Slavery & Captives
This page presents primary Quranic verses, canonical Hadith narrations, and historical biographic records concerning slavery, female captives, concubinage, and the rules governing war booty. Each entry is shown with its original text, an English translation, authoritative source links, and a neutral, factual explanation.
Female Captives & Concubinage (Ma Malakat Aymanukum)
Classical Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) derived the legal framework of female concubinage from the Quranic phrase ma malakat aymanukum ("those whom your right hands possess"). Male owners were legally entitled to have sexual relations with enslaved women and female captives without entering into a contract of marriage (nikah).
Quran 4:3 — Marry Up to Four or Take Concubines from Captives
"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 hands possess [i.e., slaves]. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice]."
— Saheeh InternationalThis verse permits men to marry up to four wives, but offers an alternative if financial equity between wives cannot be maintained: taking concubines from among "those your right hands possess." i.e slaves. Under Islamic law, enslaved women did not have the same financial rights to maintenance or equal overnight stays that free wives had, creating a distinct legal category of sexual access without full marital obligations.
Quran 4:24 — Married Captives Permitted as Concubines
"And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess. [This is] the decree of Allāh upon you. And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these, [provided] that you seek them [in marriage] with [gifts from] your property, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse. So for whatever you enjoy [of marriage] from them, give them their due compensation as an obligation. And there is no blame upon you for what you mutually agree to beyond the obligation. Indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing and Wise."
— Saheeh InternationalThis verse lists categories of women forbidden for marriage. It explicitly excempts married women who are captured in war and become property. Classical commentators explain that capture by a Muslim army automatically dissolved the captive woman's existing marriage, making her sexually permissible to her new owner after a single menstrual cycle to ensure she was not pregnant.
Sahih Muslim 1456a — Revelation Permitting Relations with Captive Women
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: At the Battle of Hunayn, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) sent an army to Autas. They encountered the enemy, fought them, and defeated them, capturing female prisoners. Some of the companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) hesitated to have sexual intercourse with them because of their polytheist husbands. Thereupon Allah revealed: "And married women are forbidden except those your right hands possess" (Quran 4:24), making sexual relations with them lawful after their waiting period expired.
— Sahih Muslim, Book 17, Hadith 41This hadith provides the historical context for Quran 4:24. During the campaign at Autas (after the Battle of Hunayn in 630 CE), Muslim soldiers hesitated to have sex with captive married women whose husbands were still alive. The revelation of 4:24 resolved this by confirming that military capture annuls prior marriages, permitting intercourse with captured women.
Sahih Muslim 1438c — 'Azl (Coitus Interruptus) with Female Captives
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: "We took women captives, and we wanted to do 'azl (coitus interruptus) with them. We then asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about it, and he said: 'Verily you do it, verily you do it, verily you do it, but the soul which has to be born until the Day of Judgment must be born.'"
— Sahih Muslim, Book 16, Hadith 148This hadith records the companions practicing 'azl (the pull out method) with their female captives to avoid pregnancy. When they asked Muhammad for guidance, he did not forbid the practice but gave a cryptic response — repeating "verily you do it" three times — indicating that predestination overrides human attempts at contraception: any soul destined to be born will be born regardless.
Most schools of Islamic law permit 'azl with a wife's consent — but the hadith notably makes no mention of seeking the consent of the captive women themselves, reflecting the legal reality that female captives (ma malakat aymanuhum) had no right to refuse their owner's sexual access or to control their own reproduction.
Spoils of War & Distribution of Captives
The Quran establishes a formal legal framework for the distribution of captives taken during military campaigns. Following battles, captured men, women, and children were treated as part of the war booty (ghanima), with a fixed share allocated to God, the Prophet, and the state, while the remainder was divided among the soldiers who participated in the engagement.
Quran 8:41 — One-Fifth Share of Spoils and Captives (Khums)
"And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allāh is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allāh and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion [i.e., decisive encounter] - the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allāh, over all things, is competent."
— Saheeh InternationalThis verse establishes the law of khums (the fifth-share). After military campaigns, all spoils of war — including wealth, livestock, and captured people — were pooled. One-fifth went to the Prophet and designated state purposes, while the remaining 80% was divided among participating soldiers. Essentially, legalizing the practice of slavery.
Quran 8:69 — Spoils of War Declared Lawful and Pure
"So consume what you have taken of war booty [as being] lawful and good, and fear Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful."
— Saheeh InternationalThis verse declared spoils of war to be religiously lawful and pure for Muslims. Prior Islamic customs regarding war booty varied; this verse codified the acquisition of property and captives taken in battle as a legitimate divine sanction.
Quran 33:26–27 — Execution of Men, Enslavement of Women and Children
33:26: "And He brought down those who supported them among the People of the Scripture from their fortresses and cast terror into their hearts [so that] a party [i.e., their men] you killed, and you took captive a party [i.e., the women and children]."
33:27: "And He caused you to inherit their land and their homes and their properties and a land which you have not trodden. And ever is Allah, over all things, competent."
— Saheeh InternationalDescribing the outcome of the campaign against Banu Qurayza, verse 26 records the division of the defeated into executed men and enslaved women and children. Verse 27 affirms the divine inheritance of their lands, homes, and property — framing mass enslavement and property seizure as divinely ordained.
Trading, Ransom & Legal Status of Enslaved Persons
Canonical Hadith and early Islamic historical records document that captives taken in war were treated as chattel — bought, sold, exchanged, and ransomed like other forms of property. The Prophet and his companions personally participated in the distribution and trading of enslaved persons, establishing legal precedents that were codified in classical Islamic jurisprudence.
Sahih al-Bukhari 371 — Captive Distribution and Safiyya's Exchange
Narrated Anas bin Malik: After the conquest of Khaybar, captives were gathered. Dihya al-Kalbi came and said, "O Allah's Prophet! Give me a slave girl from the captives." The Prophet said, "Go and take any slave girl." He took Safiyya bint Huyayy. Then a man came to the Prophet and said, "O Prophet of Allah! You gave Safiyya to Dihya, but she is the chief mistress of Quraidha and An-Nadir, and she is fit for nobody but you." So the Prophet said, "Call him with her." When the Prophet saw her, he said to Dihya, "Take another slave girl from the captives." The Prophet then set her free and married her.
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 8, Hadith 23This narration illustrates the distribution of human spoils after military campaigns. Captives were assigned to individual soldiers as shares of booty. When Safiyya bint Huyayy (daughter of the Banu Nadir leader) was assigned to Dihya, companions noted her high status, so Muhammad exchanged her for seven other captives, freed her, and married her.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4121 — Banu Qurayza Captives Sold in Slave Markets
Following the surrender of Banu Qurayza, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh decreed that the men be executed and the women and children taken as captives. Classical biographies (Sirat Rasul Allah by Ibn Ishaq, p. 466) record that Muhammad dispatched Sa'd ibn Zayd al-Ansari with captive women and children of Banu Qurayza to Najd to sell them in slave markets, using the proceeds to purchase horses and weapons for the military state.
— Sirat Rasul Allah (Ibn Ishaq) & Sahih al-Bukhari 4121In classical Islamic law, captive women and children were state assets or personal booty that could be kept as concubines or servants, ransomed back to their families, or sold in commercial markets to purchase horses and weapons.