Ma malakat aymanukum and sex

In Islamic Divine law istr|Sharia, "Ma malakat aymanukum" is the term for slaves, which may be captives of war. A male master may legally marry then have sexual intercourse with his female slave, making a "Ma malakat aymanukum" and spouses the only category of people a man may have sexual intercourse with.

Qur'an

al-Muminun 6 and al-Maarij 30 both, in identical wording, draw a distinction between spouses and "those whom one's right hands possess", saying " أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ" (literally, "their spouses or what their right hands possess"), while clarifying that sexual intercourse with either is permissible. Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi explains that "two categories of women have been excluded from the general command of guarding the private parts: (a) wives, (b) women who are legally in one's possession". [ [http://www.translatedquran.com/meaning.asp?pagetitle=AL+-+MUMINOON&sno=23&tno=1324 Surah - Al - Muminoon ] ]

The verse can be broken into three parts:

QuoteQuran|4|24
#"And (also forbidden are) all married women except those whom your right hands possess (this is) Allah's ordinance to you,
#"and lawful for you are (all women) besides those, provided that you seek (them) with your property, taking (them) in marriage not committing fornication.
#"Then as to those whom you profit by, give them their dowries as appointed; and there is no blame on you about what you mutually agree after what is appointed; surely Allah is Knowing, Wise.
trans=Waalmuhsanatu mina alnnisa-i illa ma malakat aymanukum kitaba Allahi AAalaykum waohilla lakum ma waraa thalikum an tabtaghoo bi-amwalikum muhsineena ghayra musafiheena fama istamtaAAtum bihi minhunna faatoohunna ojoorahunna fareedatan wala junaha AAalaykum feema taradaytum bihi min baAAdi alfareedati inna Allaha kana AAaleeman hakeeman|arab=وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاء إِلاَّمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ كِتَابَ اللّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأُحِلَّ لَكُم مَّا وَرَاء ذَلِكُمْ أَن تَبْتَغُواْ بِأَمْوَالِكُم مُّحْصِنِينَ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحِينَ فَمَا اسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهِ مِنْهُنَّ فَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ فَرِيضَةً وَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِيمَا تَرَاضَيْتُم بِهِ مِن بَعْدِ الْفَرِيضَةِ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمً|701

Verse 24:33 also states, "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)".

Rules

Regarding rules for having sexual intercourse with "Ma malakat aymanukum", a man may not co-habit with a female slave belonging to his wife.cite encyclopedia | editor = P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs | encyclopedia =Encyclopaedia of Islam Online| title = Abd| publisher = Brill Academic Publishers | id = ISSN 1573-3912] Neither may he have relations with a female slave if she is co-owned. He may have sex with a female captive who was already married prior to captivity. [ [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/008.smt.html#008.3432 USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts ] ]

If the female slave has a child by her master, she then receives the title of "Umm Walad" ("lit". Mother of a child), which is an improvement in her status as she can no longer be sold and is legally freed upon the death of her master. The child, by default, is born free due to the father (i.e., the master) being a free man. Although there is no limit on the number of concubines a master may possess, the general marital laws are to be observed, such as not having sexual relations with the sister of a female slave.cite book | author=Lovejoy, Paul E.| title=Transformations in Slavery | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2000| id=ISBN 0-521-78430-1, p.2 ]

People are told that if they do not have the means to marry free-women, they can marry, with the permission of their masters, slave-women who are Muslims and are also kept chaste. In such marriages, they must pay their dowers so that this could bring them gradually equal in status to free-women. [cite quran|4|25|style=ref] Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. Mizan, "The Social Law of Islam", Al-Mawrid]

Fornication (sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to each other) is regarded as an offence. Muhammad gave exemplary punishment to owners of brothels that were operated using their slave-women for such pleasures.Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, "Mizan", [http://www.renaissance.com.pk/septfeart2y2.html The Penal Law of Islam] , Al-Mawrid] Muhammad also told people that they are all slaves/servants of Allah and so instead of using the words عَبْد (slave-man) and اَمَة (slave-woman), the words used should be فَتَى (boy/man) and فَتَاة (girl/woman) so that the psyche about them should change and a change is brought about in these age-old concepts. [Sahih Muslim, 2249]

References