Concubines in the Koran are not slaves

K

koranist

Guest
23:5 And they keep covered their private parts.
23:6 Except around their spouses (azwaaj), or those who are maintained by their oaths (ma malakat aymanukum, Right hand posses), they are free from blame.
23:7 But whoever seeks anything beyond this, then these are the transgressors.



Among the Israelites, men commonly acknowledged their concubines, and such women enjoyed the same rights in the house as legitimate wives.[8] The principal difference in the Bible between a wife and a concubine is that wives had dowries, while concubines did not.

The concubine may have commanded the same respect and inviolability as the wife. The Hebrew word used in the Levitical rules on sexual relations, which is commonly translated as "wife", is distinct from the Hebrew word that means "concubine". (However, on at least one other occasion it is used to refer a woman who is not a wife - specifically, the handmaid of Jacob's wife.[9]) In the Levitical code, sexual intercourse between a man and a wife of a different man was forbidden and punishable by death for both persons involved.[10][11] The Bible notes several incidents of intercourse between a man and another man's concubine, and none of them result in capital punishment for either party,[12][13][14] although the man to whom the concubine belonged was dishonored by such a relationship.[8] For instance, David is portrayed as having been dishonoured when his concubines had a sexual relationship with his son Absalom.[15] However, this instance is as likely dishonoring to David because it involves a form of incest, as David's concubines would have been somewhat like step-mothers to David's children.[16]

Since it was regarded as the highest blessing to have many children, legitimate wives often gave their maids to their husbands to atone, at least in part, if they were barren, as in the cases of Sarah and Hagar, Rachel and Bilhah.[8] The children of the concubine had equal rights with those of the legitimate wife;[8] for example, King Abimelech was the son of Gideon and his concubine.[17] Later[8] biblical figures such as Gideon, David, and Solomon had concubines in addition to many childbearing wives. For example, the Books of Kings says that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.[18]

[edit] In Judaism

In Judaism, concubines are referred to by the Hebrew term pilegesh. The term is a non-Hebrew, non-Semitic loanword deriving from the Greek word pallakis, Greek παλλακίς,[19][20][21] meaning a mistress staying in house. Or the Aramaic phrase palga isha, meaning half-wife.[citation needed]

According to the Babylonian Talmud,[22] the difference between a concubine and a full wife was that the latter received a marriage contract (Hebrew:ketubah) and her marriage (nissu'in) was preceded by a formal betrothal (erusin), neither being the case for a concubine. But, one opinion in the Jerusalem Talmud argues that the concubine should also receive a marriage contract, but without including a clause specifying a divorce settlement.[8]

Concubinage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So in this sense, asking for permisiion from the families and giving them dowries makes since this is what seperates a wife from a concubine. Many prophets we know had concubines but in the end both are legitimate partner with equal rights. One has more financial protection than the other.

Also note that in the Bible concubines were not punished the way a wife was if she did commit sexual misconduct, precisely what the Koran said when it said that if any MMA commits a sexual misconduct she should get half of whatever punishment for the non MMA. So basically MMA is a relationship between a man and woman that is based on oath, but does not have the same criteria that is usually accompanied in a proper marriage and that makes them socially vulnerable. This may explain why the Koran talked about MMA as somewhat of an inferior arrangement.

004.024
Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess: Thus hath Allah ordained (Prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property,- desiring chastity, not lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers (at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you, and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.


But nowhere in the Bible did it ever connected concubines with slavery. Slavery deprives one partner the right of choice and is not a mutual agreement but rape one party by another. Completely unacceptable.

If you look at the wikipedia article about concubinage, the only mentioning of concubines with slavery is concerning Islam. A damn shame. And even worse its often associated with prisoners of war. So a bad situation became even worse.
 
Egyptian woman shatters social taboo amid sex scandal
Published March 9th, 2005 - 17:49 GMT

In Egypt, a real-life soap opera has come to life.


It all started when a pious soap star has been hit with a very public paternity suit by a young woman who claims she bore the actor’s child after having a relationship with him. Subsequently, the mother filed the paternity suit, stirring an unprecedented scandal and prompting national debate over the issue of secret marriage contracts young people are using in order to have sexual relations in a religious society.


Hind el-Hinnawy, 27, says she and Ahmed al-Fishawy, a 24-year-old TV star, met on a television set and entered into an Urfi marriage, an unregistered contract often used as cover for affairs. This unofficial arrangement has become popular as a way to evade Islam’s ban on premarital sex.


To make things even juicier, Fishawy is a public moralist and follower of Amr Khaled, a charismatic Muslim televangelist. Al-Fishawy is an actor known for public piety. Son of actor Farouq al-Fishawy, he is famous for his role in soap Amma Nour, sitcom Shabab Online and host of Yalla Ya Shabab, in which he gave advise to Muslim youth. It seems, however, that this time around he is in need of some good advise…


Hind el-Hinnawy's story might have provoked little more than gossip in other places. But in Egypt with its widespread taboo on sex talk and deep respect for family values, she generated a full-blown scandal when she went public with her decision to bear a child as a single mother and try to prove a popular young actor was the father. Almost nine months after she sued, a judge has ordered DNA paternity tests.


Urfi marriages have no official contract and are often kept secret. Although a document is signed in front of witnesses, the marriage can be broken simply by destroying that paper. Such marriages have become more frequent, often for poor Egyptians who cannot afford to marry or as temporary unions for people who want to legitimize their sexual activities in a Muslim society, which has restrictions on premarital sex.


In an Urfi marriage, couples repeat the words, "We got married" and pledge commitment before Allah. Usually a paper, stating that the two are married, is written and two witnesses sign it. The Egyptian government did not recognize Urfi marriages until 2000 and the paper could be used only to prove the relationship in court. A woman could not get a divorce since the government did not recognize the marriage in the first place. Under the new personal status law passed in January 2000, however, divorces from Urfi marriages are now recognized.


Undocumented Urfi marriages are increasingly popular among Egyptian youth. The skyrocketing costs of marriage force many young couples to wait several years before they actually tie the knot. Egyptian society forbids sex before marriage, so many young people consider the Urfi marriage an ideal solution.


Urfi marriages are conducted by a Muslim cleric in the presence of two witnesses, however, they are not officially registered and are not financially binding on the man. Couples married in this way often meet in secret and avoid the expense of renting an apartment.



The Urfi marriage, however, can be problematic for the wife. If the husband leaves her without granting her a divorce, she had no legal right to seek a divorce since Urfi marriage was considered illegal under the old status law. Her husband could remarry. The wife is in a more difficult position. If the wife remarries, she can be accused of polyandry which is punishable by seven years in prison in Egypt, or she could remain single for the rest of her life.


The new Egyptian law, passed in 2000, recognizes the woman's right to seek divorce from an Urfi marriage. However, the law denies her alimony and child support.


There are also controversial, unofficial Urfi marriages, where a couple signs documents declaring themselves married. The couple does not inform their families of the marriage. Many Egyptian clerics are against this type of Urfi marriage calling it a mere cover for pre-marital sex.


El-Hinnawy, a costume designer, said when she told the actor she was pregnant, he refused to admit he was the father of the child or even that the marriage arrangement existed - so she hauled him into court. In February, a judge ordered DNA testing to prove whether el-Fishawy is the father of four-month-old Leena.

Egyptian woman shatters social taboo amid sex scandal | Al Bawaba

This story says it all. This is what is meant by "ma malakat aymanukum" the Koran uses. It is a relationship established by oath only. Notice the parents were not aware and notice the lack of dowry or engagment. The Koran recognizes the legitimacy of this arrangement since its a mutual agreement by oath. However it does not recognize it as a marriage, since marriage requires financial protection and a place to settle.


4.24. Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess: Thus hath Allah ordained (Prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property,- desiring chastity, not lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers (at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you, and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise. 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: And Allah hath full knowledge about your faith. Ye are one from another: 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, if they fall into shame, their punishment is half that for free women. 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.

This translation uses free believing women and owners, the Koran never said that and actually said families not owners. The translation reads "free believing women", the Koran actually uses chaste women(Muhsinat)This is because the Sunni authroities understood MMA as slaves. And this has opened the door for vast amounts of slavery and abuse in Islamic history. These interpretation are wrong.

Slavery is prohibited in the Koran and it was one of the accusation Moses accused the Pharaoh of. Also Joseph's brothers wanted to sell him into slavery out of envy and spite.

Moses would not have reminded the Pharoah of his enslavement of the Israelites if nothing was wrong with slavery, and the Koran would not encourage freeing slave if it did not see the practice as evil and oppressive.

All of this because of a misunderstanding of the term"ma malakat aymanukum" usually translates as right hand possess. Right hand meaning oath.

MMA is a concubine and not a slave. They are worlds apart. One is an agreed arrangement, the other is rape.

The Koran understood that MMA arrangement can carry risk since its an agreement that can easily be denied by one party. It warned against enetering such arrangement desiring lust only and encouraged elevating that agreement to a proper marriage by dowry and informing family. The above case shows us why.MMA therfore is exactly what is commonly understood as urfi marriages, marriages established by oath only between and man and woman to be husband and wife and be marries. That explains why the Koran sees that arrangment, thought legitimate, as an inferior arrangment that can pave the way for abuse. Its only to be done if there is no other way to marry.

We are told in the Koran to beware speculating on the meanings of the Koran and to avoid implicit verses. The Koran says about itself:

He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:” and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding. (Quran 3:7).
 
Back
Top