The Real Islam

Can Muslims Reinterpret Qur’an 4:24 and 33:50 Today?

The Inescapable Dilemma of Slavery and Concubinage in Islam

Introduction: A Revelation That Cannot Escape Its Past

One of the most devastating challenges facing Islam in the modern world is its teaching on slavery and concubinage. The Qur’an — claimed to be the eternal and perfect word of Allah — contains verses that explicitly permit sexual access to enslaved women. Muhammad, presented as the ultimate moral model, personally owned slaves, gifted them, and kept concubines.

For centuries, this was not controversial. Slavery was normal across civilizations, and Islamic empires fully embraced it. But the modern world has abolished slavery universally, condemning it as a crime against humanity. And here lies Islam’s crisis: the Qur’an never abolished slavery.

At the heart of this issue are two verses:

Qur’an 4:24 — permits Muslim men to have sexual relations with captive women (“those whom your right hand possesses”), even if those women were already married.
Qur’an 33:50 — grants Muhammad himself the right to concubines from among war captives.

Today, Muslims face an impossible choice. They can reinterpret these verses — but that means admitting the Qur’an is imperfect and requires modern correction. Or they can refuse reinterpretation — which leaves them defending slavery and concubinage as eternal, God-given law.

This is the trap: whichever route they take, Islam’s claim to timeless moral perfection collapses.

Qur’an 4:24 — Sexual Slavery as Divine Law

The verse is brutally clear:

“And [forbidden to you are] married women, except those your right hand possesses. This is the decree of Allah upon you.”
(Qur’an 4:24, Sahih International)

The exception clause removes married women from the list of forbidden partners if they are enslaved captives. In plain language: enslaved women captured in war are sexually available to Muslim men, regardless of their marital status.

Classical Tafsir Evidence

Islamic scholars never pretended this meant anything else:

Ibn Kathir (d. 1373):
“Allah made lawful the women prisoners of war for the Muslims, after ensuring they have completed their ‘iddah [waiting period].”¹
Al-Jalalayn (15th century):
“Except those whom your right hands possess, that is, those whom you own from among the captured women, even if they are married, it is lawful for you to have sexual intercourse with them.”²
Al-Tabari (d. 923), one of the most authoritative commentators:
“The verse means that women taken as captives, even if their husbands are still alive, become permissible to their captors.”³

There is no ambiguity. The Qur’an legalized sexual slavery.

Qur’an 33:50 — Muhammad’s Concubine Privileges

If Qur’an 4:24 applies to ordinary Muslim men, Qur’an 33:50 singles out Muhammad for special treatment:

“O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives … and those your right hand possesses from what Allah has given you as booty…”

This verse explicitly legalizes Muhammad’s concubines. Islamic historians note that it justified his sexual relationship with Maria the Copt, a slave girl gifted to him by the governor of Egypt.⁴

Again, classical commentators confirm the point:

Ibn Kathir:
“He [Muhammad] was allowed to take as concubines those whom he owned, such as Maria the Copt.”⁵
Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273):
“This verse shows the permissibility of intercourse with female captives, for him and for others after him.”⁶

Thus, not only did Muhammad not abolish slavery, he personally normalized it — enshrining it as divine law for all Muslims.

Muhammad’s Practice: Slavery in the Sunnah

The Qur’an’s sanction of slavery was not theoretical. Muhammad’s own life established slavery and concubinage as permanent fixtures of Islam.

Muhammad owned slaves.
- Zayd ibn Harithah was enslaved before being freed and adopted.
- Anas ibn Malik served Muhammad for years as a slave.
- Muhammad left behind male and female slaves at his death.⁷
Muhammad distributed enslaved women.
- Sahih Muslim 4345: After the Battle of Hunayn, Muhammad gave captured women to his companions.
Muhammad’s companions asked about sex with captives.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4138: Companions asked about practicing coitus interruptus with captive women. Muhammad did not forbid the sex itself — only warned that destiny determined birth.
Muhammad kept concubines.
- Maria the Copt bore him a son, Ibrahim. She was never a wife, always a concubine.

In short, Muhammad practiced, regulated, and modeled slavery — he did not abolish it.

Jurisprudence: Slavery in Sharia Law

All four Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, Hanbali) accepted slavery and concubinage as lawful.

Al-Mawardi (Shafi‘i jurist, d. 1058):
“The ruler has the right to distribute captives: enslave them, ransom them, or kill them.”⁸
Ibn Qudamah (Hanbali jurist, d. 1223):
“It is permissible to have intercourse with a female slave owned by one’s right hand, without marriage.”⁹
Mukhtasar Khalil (Maliki manual, 14th century):
Concubinage is lawful, and intercourse with a slave woman is permitted without marriage.
Hanafi fiqh manuals likewise affirm the legitimacy of concubinage and the inheritance of slaves.

There is unanimous agreement: slavery is not forbidden in Islam. It is a permanent institution in Sharia.

Historical Practice: 1,300 Years of Slavery

If the Qur’an had planted seeds of abolition, history would show them sprouting. Instead, every Islamic empire practiced slavery:

Umayyad & Abbasid Caliphates: Slave armies, harems, and massive trade networks.
Mamluk Sultanate: Literally built on military slavery — a ruling caste of slave-soldiers.
Ottoman Empire: Ran vast slave markets; captured Balkan boys became janissaries, while women were funneled into harems.
Arab Slave Trade: Lasted over 1,000 years, longer than the transatlantic trade, and disproportionately enslaved women for concubinage.¹⁰

Late Abolition

Slavery in Muslim lands ended only under Western pressure:

Ottoman Empire: Abolition decrees in the mid-19th century under European influence.
Saudi Arabia: Outlawed slavery in 1962 under U.S. pressure.
Mauritania: Criminalized slavery in 1981 — yet it continues underground.

For over 1,300 years, no caliph, sultan, or jurist abolished slavery from within Islam.

The Apologetic Escape Hatch: “Contextualization”

Modern Muslims, horrified by this legacy, try to escape through reinterpretation.

They argue:

“It was normal back then.”
“Islam improved slaves’ conditions.”
“The Qur’an encouraged freeing slaves as charity.”
“We don’t apply these verses today.”

But none of these claims change the fact: the Qur’an never forbids slavery, Muhammad practiced it, and Sharia enshrines it.

Option 1: Reinterpret the Verses

If Muslims reinterpret Qur’an 4:24 and 33:50 to forbid slavery, they admit:

The Qur’an is not perfect.
An eternal revelation should not require rescue by modern ethics.
Islam needs external morality.
If modern human rights are the true standard, then Allah’s revelation failed to provide one.
Allah failed as a communicator.
If God’s intent was abolition, why did every Muslim for 1,300 years understand these verses as permitting slavery?

⚠️ Conclusion: Reinterpretation destroys the Qur’an’s claim to eternal perfection.

Option 2: Refuse Reinterpretation

If Muslims refuse reinterpretation, holding the Qur’an as eternally valid:

Slavery and concubinage remain lawful forever.
Islam endorses what is now universally condemned as immoral.
Muslims are stuck defending rape and slavery as divine law.

🚫 Conclusion: Non-reinterpretation makes Islam morally monstrous.

No Middle Ground

Some attempt a compromise: “Islam tolerated slavery then, but we don’t need it now.”

This fails because:

The Qur’an never abolishes slavery.
Muhammad himself practiced it.
Classical jurisprudence unanimously upheld it.

The text itself locks Muslims into the dilemma.

Why Modern Muslim Rejection Doesn’t Save Islam

Many Muslims today sincerely reject slavery. But their rejection proves the opposite of what they claim:

Their morality is not coming from the Qur’an or Sunnah.
It is coming from modern human rights, Enlightenment philosophy, and secular law.

If Islam really abolished slavery, why did every Islamic empire practice it until the West forced abolition?

The answer: because Islam never abolished it.

The Inescapable Truth

Even if every Muslim today hates slavery, Islam as an ideology still validates it.

That leaves two choices:

Admit the Qur’an is flawed and morally deficient.
Defend slavery as eternally valid under Sharia.

There is no third option.

Conclusion: Islam’s Moral Failure Is Permanent

Slavery and concubinage are embedded in the Qur’an, modeled by Muhammad, codified by jurists, and practiced by Islamic empires for 1,300 years.

Modern apologetics cannot escape this:

Reinterpretation proves the Qur’an is not perfect.
Non-reinterpretation proves Islam endorses immorality.

This is why Trap 7 is devastating: it reveals Islam’s central weakness. A religion that claims to be eternal morality is chained to the brutal practices of the 7th century.

Muslims can reject slavery — but only by rejecting their own scripture.

Disclaimer

This post critiques Islam as a doctrine and historical system, not Muslims as individuals. Every human being deserves respect; beliefs do not.

References

Footnotes

Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim, commentary on Qur’an 4:24. ↩
Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal ad-Din as-Suyuti, Tafsir al-Jalalayn, commentary on 4:24. ↩
Al-Tabari, Jami‘ al-Bayan fi Ta’wil al-Qur’an, vol. 5, p. 18. ↩
Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa’l-Muluk, vol. 39, pp. 9–11. ↩
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, commentary on 33:50. ↩
Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami‘ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an, commentary on 33:50. ↩
Sahih Muslim 4345; Sahih al-Bukhari 4138. ↩
Al-Mawardi, Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah, ch. on captives. ↩
Ibn Qudamah, Al-Mughni, vol. 9. ↩
Paul Lovejoy, Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa (Cambridge, 2011). ↩