Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Rape of Slaves, Prisoners, and Wives: Difference between revisions

Rape, or az-[[zina]] bil jabr (الزنا بالجبر), is a crime under Islamic law, and the perpetrator is subject to the [[w:hudud|hudud]], that is, capital punishments such as whipping and execution. The Islamic understanding of rape, though, differs markedly from the understanding of rape present in modern codes of law. "Maa malakat 'aymaanakum"ما ملكت أيمانكم" or "what your right hand possess", that is, [[Slavery in Islamic Law|slaves]], do not have the right to refuse the sexual advances of their owners, and likewise for women taken as booty by victorious Muslim warriors. Wives, likewise, do not have the right to refuse the sexual advances of their husbands. As such, the rape of slaves and wives is not considered unlawful in [[Islamic law]]. Almost to emphasise the point, the rape of the slaves of other men is treated as property damage, not as zina bil jabr deserving a [[w:hadd|hadd]] punishment.