Question
Of all, sir, I would like to thank you because I have become a better human being and not only a better human being, but a better Muslim because of you. And undoubtedly it is Allah who provides the heat. But for me, you were the source of that heat. My question is that I have read in Glorious Quran that in previous time during the time of Prophet Muhammad, men were allowed to keep female slaves and they were allowed to have that intimate relationships with them without the nika. The offsprings were also considered to be legitimate. Wasn't it any degradation of the honor of the women? Were women allowed to do that, or this privilege was only confined to men?
Zakir Naik
Brother, that's a question that at the time of the Prophet, there were women who were slave women and you are allowed to have sex with them even without marrying. Why was it allowed? What is the privilege and is the wife was permitted not? There are many verses in the Quran we say that you can have sex with whom those are your wife, and what your right-hand possesses. Right hand possesses means they are the slaves. And at the time of the Prophet, the walls used to take place. And when wars used to take place, they were captives. When they were captive from both the sides, the men and the women, they became slaves. Though if you analyze the verses in the Quran, which also says in Chapter 4, Chapter 25, if you do not have the means to get married, then marry a slave woman and give her freedom in mahar. That if you don't have the means to get married. So marry a slave woman and give her her freedom as mahar. So here it's encouraging that.
Question
Although the slavery has been abolished?
Zakir Naik
Brother, you asked a question. Your question is over.
Question
It is correlated actually.
Zakir Naik
You cannot go in. You have to go behind the queue to correlate. You asked the question, we heard your question. It was wrong. If we start correlating always, non Muslims allow. Muslims? They can go behind the queue, no problem. If we start correlating, we'll be able to handle very few questions. For non Muslim, I'm a bit lowly in need. So now the thing is that it's preferable to marry. Vice versa, it's not possible. It is only for the female woman slaves that the man can have sex. The Quran doesn't say the vice versa. And this, again, if you analyze that if you see, at that time, promiscuity was very common. Promiscuity and having sex outside the bond, very common. So Islam has brought it in stages. As alcohol was very common, the first verse of the Quran of Surah Baqara Chapter 2, verse number 219 says that in alcohol, there is profit and loss, loss is more than profit. The next verse was revealed in Surah Nisa Chapter 4 Verse 43, that do not pray with your mind be fogged. When you're praying, don't have intoxicants. Finally, the ban came in Surah Maida Chapter 5 Verse 790that I'll call is banned.
Zakir Naik
Here, first, Almighty God, Allah prohibits any other sex. Only two people allowed, your wives and that which your right and possesses. Now in this age, we don't have any walls. It may take place. People say that the Quran talks about slavery. Is it justified? I said, Yes, why not? You know why? Because today we know that international slavery has been banned. But do you know what's happening in Guantanamo Bay? Due to the laws of UN Resolution, how they treat the prisoners of war. If you compare that with the Islamic law, Islamic law is far superior to what's happening in Guantanamo Bay. And after a few days, we have a speaker coming by the name of James E. He's a Chinese and he was put in Guantanamo Bay. He will give you a story, so do attend that talk. So if you see what is done in Guantanamo Bay, and the way the prisoners of war are ill treated, they're imprisoned. In the Islamic law, the slave is free to move around. Imagine, prisoner of war, but free to move around. Great. Major thing you're giving them a place to walk, they can go to the mall, they cannot run away.
Zakir Naik
But if they run, what are we going to do? You have to catch up with them. But imagine a prisoner of war is not chained. In the normal prisoner of war, you have prison camps with electric wires. They can't go out. All sorts of nonsense goes there. All sorts of sexual abuse goes there. Do you know that? What nonsense goes? So the Islamic law, even if I agree, how they treat the slave is far superior than the UN Charter, far superior than Guantanamo Bay. But in Islam, Islam disagrees with having sex outside the marital bonds. So just as a restriction, it was permitted that time, what your right and possesses. But preferable is as it goes further that give their freedom in May and have sex with them that's preferable. Hope that answers the question.
Question
Thank you, sir.