Regarding Al-Noor 24: 32 – 33, with Special Reference to Slaves

In Surah Noor, according to the translation by Picktall, Allah Almighty says:

And marry such of you as are solitary and the pious of your slaves and maid-servants. If they be poor, Allah will enrich them of His bounty. Allah is of ample means, Aware.

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. (Al-Noor 24: 32 - 33)

Do these verses imply that sexual relations with one’s slave girls as not recommended or even not allowed?  Do these verses in fact take steps towards the eradication of this institution? This seems to be implied in the general rule to marry their (slaves) pious regardless of their status.

Can you also elaborate on the background of verse referring to forcing one’s slaves into whoredom?  Maulana Maududi has commented on the wholesale use of slaves for prostitution by their masters to earn wealth.  In fact, Abdullah ibn Ubayy’s wealth was earned through these means.  Muhammad Asad has commented that this refers to having sexual relations with one’s OWN slaves, but to me this seems inconsistent with numerous other verses of the Qur’an.  At the same time, the verse says “if they would prefer their chastity”.  Can you especially clarify the meaning of this verse?

Thanks

Asim Awan, USA

Reply

The referred verses entail directives, which are primarily aimed at two basic targets, namely guarding one’s chastity and improving the status of the slaves to pave the way of freedom for them. The directives in these verses are:

1. To arrange for the marriage of those who, even though they desire to be married, are living a solitary life due to their circumstances;
2. To arrange for the marriage of the chaste among the slaves;
3. Those who cannot find a match for themselves, due to their poverty, they should safeguard their chastity and save themselves from crossing the limits set by the Almighty, till the time that God improves their financial condition and, thereby, removes any hindrances in their marriage;
4. The slaves who desire to enter into a contract of freedom with their masters, the masters should not refuse this contract. If, while in the period of the freedom contract, the slave proves himself to be deserving of freedom and yet is unable to pay his master the contracted money, the Muslim collectivity is directed to make the payment on behalf of the slave and, thereby, buy his freedom from his master.
5. Masters should not force their slave girls into prostitution. If any slave girl is forced into prostitution, even though she desired to live a chaste life, then the blame of her prostitution would be on her master, rather than herself.

The phrase ‘if they desire chastity’ is to express the great abhorrence of the act of forcing the slave girls into prostitution. It does not mean that if the slave girls do not desire to live a chaste life, then their masters may sell their flesh in the market. Another example of such phrase (as ‘if they desire chastity’) is where the Qur’an has admonished the Israelites in the following words:

“Do not sell my verses at a paltry price” (Al-Baqarah 2: 41)

The implication of the referred verse is simply that God’s directives are not saleable commodities. It does not mean that you may sell of my directives, if you get a good price in return.

The verse, as should be clear from the above explanation, is prohibiting the masters from running brothels through their slave girls.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Moiz Amjad

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