Saturday, September 06, 2008

Female Sex Slaves in Islam

Slaves or 'londi' is a very controversial topic in Islam. Unfortunately, 'Londi' has become a term synonymous with sex slaves. This is not true.

23:01 - Successful indeed are the believers,
23:02 - Those who humble themselves in their prayers;
23:03 - Who avoid vain talk;
23:04 - Who are active in deeds of charity;
23:05 - Who abstain from sex,
23:06 - Except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, OR (the captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (in their case) they are free from blame,

First thing first. Lust is to be avoided. A believer has to 'abstain' from sex. If there is a 'chance' of 'have a londi? - do sex' then this verse quashes it. And it comes before the verse which says 'Except with their wives OR captives/ londis'

Mind you. God is All knowing. He chooses words very carefully. He used the word 'aao' in Arabic which means OR. He did not use 'wa' AND. All this means you can have sex EITHER with your wife OR londi. Its not 'free stuff'.

Further, you have to get 'married' to have sex, in both the cases. No other way around.

4:25 - And whoso is not able to afford to marry free, believing women, let them marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess...
24:33 - And let those who cannot find a match keep chaste till Allah give them independence by His grace...

As regards slavery, Quran does not endorse slavery and instead wants the believers to free the slaves. In effect, Quran suggests abolition of slavery.


2:177 - ... righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; ...


To summarize
1 - You should not commit adultery. (Quran 23:05)
2 - You can have sex with your wife (in case you are married) OR slaves (in case you are not married) (Quran 23:06), but also,
3 - In case of latter, you are to 'marry' the slave (Quran 4:25)
4 - If you are still single.. be content and abstain from adultery. (Quran 24:33)


Check Other Post
- Polygamy in Islam - A Quranic Perspective

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

brother you have very beautifully described the concept of londis in islam but, if the man who has a londi and already four wives and the londi is a young girl who also needs sex then what would she do ?
it will be a very difficult life for that girl to live with that family.

PostMan said...

Let the girl go :) so that she can marry.

24:33 - ... And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom), 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 ..

farahshah said...

I must say that this is a very well Written on this topic.This clears the meaning of female sex slaves in Islam...

Anonymous said...

The blogger has described this topic in very lovely way, it has cleared alot of my confusion. I just do not like the title of the discussion, there is no concept of female sex slaves in islam, the title should be renamed to "condition of sex with female slave in islam".

Anonymous said...

Fail. "OR" actually means this, that or both. So it is like Wives, Londi or both.

PostMan said...

Thanks anonymous.

Do read 23:06 for 'OR'. Again.

Regards

Anonymous said...

23:05 - Who abstain from sex,
23:06 - Except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, OR (the captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (in their case) they are free from blame,

Look more closely. The two sentences are joined in meaning. The first phrase is linked to the second.
Thus, Islam is not telling you to "abstain" from sex as in "lust is bad". It is simply telling you to abstain from sex outside of your legal bonds which include, your wives and those whom your right hand possesses aka slaves.

So, there ARE slaves in Islam and if they are a female slave they can be used for sex and it is all legal. Why do you feel ashamed?

PostMan said...

Valid point.

Let me offer you 2 more verses. I have mentioned them in post too.

4:25 - And whoso is not able to afford to marry free, believing women, let them marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess...

Why even suggest to marry a slave when you can have them for sex? is it not strange?

24:33 - And let those who cannot find a match keep chaste till Allah give them independence by His grace...

Notice the word 'chaste'? just as 'abstain from sex' in 23:05?

So 'OR' indeed means to have sex with either wife or slave and in both cases marriage is the precursor.

I wish it were that simple to have a slave and doing her most of the times.

Regards

Jamil said...

Any way I have a question. How do u define wife? A girl you marry is your wife........right? If you marry a londi, she is your wife. So what is the difference between wife and londi?

PostMan said...

Thanks Jamil. Good Question.

I will have to quote the same verse 4:25 again to make my point clear.

7 Century AD had this 'normal' concept of owning and trading of slaves and Arabia at the time of revelation of Quran was no exception.

Quran sets a pre-condition for marriage - 'dowry', the gift from man to woman in order to be called husband and wife. This is the right of woman. A woman whether Slave or Free has to be given dowry.

Then there is a grey area. Quran does not state what amount/ value is the dowry. It is assumed that Free women are given more dowry than the slaves because marrying a slave entails freedom from slavery and enhancement to a position of equal partner as wife.

Now let me refer the verse so judge it with all the point discussed before.

4:25 - If any 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(slaves) ... Wed them with the leave of their owners, and give them their dowers, according to what is reasonable ... They should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours: when they are taken in wedlock ...This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; but it is better for you that ye practise self-restraint. And Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

So be chaste, abstain from sex, get married and if you cant afford it - marry a slave. If you cant even marry a slave then practice self restraint and abstain from sin.

As to your question as to what is the difference between a wife and a slave? the difference lies in the status of women before marriage. Not afterwards.

-PostMan-

Anonymous said...

In Pakistan Sufi pirs have sex slaves who work in their homes. They (pirs) say they are their londis and it is 100% halal.

Any Thoughts!!!

PostMan said...

The only thoughts are with the girls who are abused in the name of being servants! Injustice. And using religion to carry on with ones lust? Horrible.

Anonymous said...

If a man do conjugal relation with londi and willing to marry her in future is it true? If it is true then it mean Islam allows you to make any sort of conjugal relation before marry just having intension to marry her in future

PostMan said...

Dear Anonymous,
as to your first question whether Islam allows conjugal rights with londi... I think you wanted to ask whether Islam alows sexual relationship with a londi with the intention of establishing conjugal rights in the future.. the answer to that is No. Which automatically makes the answer to your second question a 'No'.

23:05 advises one to abstain from sex. 4.25 states that you have to get married.

Peace.

zahid said...

so that means we can have londies nowadays?

PostMan said...

Considering what the ISIS are up to, unfortunately yes