slave. The Constitution of Claudius forbade the separation of slave husbands and wives, parents and children, or brothers and sisters when there was a sale or division of slave property.<ref>William Smith, "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities", London: Taylor and Walton, 1842, p. 869</ref> | ||
===Lack of sexual consent and slave marriages=== | ===Lack of sexual consent and slave marriages=== | ||
{{Main|Rape in Islamic Law}} | {{Main|Rape in Islamic Law}} | ||
====In the Quran==== | ====In the Quran==== | ||
The Quran gives permission for believers to have intercourse with both their wives and those whom "their right hands possess", explicitly distinguishing the two in the verses shown below, which is used by traditionalists to | The Quran gives permission for believers to have intercourse with both their wives and those whom "their right hands possess", explicitly distinguishing the two in the verses shown below, which is used by traditionalists to refute a common Islamic modernist claim that believers could not have intercourse with captive women except by marrying them. Moreover, one verse explicitly grants such rights to the prophet himself for his own share of the captives from the war booty: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|23|1|6}}|Successful indeed are the believers Who are humble in their prayers, And who shun vain conversation, And who are payers of the poor-due; And who guard their modesty - '''Save from their wives or the (slaves) that their right hands possess''', for then they are not blameworthy}} | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|23|1|6}}|Successful indeed are the believers Who are humble in their prayers, And who shun vain conversation, And who are payers of the poor-due; And who guard their modesty - '''Save from their wives or the (slaves) that their right hands possess''', for then they are not blameworthy}} | ||
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{{Citation|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A_%D8%AC_9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%8A/YzZJCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%D9%84%D9%90%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%92%D8%AA%D9%90%D9%85%D9%8E%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%90%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%86%D9%92%20%D8%AA%D9%8E%D9%83%D9%8F%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8E%20%D8%B9%D9%8E%D8%B0%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%8E%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%88%D9%92%20%D8%AF%D9%8F%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8E%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D8%A8%D9%8F%D9%84%D9%8F%D9%88%D8%BA%D9%90%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%88%D9%92%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D8%AF%D9%91%D9%8E%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%8F%20%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%92%D8%AA%D9%90%D9%87%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8F%D9%87%D9%8F%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%86%D9%92%20%D9%84%D9%8E%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%92%D8%AA%D9%90%D8%A8%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%8E%20%D9%81%D9%90%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%8E|title=Fath al-Bari|publisher=Dar Taybah|page=487|volume=9|author=Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani}}</ref> | {{Citation|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A_%D8%AC_9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%8A/YzZJCwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%D9%84%D9%90%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%92%D8%AA%D9%90%D9%85%D9%8E%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%90%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%86%D9%92%20%D8%AA%D9%8E%D9%83%D9%8F%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8E%20%D8%B9%D9%8E%D8%B0%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%8E%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%88%D9%92%20%D8%AF%D9%8F%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8E%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D8%A8%D9%8F%D9%84%D9%8F%D9%88%D8%BA%D9%90%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%88%D9%92%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D8%AF%D9%91%D9%8E%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%8F%20%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%92%D8%AA%D9%90%D9%87%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8F%D9%87%D9%8F%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%86%D9%92%20%D9%84%D9%8E%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%92%D8%AA%D9%90%D8%A8%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8E%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%8E%20%D9%81%D9%90%D9%8A%D9%87%D9%8E|title=Fath al-Bari|publisher=Dar Taybah|page=487|volume=9|author=Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani}}</ref> | ||
===Slave markets, harems, and eunuchs=== | |||
'''Slave markets''' | |||
A number of hadiths relate anecdotes about Umar (the second caliph) and his son Ibn Umar, who was likewise a companion of the prophet, in relation to slave women and slave markets. Umar reportedly struck a slave woman for wearing a jilbab over her head because this was only to be worn by free believing women. Ibn Umar is reported to have routinely touched the breasts and buttocks of slave girls in the market when he wished to buy them. Imam Malik (d. 795 CE) reportedly complained of the slave-women of Medina going about with uncovered breasts. See [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Slavery]] for the relevant hadith reports which have been graded sahih by various scholars. | |||
In his book "Slavery & Islam", Jonathan Brown writes, "Despite the objection of some Muslim scholars like Shayrazi (d. 1193-4), it seems to have been routine in Islamic civilization for buyers at slave markets to press on the buttocks and breasts of potential ''jariyas'' [slave girls]. Sometimes buyers even examined the genitals of male or' female slaves, though papyri of sale contracts from the 800s to 900s frequently include boiler-plate language suggesting they were not. Ultimately, slave women were sexually vulnerable and at the mercy of their masters."<ref>Jonathan Brown, ''Slavery & Islam'', Oneworld publications, 2019, p. 132</ref> | |||
In Islamic law, the 'awrah of a woman are the areas of her body which must be covered in the presence of non-mahrams (men other than close relatives). Jurists did not require slave-women to be covered like free Muslim women based on their interpretation of {{Quran|33|59}}, allowing a slave's hair, arms and part of her legs to be uncovered. Many even considered a slave woman's 'awrah to be only from her navel to her knees. Khaled Abou El Fadl covers the detailed opinions in his book, ''Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women''.<ref>Khaled Abou el Fadl, ''Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women'', 2001, pp. 525-526 and endnotes 123-129</ref> Oliver Leaman and Kecia Ali summarise the situation: "Khaled Abou El Fadl points out that jurists disagreed as to whether enslaved women's breasts constituted''' 'awrah''' and had to be covered in public."<ref>Oliver Leaman and Kecia Ali, ''Islam: The Key Concepts", 2010, London: Routledge, p. 14</ref> | |||
'''Harems and eunuchs''' | |||
Beginning with the Umayyads, muslim caliphs were often famed for the very large numbers of concubines at their disposal, which also required the use of eunuch slaves who could be trusted not to engage sexually with them. In his book ''Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History'', El-Azhari Taef El-Azhari notes that "Like his father [Caliph Abd al-Malik, d. 705 CE], Caliph al-Walid owned a large number of concubines". Furthermore he writes, "Other Umayyad governors followed the pattern of their caliphs in their use of eunuchs. Ibn Qutn, the governor of Andalusia in 733; he owned some 700 female slaves and a number of eunuchs. Clearly, the larger the harem became, the more eunuchs were employed for their service and protection." in the Abbasid era, Caliph al-Mutawakkil (d. 861) "owned 4,000 concubines" and Al-Muqtadir (d. 932) had in his court vast numbers of eunuchs, "as well as thousands of other ''jawari'' and concubines", the cost of which depleted the state treasury."<ref>El-Azhari Taef El-Azhari, ''Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History'', Edinburgh University Press, 2019, pp. 70-71, 158-9</ref> | |||
William-Gervase Clarence-Smith observes, "By having sexual relations with a handful of women drawn from a vast harem, a master denied a family life to numerous unwanted concubines. In effect, he condemned them to a 'system of involuntary imprisonment,' together with their many female slaves. Chafing at enforced chastity, women might commit adultery, or engage in homosexual relations."<ref>W. G. Clarence-Smith, ''Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'', p. 89</ref> He further notes that Ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia owned 3,000 slaves and "he distributed slave girls to his close collaborators."<ref>Ibid. p. 181</ref> | |||
El-Azhari Taef El-Azhari writes, "Eunuchs were used in the Umayyad dynasty from the first to the last caliph in different numbers and capacities. We know that the Prophet had one eunuch, although we do not know if he was a castrated eunuch or a ''majbub'' (the difference is significant as the first type is still capable of copulation, as will be analysed later." He goes on to explain the utility of eunuchs when there is a harem in servicing parts of the palaces where males were not allowed. This was common also in other civilizations including the Byzantines. He adds, "Although castration was forbidden in Islam, as the Prophet rejected the concept of resisting desire, as already mentioned, it was not prohibited to own one or more eunuchs. The act of castration was carried out mainly in early Islamic history in Spain and Byzantium from where white eunuchs were imported, and also Abyssinia and Taykur, Africa, from where black eunuchs were bought. This savage, inhumane practice was not condemned by Muslim laws at any age or time, which is surprising, given that it was an act of alteration to God's creation; the Quran had emphasised that the human being was created to best stature (mould) (Q. 95:4). The prophet's approval of female genital cutting, as mentioned earlier, may be compared here to approval to mutilate the human body permanently, resulting in dire psychophysical consequences."<ref>El-Azhari Taef El-Azhari, ''Queens, Eunuchs and Concubines in Islamic History'', pp. 68-69</ref> | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||