Islam and Slavery — Page 70
70 way objectionable that a Muslim should have entered into conjugal relations with her. . It may be asked why women were taken captives at all so that it became necessary to take such exceptional measures for the protection of society against moral evils. . The answer to this question is that in those days it was a general practice in Arabia that women participated in war in large numbers and sometimes they took part even in actual fighting though generally their duty was to exhort the soldiers to fight and remain firm on the battle-field. . There was no reason therefore that such women should have been exempted from imprisonment. If women can be imprisoned for criminal offences, and their imprisonment is considered lawful in every country and by every nation, why should not a warrior woman be taken captive on the battle-field? Moreover, as the enemies of Islam in those days did not hesitate to take Muslim women as prisoners and keep them as their bondmaids, and during the early wars, those wicked men had particularly declared their determination to capture and enslave Muslim women and enter into conjugal relations with them, (¹) so the. God of Islam who if He is meek is also a jealous God, permitted the Muslims to meet out to their enemies a similar, if not quite the same, treatment, so that they might be brought to their senses, and might not be emboldened in the commission of outrageous acts against Muslims. . Those who have some knowledge of military emergencies are aware that it often becomes necessary to take (1) Abu Daud, Chapter relating to Banu Nadhir.