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Was This Loophole For Prostitution Of Slaves Allowed?
It talks about having intercourse and then returning to the same buyer, the context was speaking about the ottoman empire but it says it was an accepted form of prostitution. Allah allowed intimacy with slaves and also they are allowed to sell them after if they wish. But is this buying and returning and the same person profits off it over and over, is that not a form of prostitution? Or one person going around buying, using and returning repeatedly. Wouldnt u need a valid excuse to return ownership
“Since the principle of concubinage in Islam in Islamic Law allowed a man to have intercourse with his female slave, prostitution was also practiced by a pimp selling his female slave on the slave market to a client, who was allowed to have intercourse with her as her new owner; and who returned his ownership of her to her pimp on the pretext of discontent after intercourse, which was a legal and accepted method for prostitution in the Islamic world.[29]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_prostitution
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4 Replies
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Was This Loophole For Prostitution Of Slaves Allowed?
updated 2 months, 2 weeks ago
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The scenario you’ve described is a classic example of how legal loopholes are often used to bypass the spirit of a law while technically staying within its “letter.” In the context of the Ottoman Empire or any historical period where these practices occurred, what you are describing is indeed a form of institutionalized exploitation that mimics prostitution, regardless of the legal “pretext” used to justify it. When a slave is bought, used for intimacy, and then returned under the guise of “discontent” so the original owner can profit again, the core objective isn’t a legitimate transfer of ownership; it’s a commercial transaction for sexual access. From a principled Islamic perspective, this isn’t just a “loophole”—it is a subversion of the moral framework that the Quran intended to establish.
To understand why this is problematic, we have to look at the Quranic objective regarding slavery. The Quran did not “invent” slavery; it inherited a world where it was an ancient, global economic reality. However, the Quranic project was one of gradual but certain abolition. It shut the doors on making new slaves (limiting “captives” only to active warfare) and created numerous pathways for their liberation. More importantly, the Quran insisted that even within the temporary existence of concubinage, the relationship must be governed by Ihsan (moral excellence) and the eventual goal of marriage or freedom.
“And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, to seek [thereby] the temporary interests of worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is [to them], after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful.” (Surah An-Nur, 24:33)
The Quran explicitly forbade the exploitation of slave women for financial gain through sexual labor, stating that they should not be forced into such lives if they desire to live virtuously. Therefore, any system that turns a human being into a revolving commodity for sexual profit is a direct violation of the Quranic prohibition against “compelling” them into such a life.
Furthermore, the legal excuse of “returning for discontent” is a manipulation of contract law. In any genuine sale, a return happens because of a legitimate defect in the “commodity.” Using this as a cover for a temporary sexual transaction is a mockery of the law. Religion is not a set of mechanical tricks to outsmart God; it is a discipline for the heart and soul. If the intent behind the purchase is not to provide a home and a stable status for the woman, but rather to facilitate a “pay-per-use” service, then the transaction is morally void. Just because a historical society or a specific legal school found a way to “accept” it does not mean it aligns with the Divine intent. Historically, many cultures have tried to dress up exploitation in legal clothing, but the Quranic principle of Taqwa (God-consciousness) requires us to look at the reality of our actions, not just the labels we put on them.
Ultimately, what you are describing is a human failure to live up to the ethical standards of the faith. The fact that individuals or empires found ways to profit from such loopholes reflects their own moral compromises rather than a flaw in the original message of the Quran. The Quran’s trajectory was always toward the dignity of the human soul and the protection of the vulnerable. Any practice that treats a human being as a rental object for lust and profit is a betrayal of that dignity. True faith demands that we recognize these “legalized” forms of prostitution for what they are: an abuse of power that the Quran sought to dismantle, not encourage.
“Your slaves are your brothers and Allah has put them under your command. So whoever has a brother under his command should feed him of what he eats and dress him of what he wears. Do not overburden them with what they cannot bear, and if you do so, help them.” (Bukhari)
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Thank you for such an insightful answer. I understand that people were exploiting this and even if it wasn’t legally wrong was it sinful on part of the seller if they were doing this repeatedly? As they are literally a pimp. Or the buyer as well for the obvious intent before hand to buy, use and return. Or the text states that “and who returned his ownership of her to her pimp on the pretext of discontent after intercourse” was this a transfer of ownership without being considered a return. I am just trying to understand if there was sin attached to this specific scenario.
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Dressing a sin in a contract doesn’t make it any less of a sin. In a courtroom, these men might have escaped punishment on a technicality, but in Islamic ethics, they were committing a profound deception.
The seller is in direct violation of Surah An-Nur (24:33), which explicitly forbids forcing slave women into sexual labor for “worldly gain.” By repeatedly “selling” and “receiving” the woman back for profit, he isn’t a businessman; he’s a trafficker. Using his power to exploit a vulnerable person for money is a total betrayal of the Amanah (trust) God placed in him.
In Islam, actions are judged by Niyyah (intent). If the buyer intends to return the woman before he even pays, the “sale” is a sham. He is effectively committing a form of “legalized” Zina (fornication) under the mask of fake ownership. He can lie to a judge about being “discontented,” but he cannot lie to the One who “knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts conceal” (40:19).
The “pretext of discontent” was a cynical abuse of Contract Law. Legal returns were meant for genuine defects in a purchase. These men treated a human being as a “pay-per-use” service, using the “return” policy to get their money back after the act. This wasn’t a transfer of ownership; it was a revolving door for exploitation.
This wasn’t a “flaw in religion,” but a human failure. These people were trying to outsmart Divine Law with human cleverness. No amount of legal jargon transforms an act of greed and lust into a valid religious practice.
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Sorry for stepping into your discussion, but I felt it was appropriate to respond.
The quotation you referred to is essentially claiming that repeatedly selling a female slave, having intercourse with her, and then returning her under the pretext of “discontent” was a legal method and was used as an accepted form of prostitution. To understand this issue properly, it is necessary to distinguish between Islamic legal principles and historical practices.
What Islamic law permitted was that if a woman was lawfully owned by a man, he could have relations with her under the concept of milk al-yamin. This was not introduced as a substitute for marriage in an ideal sense, but rather as a regulation within the pre-existing global system of slavery at that time. Even then, it was subject to conditions, such as waiting periods, protection of lineage, the status of umm walad if she bore a child, and the prohibition of unjust harm or exploitation.
However, purchasing a woman merely for temporary sexual use and then returning her according to a pre-arranged plan contradicts the spirit of Shariah. Jurists have regarded deception, legal tricks, and artificial contractual arrangements in sales as impermissible. If a sale is carried out with the hidden intention of having intercourse once and then returning her on some pretext, this effectively becomes a legal stratagem to disguise prostitution under the cover of ownership. In Islamic law, such stratagems are generally considered invalid or at the very least sinful, because intention and purpose carry significant weight.
It should also be remembered that the Qur’an explicitly prohibited forcing slave women into prostitution during the pre-Islamic era. If a system involves repeatedly using a woman with different men while the original owner profits from it, this comes dangerously close to what was prohibited. Therefore, it cannot simply be justified by saying that ownership made everything lawful.
Historically, if such abuses occurred in the Ottoman Empire or any other Muslim society, they should be viewed as social corruption or misuse of the legal framework, not as a clear and sanctioned ruling of Islam itself. Throughout history, deviations have occurred in many societies, but they should not automatically be attributed to the core principles of the religion.
In summary, buying a woman solely for temporary sexual benefit and returning her according to a prior arrangement goes against the ethical and legal objectives of Shariah, and describing it as “legitimate prostitution” is not an accurate representation of Islamic legal and Qur’anic principles.
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