In the Name of Allah, the Strong, the Firm, He
who strengthens the Muslims with His aid, and
humiliates the mushrikīn with His compulsion.
And may peace and blessings be upon the
exemplary Prophet and Messenger, and upon
those who followed him and treaded his footsteps,
and upon his family, companions, and those who
supported him. As to what follows:
Allah (ta’ālā) said, {And if you fear that you will
not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry
those that please you of [other] women, two or
three or four. But if you fear that you will not be
just, then [marry only] one or those your right
hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may
not incline [to injustice]} [An-Nisā’: 3].
He also said, {And marry off the unmarried among
you and the righteous among your male slaves and
female slaves. If they should be poor, Allah will
enrich them from His bounty, and Allah is allEncompassing and Knowing} [An-Nūr: 32].
He also said, describing His believing slaves, {And
they who guard their private parts, except from
44 FROM OUR SISTERS
their wives or those their right hands possess, for
indeed, they will not be blamed} [Al-Mu’minūn:
5-6].
He (subhānah) said, inciting His believing
servants to marry female slaves (if they cannot
afford to marry freewomen) and preferring them
to a free mushrikah of noble lineage, {And a
believing slave-girl is better than a mushrikah,
even though she might please you} [Al-Baqarah:
221].
The right hand’s possession (mulk al-yamīn) are
the female captives who were separated from
their husbands by enslavement. They became
lawful for the one who ends up possessing them
even without pronouncement of divorce by their
harbī husbands.
Sa’īd Ibn Jubayr reported that Ibn ‘Abbās
(radiyallāhu ‘anhumā) said, “Approaching any
married woman is fornication, except for a woman
who has been enslaved” [Al-Hākim narrated it
and said, “It is an authentic hadīth according to
the criteria of al-Bukhārī and Muslim”].