Transliteration:( Wa mal lam yastati' minkum tawlan ai yankihal muhsanaatil mu'minaati famimmaa malakat aimaanukum min fatayaatikumul mu'minaat; wallaahu a'lamu bi eemaanikum; ba'dukum mim ba'd; fankihoohunna bi izni ahlihinna wa aatoohunna ujoorahunna bilma'roofi muhsanaatin ghaira musaa fihaatinw wa laa muttakhizaati akhdaan; fa izaaa uhsinna fa in ataina bifaahi shatin fa'alaihinnna nisfu maa 'alal muhsanaati minal 'azaab; zaalika liman khashiyal 'anata minkum; wa an tasbiroo khairul lakum; wallaahu Ghafoorur Raheem )
105. From this, emerge two issues:
1. You cannot marry a slave girl without the consent of her master.
2. A master cannot marry his own slave girl/ maid because cohabitation is lawful with her without her marriage. Also in marriage, both the husband and the wife have rights over one another, while no maid or slave girl can have right over her master. Here there is an antagonism between marriage and being a maid.
106. That the Mehr (Dowry) should be given to their masters because giving the Mehr (Dowry) to their masters is like giving to the slave girls. Hence, there is no inconsistency in the verse.Â
107. From this we learn that neither (mut'a) temporary marriage nor adultery is permissible with the slave girls. The word "not making lovers" makes temporary marriage forbidden,
while from "not making lovers" makes open and secrethe t adultery forbidden. It was the practice of the non-believers of Arabia to procure money from adultery of their slave girl.Â
108. From this, emerges two issues:
1. If adultery is committed by a virgin slave girl the punishment would be fifty lashes i.e. half the punishment of a free lady.
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2. If a married slave girl commits adultery her punishment would not be stoning to death because there is no half punishment for rajam.
109. In this verse, free women refer to free virgin women, not married women because the punishment for adultery of a free married woman is stoning to death, which cannot be reduced by a half. A virgin's punishment is a hundred lashes which can be reduced to fifty.
110. By this is meant it is better not to marry a slave girl, because your children would be the slaves of her master. However, if there is a fear of committing adultery, marry her. It should,
be remembered that according to Imam Shafaee (Rehmatulalay), there are three conditions for marrying a slave girl, two with regard to the groom and one in respect of the bride.Â
The groom would be allowed to marry a slave girl if he has no means to marry a free woman, or if there is a fear of adultery.Â
As far as the slave girl is concerned, she should be a believer, not a non-believer.
By Imam Abu Hanifa (Rehmatulalay) there are no conditions attached. For more proofs regarding this refer to books of jurisprudence. It should also be remembered where there is fear of adultery marriage becomes incumbent if you have the means, otherwise it is Sunnat.Â
If a person is unable to discharge the duties of marriage, i.e. perform conjugal rights, it is forbidden for him to marry, so much so that a wife of an impotent person who can seek the help of the state can have the marriage annulled.
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25. And whoever of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess, and Allah has full knowledge about your faith, you are one from another. Wed them with the permission of their own folk (guardians) and give them their due in a good manner; they should be chaste, not fornicators, nor promiscuous. And after they have been taken in wedlock, if they commit Fahishah, their punishment is half that for free (unmarried) women. This is for him among you who is afraid of being harmed in his religion or in his body; but it is better for you that you practice self-restraint, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Allah said, those who do not have,
(the means), financial capability,
(Wherewith to wed free believing women) meaning, free faithful, chaste women.
(They may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess,) meaning, they are allowed to wed believing slave girls owned by the believers.
(and Allah has full knowledge about your faith; you are one from another.) Allah knows the true reality and secrets of all things, but you people know only the apparent things. Allah then said,
(Wed them with the permission of their own folk) indicating that the owner is responsible for the slave girl, and consequently, she cannot marry without his permission. The owner is also responsible for his male slave and they cannot wed without his permission. A Hadith states,
(Any male slave who marries without permission from his master, is a fornicator.) When the owner of the female slave is a female, those who are allowed to give away the free woman in marriage, with her permission, become responsible for giving away her female slave in marriage, as well. A Hadith states that
(The woman does not give away another woman, or herself in marriage, for only the adulteress gives herself away in marriage.) Allah’s statement,
(And give them their due in a good manner;) meaning, pay them their dowry with a good heart, and do not keep any of it, belittling the matter due to the fact that they are owned slaves. Allah’s statement,
(they should be chaste) means, they are honorable women who do not commit adultery, and this is why Allah said,
(not fornicators) referring to dishonorable women, who do not refrain from illicit sexual relations with those who ask. Ibn `Abbas said that the fornicating women are the whores, who do not object to having relations with whomever seeks it, while,
(nor promiscuous. ) refers to taking boyfriends. Similar was said by Abu Hurayrah, Mujahid, Ash-Sha`bi, Ad-Dahhak, `Ata’ Al-Khurasani, Yahya bin Abi Kathir, Muqatil bin Hayyan and As-Suddi.
Allah said,
(And after they have been taken in wedlock, if they commit Fahishah, their punishment is half of that for free (unmarried) women.) this is about the slave women who got married, as indicated by the Ayah;
(And whoever of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess,) Therefore, since the honorable Ayah is about believing slave girls, then,
(And after they have been taken in wedlock,) refers to when they (believing slave girls) get married, as Ibn `Abbas and others have said. Allah’s statement,
(their punishment is half of that for free (unmarried) women.) indicates that the type of punishment prescribed here is the one that can be reduced to half, lashes in this case, not stoning to death, and Allah knows best. Allah’s statement,
(This is for him among you who is afraid of being harmed in his religion or in his body;) indicates that marrying slave girls, providing one satisfies the required conditions, is for those who fear for their chastity and find it hard to be patient and refrain from sex. In this difficult circumstance, one is allowed to marry a slave girl. However, it is better to refrain from marrying slave girls and to observe patience, for otherwise, the offspring will become slaves to the girl’s master. Allah said,
(but it is better for you that you practice self-restraint, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.)
(4:25) And those of you who cannot afford to marry free, believing women (muhsanat), then marry such believing women whom your right hands possess. Allah knows all about your faith. All of you belong to one another.[45] Marry them, then, with the leave of their guardians, and give them their bridal-due in a fair manner that they may live in the protection of wedlock rather than be either mere objects of unfettered lust or given to secret love affairs. Then if they become guilty of immoral conduct after they have entered into wedlock, they shall be liable to half the penalty to which free women (muhsanat) are liable.[46] This relaxation is for those of you who fear to fall into sin by remaining unmarried.[47] But if you persevere, it is better for you. Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.
45. The difference between the status of people is relative. All Muslims are alike. If there is any true distinction its basis is a person’s faith and faith is not an exclusive privilege of the rich or so-called upper classes of the society. So it is possible for a slave-girl to be superior, in respect of her faith and morals, to a woman belonging to the elite of a society.
46.A superficial reading of this verse can lead to the mistaken conclusion, as Khawarij and others have done, that stoning is not the prescribed punishment for adultery. Such people ask: If stoning is the prescribed punishment for extra-marital sexual intercourse, then how is it possible to halve that punishment with regard to slave-girls? Such people have not noted carefully the wording of this verse. In this section see (Surah An-Nisa, ayat 24-25) the term muhsanat (protected women) is used in two different meanings. First, it is used in the sense of ‘married women’, that is, those who enjoy the protection of their husbands. Second, it is used in the sense of ‘women belonging to families’, i.e. those who enjoy the protection of families even though they may not be married. In the verse under discussion, the word muhsanat is used in the latter sense, i.e. in the sense of women who enjoy the protection of families as opposed to slave-girls. At the same time, the word is also used in the first meaning, when slave-girls have acquired the protection accorded by the contract of marriage (fa idha uhsinna), they will be liable to the punishment laid down in this verse if they have unlawful Sexual intercourse.
It is therefore apparent that a free woman enjoys two kinds of protection. One is the protection of her family through which she remains protected even when she is not married. The second is the protection of her husband, which reinforces the protection of the family that she already enjoys. As long as the slave-girl remains a slave, she does not enjoy the protection of the family. However, when she is married she has the protection of her husband – and of her husband alone. This protection is partial. Even after marriage she is neither liberated from the bond of her master nor does she attain the status enjoyed by free women. The punishment prescribed for a married slave-girl is accordingly half the punishment of an unmarried free woman rather than half that of a married free woman.
This also explains that the punishment for unlawful sexual intercourse (zina) laid down in (Surah Nur, ayat 2) refers to the offence committed by unmarried free women alone, and it is in comparison with their punishment that the punishment of married slave women has been laid down as half. As for free married women, they deserve more severe punishment than the unmarried free women (muhsanat) for they violate the double protection. Even though the Qur’an does not specifically mention punishment by stoning it does allude to it in a subtle manner.
47. That is, if a man cannot afford to marry a free woman then he should marry a slave-girl with the permission of her master.
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