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Rape in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|1={{Quran|24|33}}|2='''Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste''', until Allah gives them means out of His grace. And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum), give them such a deed if ye know any good in them: yea, give them something yourselves out of the means which Allah has given to you. But '''force not your maids to prostitution when they desire chastity''', in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them, yet, after such compulsion, is Allah, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to them),}} | {{Quote|1={{Quran|24|33}}|2='''Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste''', until Allah gives them means out of His grace. And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum), give them such a deed if ye know any good in them: yea, give them something yourselves out of the means which Allah has given to you. But '''force not your maids to prostitution when they desire chastity''', in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them, yet, after such compulsion, is Allah, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to them),}} | ||
Chastity is instructed throughout the Qur'an and is repeatedly defined as the habit of one who "guards their private parts" from all except "their wives [of whom they may have [[Polygamy|up to four]]] and what their right hand possesses [i.e. female slaves, of whom they may have an unlimited number]" (e.g. {{Quran|23|6}}, {{Quran|33|50}}, {{Quran|33|52}}, and {{Quran|70|30}}). It is clear that, in the view of the Qur'an's author, an unmarried male may be considered chaste even if he engages in sexual activity with a technically unlimited number of women, so long as they are his slaves. | Chastity is instructed throughout the Qur'an and is repeatedly defined as the habit of one who "guards their private parts" from all except "their wives [of whom they may have [[Polygamy in Islamic Law|up to four]]] and what their right hand possesses [i.e. female slaves, of whom they may have an unlimited number]" (e.g. {{Quran|23|6}}, {{Quran|33|50}}, {{Quran|33|52}}, and {{Quran|70|30}}). It is clear that, in the view of the Qur'an's author, an unmarried male may be considered chaste even if he engages in sexual activity with a technically unlimited number of women, so long as they are his slaves. | ||
The portion of the verse which instructs slaveowners to "force not [their] maids to prostitution" has traditionally been understood in its simplest sense, which prohibits slaveowners from playing the role of a pimp and trafficking their slave women - such a business built on illegal intercourse is of course prohibited and, understood this way, the verse says nothing of novel import. Another accepted sense of this verse is that if a female slave desires her (or, say, her child's) freedom, her master ought to give her some legal means by which to pursue it, the alternative being her feeling compelled to prostitute herself to earn the funds necessary to purchase that freedom (traditional tafsirs also mention the also undesirable possibility of a master forcing a slave to prostitution as a condition for her freedom). Since such a temptation on the part of the slave girl is all the more plausible given the likelihood that she was captured in a war or raid where her people were both slaughtered and enslaved (leaving her with no means), and so the verse concludes by saying that if a slave girl is driven to such behavior, then Allah will be forgiving. And in the simpler sense, if her master forces her to prostitution, then Allah will forgive her for what was not in her control.<ref>See [https://tafsir.app/qurtubi/24/33 Tafsir Qurtubi 24:33] in particular; see also [https://tafsir.app/tabari/24/33 Tafsir al-Tabari 24:33], [https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/24/33 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 24:33], and [https://tafsir.app/24/33 Tafsirs 24:33] in general</ref> | The portion of the verse which instructs slaveowners to "force not [their] maids to prostitution" has traditionally been understood in its simplest sense, which prohibits slaveowners from playing the role of a pimp and trafficking their slave women - such a business built on illegal intercourse is of course prohibited and, understood this way, the verse says nothing of novel import. Another accepted sense of this verse is that if a female slave desires her (or, say, her child's) freedom, her master ought to give her some legal means by which to pursue it, the alternative being her feeling compelled to prostitute herself to earn the funds necessary to purchase that freedom (traditional tafsirs also mention the also undesirable possibility of a master forcing a slave to prostitution as a condition for her freedom). Since such a temptation on the part of the slave girl is all the more plausible given the likelihood that she was captured in a war or raid where her people were both slaughtered and enslaved (leaving her with no means), and so the verse concludes by saying that if a slave girl is driven to such behavior, then Allah will be forgiving. And in the simpler sense, if her master forces her to prostitution, then Allah will forgive her for what was not in her control.<ref>See [https://tafsir.app/qurtubi/24/33 Tafsir Qurtubi 24:33] in particular; see also [https://tafsir.app/tabari/24/33 Tafsir al-Tabari 24:33], [https://tafsir.app/ibn-katheer/24/33 Tafsir Ibn Kathir 24:33], and [https://tafsir.app/24/33 Tafsirs 24:33] in general</ref> | ||