Islam and Slavery — Page 64
FEMALE SLAVES. IT has been objected that the Holy Prophet by permitting Muslims to form conjugal relations with their female slaves has opened the door of self-indulgence to his followers. . In this connection we must first of all see what has been held by Islam to be the object of conjugal relations between man and wife. For, in. For, in order to judge the actions of the Holy Prophet and his companions and to learn the motives that underlay them, the best course is to inquire into the purpose for which the relative commandments were promulgated. In the Quran we find that among the objects of marriage one which has a direct bearing on the conjugal relations between man and wife is expressed in the following verse :"All women (besides the near relations enumerated in the previous verse) are made lawful to you So that you may marry them by fixing by fixing for them suitable dowries out of your possessions; but your object in marry ing should be to protect yourselves from moral and physical diseases, and not to gratify your lust and passion. ” (¹). So deep was the impression which this teaching made on the minds of the companions of the Holy Prophet that some of them felt inclined to take the extreme course of avoiding connection with women altogether and they (1) Quran, 4:25, *