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Is Abducting & Selling Women Allowed in Islam?

05 February, 2017
Q I was reading about freeing women slaves and using force. So how do you explain what is happening in the Middle East now with forcing women and selling them.

Answer

Salam (Peace) Dear Maryann,

Thank you for contacting About Islam with your question.

Let’s first agree that Islam has a firm stance on slavery. In Islam, human beings are: born fully free, fully accountable for their actions, and have the right to move freely.

Men and women have the right to practice whatever they choose; no one has the right to restrict anybody’s freedom.

When Islam came, slavery was widespread and commonly practiced in Arabia. There were many sources for slavery such as war, debt, kidnapping, raids, poverty, and need.

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Islam blocked all the means of slavery and offered practical solutions for this phenomenon. Islam recommended freeing slaves and put restrictions on taking prisoners of war, commanding that they are to be treated kindly and justly.

With regard to what is happening in the Middle East, close sources to women taken hostages say that there are different scenarios about the fate of those women.

Some sources suggest that they are put in jails and treated badly. Other sources suggest that they are forced to leave for other countries.

Such women are used by the kidnappers to ask for demands from the authorities. Kidnappers are also threatening to sell them in black markets.

Some people kidnap women and ask their families for ransom. Some women are sexually abused and sometimes forced to marry one of the kidnappers.

The situation is getting worse day after day. Therefore, human rights organizations have to take a firm move in putting an end to women taken hostages anywhere in the world. The world has to do something about this crisis.

Women taken hostages are not only Muslim or Arab. Women from different countries and different backgrounds are kidnapped or killed by those groups who have nothing to do with Islam.

Unfortunately, this is the reality. It is also a reality that this happens in majority Christian countries. Women are imprisoned and forced in to prostitution every day. This is a brutal fact of the world we live in and not only a problem in the Middle East, but also the US, Canada, the UK, and so on.  

And this reality has nothing to do with the teachings of Islam. Just because something happens in the Middle East does not mean it has an Islamic basis. Islam is about peace, tolerance, and security.

Islam is not about using force and aggression against anyone, male or female, Muslim or non-Muslim, black or white, African or American, etc.

Women are to be treated with gentleness and kindness. Women are to be protected against any kind of harassment or sexual abuse.

Women are not to be taken hostages or used as political pawns to gain some benefits from governments.

The groups that commit such criminal acts and horrific atrocities willfully distort the teachings of the Quran and the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

This is what Islam says about selling people. Allah the Almighty said in a divine narration:

There are three whose opponent I will be on the Day of Resurrection, and whomever I oppose, I will defeat […] A man who sold a free man and consumed his price. (Al-Bukhari)

The message of Islam is about mercy and compassion. Islam was never spread by the sword rather by the power of the word.

There is nothing in Islam that justifies the destruction and killing of innocent people. All Muslim scholars agree that the atrocities committed by such groups are heinous crimes against humanity.

I hope this helps answer your question.

Salam and please keep in touch.

Useful Links:

Did Muhammad Liberate Women from Slavery and Abuse?

Sex with Slaves: What’s the Deal?

Does Islam Encourage Rape and Slavery?

What Is Islam’s Stance on Slavery?