October 20, 2005

Slave-girls as sexual property in the Quran

By James Arlandson
The Quran makes women subordinate to men in many ways.   But no women subject to the rule of Quranic law are more unfortunate than slave girls. According to the eternal and unchanging scripture of Islam, men are permitted to treat them as sexual property regardless of their wishes, under certain specified circumstances. Sura (Chapter) 23 of the Quran was revealed during Muhammad's life in Mecca before his Hijrah or Emigration from his home city to Medina in AD 622. During the early years of his ministry, he never waged war on anyone, so these were times of peace, although he suffered from a measure of persecution. [1] The Quran in Sura 23:5—6 says: 5 [Most certainly true believers] . . . guard their private parts scrupulously, 6 except with regard to their wives and those who are legally in their possession, for in that case they shall not be blameworthy. (Sayyid Abul A'La Maududi, The Meaning of the Quran, vol. 3, p. 237) The key words are 'those who are legally in...(Read Full Article)