Can a man keep a woman as concubine whom he feeds, clothes and provides shelter?
A girl who live like a slave with a man. He feeds her, gives her clothes, money and all things but if man does intercourse with this girl will it be zina or rape- or will it be Halal?
Talk2Farhan.
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Salaams,
There are no concubines in Islam. You may have wife, or according to tradition you may have sexual relations with female slaves in your possession. However, slavery is not a condoned or humanistic practice in any part of the world currently, that I'm aware of.
Quite honestly, if you are keeping a woman and paying for all of her needs, I wouldn't consider her your slave or anything else- no matter what she does for you in return. Instead of playing games with semantics and technicalities, it's better to marry a woman than to flirt with the boundaries of zina.
-Amy
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
This is NOT halal at ALL. This is COMPLETELY zina.
The slaves that a Muslim man may have sex with(thus making them concubines if that is your definition) are captured PRISONERS OF WAR. This is totally and utterly haram.
There is no need to warn him about flirting with the boundaries of zina. This is explicitly zina and not something in the gray area. One simply cannot invent ones own Shariah definition of a slave.
Slaves are captured prisoners of war-the woman in this case is HARAM to this brother.
You could have a slave BUT NOT NOW.. GONE ARE THE DAYS. !! PROPHET SAWS HAD A son name Ibrahim form a slave called marya. who was from Egypt but prophet saws married her.
SO you can marry a slave and elevate her status. but not in this era
Please read comments below akhi and the information I posted. JazzakAllahu khair
Seasons of sin -How a Glance becomes Despair COME NOT NIGH HEAR ADULTERY-QURANS DIRECT POINT.
We’ve all heard of the seven deadly sins, but in reality their number is not limited to seven. Abdullah ibn 'Abbas said: "Seventy is closer to their number than seven". A major sin is one for which the Quran/Sunnah prescribes a punishment in this life and in the next, or that sin for which the sinner has incurred a curse by Allah or the Messenger (sal-Allahu alayhi wa-sallam).
Fornication and Adultery will be discussed here and is one of the major sins mentioned on this frightening list of seventy sins on:
Each of the sins listed has attached to it seemingly smaller sins which accumulate and lead to the bigger sin. Hence it makes complete sense to understand that to indulge in the acts that lead to the major sin are sin as well. So we should do our utmost to protect ourselves from the paths that lead to the major sins.
***
I felt it was necessary to discuss this subject here as so many of the questions submitted on IslamicAnswers.com are from people who have fallen into zina and are now despairing and even contemplating suicide. I have briefly touched upon: warning people about how easily one can be lured towards zina, how to prevent oneself from falling into zina, the dire consequences if one does fall and the concept of Tawbah. This post has the following subheadings:
Remember, Allah(swt) did not just say, 'Don't have unlawful sexual intercourse, He(swt) warned us against even 'coming near' it! Because you continued ignoring this, you were no longer able to see or hear the light or truth, you became confused. Some of you hated doing those bad things, but your goal had become only to please your girlfriend/boyfriend. Some of you enjoyed sinning and became slave to your lower desires. Either way, you became a slave to other than Allah, thereby committing indirect shirk.
Throw out the bad seeds and remove all traces of the thorny stem that spread so deep within your soul. Plant a single seed of goodness and the new flowers will begin to blossom again. Listen to your conscience, 'that' is the good thought that will help you smile once more - just accept the call of Allah and turn back to him through sincere Tawbah.
So my brother, my sister - check yourselves every night before you sleep. Ask yourself this: 'What did I do today that was wrong? And what can I do now to put things right?'
Nip it in the bud, don't let that 'glance' turn to 'despair'.
Assalaamualaikam
So far as I am aware, slavery is condemned and illegal throughout the world. While there is reference in the Quran to guide relations with slaves, it is also made clear that we should strive to follow the laws of the society or country in which we live. As ethical and legal opinion currently states that slavery is unacceptable, having a slave is not permissible.
Concubines are not permitted in Islam; sexual or romantic relations should be kept within the limits given to us.
Midnightmoon
IslamicAnswers.com editor
I honestly don't have an answer for this topic I just can't stand it sorry if I sound harsh!!!!
if this is the mentality of the men of the ummah we are doomed.
Don't generalize please. It's the mentality of one ignoramus.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
And I'm judgmental! Come on Wael..........
The brother in question clearly doesn't know so he is ignorant of this but a gentle explanation will suffice. I am concerned that some of the responders here don't seem to know what the ruling is on who is halal for a Muslim man in Islam and what the attitude of a Muslim is toward this part of Shariah.
Also, why do some of my comments get accepted, then later get deleted anyways? I responded t Talib ul Uloom because he thought that the Prophet sallahualayhiwasalam married Maria al Qibtiyya....which is not the case of course however it seems to be a common misconception.
According to ibn Kathir he did in fact marry her.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Ok, but according to other sources he did not marry her. I remember that from Islam QA that it was her son Ibrahim who freed her so obviously from that we can ascertain that she was not married.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not marry Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah, rather she was a concubine who was given to him by al-Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt. That took place after the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah. Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah was a Christian, then she became Muslim (may Allaah be pleased with her).
—Ibn Saad, The Life of Prophet
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) lodged her – meaning Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah and her sister – with Umm Sulaym bint Milhaan, and the Messenger of Allaah (S) entered upon them and told them about Islam. He took Mariyah as a concubine and moved her to some property of his in al-‘Awaali… and she became a good Muslim.
—Al-Tabaqaat al-Kubra, 1/134-135
Mariyah died during the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, in Muharram of 16 AH. ‘Umar gathered the people himself to attend her funeral, and he led the funeral prayer for her. She was buried in al-Baqee’.
—Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, Al-Isti’aab, 4/1912
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had four concubines, one of whom was Mariyah.
—Ibn al-Qayyim , biography
Abu ‘Ubaydah said: He had four (concubines): Mariyah, who was the mother of his son Ibraaheem; Rayhaanah; another beautiful slave woman whom he acquired as a prisoner of war; and a slave woman who was given to him by Zaynab bint Jahsh.
—Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/114
http://www.islamqa.info/en/47572
I didn't know that Ibn Kathir was of the opinion that she was married. I thought it was just a knew opinion that people just assumed. Did he say this in his Tafsir?
Anyways, we can see from the above that there is a form of concubinage that is allowed in Islam and that is between a Muslim man and a female slave under his possession.
Sorry for the double comment! That was unintentional.
In any case, I got this from Ibn Kathir
And Ibn Katheer also said:
The phrase “and those (slaves) whom your right hand possesses — whom Allaah has given to you” [al-Ahzaab 33:50] means, it is permissible for you take concubines from among those whom you seized as war booty. He took possession of Safiyyah and Juwayriyah and he freed them and married them; he took possession of Rayhaanah bint Sham’oon al-Nadariyyah and Maariyah al-Qibtiyyah, the mother of his son Ibraaheem (peace be upon them both), and they were among his concubines, may Allaah be pleased with them both.
Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/500
http://www.islamqa.info/en/10382
So it seems to me that there is somewhat of a consensus that Maria RA was a concubine of the Prophet sallahualayhiwasalam as she was gifted to him as a slave.
This question was posted about 12-18 mths ago as well - don't know if the poster is the same man. He was told then too that this is unIslamic and he was trying to justify his zina
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
I think this fatwa from Islam QA should clear up any confusion whatsoever. The brother in question has a misunderstanding of what constitutes a lawful concubine in Islam.
In think this fatwa is probably the best possible answer.
http://www.islamqa.info/en/26067
"He hired a woman to serve him then he agreed with her that she would be his slave"
The following is a question from a similarly confused brother....
"Few years back, I needed a slave for comfort and support and to fulfill my jobs, I was able to pay the slave what they wanted and to comfort them too on their conditions. There was a Young Lady who agreed, on our conditions. My slave was only there when I needed her a bit like part employment she came over when I needed her and went away when not needed. We made a contract that she would serve me because she agreed and I agreed with my side.
Hence, this young lady still lives in her parents home and is not marries she agreed I be her master so it gives me the rights to touch her and look at her. We spent a lot of time together and I freed her from the contracts then got married together.
The point is that we get slaves from war time, but when will that come? Here she had agreed. And look after with the same standard of mine
Is there any haram element in this situation because the master only touched someone he owned, so this cannot be zinna.
-I would like to know the equities of slaves too
-How to you own a slave and what is the sharee condition?
-Can the master and slave have bodily contact and to what extent?
-Is there an age difference limit, i.e. they both can’t be same age?
-Can this kept secret or does everyone HAVE TO know?
-What is the minimum age the master and slave can be?
-IS SLAVES ARE ONLY AVAILABLE AT WAR-TIME, , IS THERE ANOTHER WAS OF OWNING A SLAVE?
Is it true our prophet (pbuh) owned many slaves, and called one ship?"
Praise be to Allaah.
Some of the questions are repeated and interconnected. We will answer them all – in sha Allaah – in the following points.
Firstly:
What you did with the servant woman is haraam and is not permissible. A servant woman is not a slave woman whom it is permissible to touch and have intercourse with. A servant woman is free and is not permissible for you except through marriage, which is what you did, but unfortunately you did it late.
The contract that existed between you and the servant woman was a contract of employment, which was to serve you in your house. It was not a contract that permitted you to have intercourse with her. You say that she agreed that you would be her master and she let you touch her and look at her, and that you freed her from the contract, but this has no basis of validity in sharee’ah in the sense that you refer to. A free woman cannot become a slave unless she is a kaafir woman from a state that is at war with the Muslims and the Muslims have captured her. This does not apply in the case which you are asking about.
Secondly:
Slaves (men and women) may be taken in the wars that take place between Muslims and kaafirs, not in wars that are fought amongst the Muslims at times of tribulation.
Islam limited the sources of slaves which existed before the mission of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to just one source, namely slavery resulting from capturing prisoners from among the kuffaar, including women and children.
Shaykh al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The reason why a person may be taken as a slave is his being a kaafir and waging war against Allaah and His Messenger. If Allaah enables the Muslims who are striving and sacrificing their lives and their wealth and all that Allaah has given them to make the word of Allaah supreme over the kaafirs, then He allows them to enslave the kuffaar when they capture them, unless the ruler chooses to free them or to ransom them, if that serves the interests of the Muslims.
Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 3/387
Thirdly:
The mujaahideen take possession of slave women as they take possession of the spoils of war. It is permissible for the one who gains possession of male or female slaves to sell them. In both cases – owning a slave through battle or through purchase – it is not permissible for a man to have intercourse with a slave woman until after she has had one menstrual cycle from which it may be established that she is not pregnant. If she is pregnant, then he must wait until she has given birth.
It was narrated that Ruwayfi’ ibn Thaabit al-Ansaari said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say on the day of Hunayn: “It is not permissible for any man who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to irrigate the crop of another else – meaning to have intercourse with a woman who is pregnant. And it is not permissible for a man who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to have intercourse with a captured woman until he has established that she is not pregnant. And it is not permissible for a man who believes in Allaah and the Last Day to sell any booty until it has been shared out.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2158; classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1890.
Fourthly:
It is permissible for there to be a physical relationship between a man and his female slave just as there is between a man and his wife, unless he marries her off to someone else, in which case it is not permissible for him to have intercourse with her because it is not permissible for a woman to be in an intimate relationship with two men at the same time.
Fifthly:
There are no limits with regard to the age difference between a man and his female slave, apart from the fact that it is not permissible for him to have intercourse with her until after she has become able for that.
Sixthly:
The relationship between a man and his female slave should be announced publicly and not kept secret. That is because there are rulings that stem from this announcement, such as if they have children, and so as to ward off any suspicions that people who see them together may have concerning him and her.
Seventhly:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) owned some male and female slaves, among whom were the following:
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Zayd ibn Haarithah ibn Shuraaheel, the beloved of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He freed him and arranged his marriage to his freed slave woman Umm Ayman, and she bore him Usaamah. His other slaves include Aslam, Abu Raafi’, Thawbaan, Abu Kabshah Sulaym, Shaqraan (whose name was Saalih), Rabaah (who was Nubian), Yassaar (who was also Nubian and was killed by the ‘Arniyeen); Mid’am and Kirkirah (another Nubian) – these two were killed at Khaybar. They also included Anjashah al-Haadi and Safeenah ibn Farookh, whose real name was Mihraan, but the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called him Safeenah (= “ship”) because they used to make him carry their luggage when they traveled, so he said, “You are a ship (anta safeenah).” Abu Haatim said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) freed him; someone else said that Umm Salamah freed him. The Prophet’s slaves also included Anasah, whose nickname was Abu Mashrah; Aflah; ‘Ubayd; Tahmaan – also known as Keesaan; Dhakwaan; Mihraan; Marwaan – although it was said that this was another name of Tahmaan, and Allaah knows best; Hunayn; Sandar; Fudaalah (who was Yemeni); Maaboor (who was a eunuch); Waaqid; Abu Waaqid; Qassaam; Abu ‘Usayb and Abu Muwayhabah.
His female slaves included: Salma (Umm Raafi’); Maymoonah bint Sa’d; Khadrah; Radwa; Razeenah; Umm Dameerah; Maymoonah bint Abi ‘Usayb; Maariyah and Rayhaanah.
Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/114-116
Eighthly:
It is rare nowadays to find slaves in the shar’i sense in which it is permissible to be intimate with them etc. That is because most of the Muslims have long since given up the obligation of jihad for the sake of Allaah, in addition to their position of weakness and humiliation before their kaafir enemies, so that many of the majority-Muslim nations have signed the protocol that expressly forbids slavery and strives to put an end to it, which was agreed upon in the United Nations in 1953.
Based on that we must be very careful in examining any case where people are bought and sold as slaves, and we must also beware of the misinterpretation of the word amah (pl. imaa’) (= slave woman) which some new Muslims understand to mean that enslavement takes place simply by paying the woman some money and agreeing to have intercourse with her. This is like prostitution which is now widespread in some immoral places, night clubs and telephone sex services.
We ask Allaah to help us and you to be patient with regard to matters of our religion and to protect us from falling into evil.
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
So, in light of the above fatwa, it is clear that what the brother is trying to do is prostitution which is a form of zina. It is not a halal form of concubinage but a haram form.
It seems that the person who replied is somewhat dissappointed that slavery is abolished because muslims stopped fighting kafirs, thus there are no opportunities for men to have slave women for intercourse!
I once overheard some religous brothers saying that they cant wait for a war to break out then they can enslave the kafir women and enjoy them! They were also laughing about how they will sell these slave women after they are done with then and buy another so that every night they have a different women! I just felt utter disgust!
How could muslim men who are supposed to be so kind and compassionate even think about tormenting womenkind in this manner whether they be muslim or not!
I am glad slavery does not exit anymore, especially for the poor slave women who suffered the ultimate hardships.
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
That's a very horrible thing that they were thinking of....and yes, even what Allah has made lawful can be abused. It's for this reason among others that halal becomes haram to people.
In a technical sense you are right-there are probably no more legal slaves in the world. However, in a legal sense slavery is not abolished and can occur any time, even up till when Isa salawatu wasalamu alayhi descends on us.
"It seems that the person who replied is somewhat dissappointed that slavery is abolished because muslims stopped fighting kafirs, thus there are no opportunities for men to have slave women for intercourse!"
May Allah forgive you, please do not assume badly of others. And if I did have that desire there wouldn't be anything wrong with it because it's desiring what Allah has made lawful.
Salam Brother
Apologies I did not mean to assume bad about anyone. May Allah forgive me. If i put myself in the head of a slave women i just find it hard to comprehend the injustice she suffers. She is stripped of her dignity and honour and forced to have intercourse with men who are not their husbands! A women would rather die then be forced to be used as a sex toy. I cannot stop myself from feeling their tormenting pain. Is their only crime that they were not born muslim! These women are innocent they are born into kafir family.
Men are already allowed four wives for intercourse, isn't that enough! Why do they need to sacrifice other womens dignity for more pleasure? Why not just use the slave women as a maid for housework and stuff and leave out the intercourse? Thus the women will not be oppressed in this humilating way. Even thr prostitutes do it out of their own will but the slave women are forced, if they do not comply they can be beaten. The slave men is not used in this way. He is allowed to remain chaste. But it is the worst thing to be a slave women.
wa alaykumusalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Well.....think about how rape and gang rape usually happens on a wide scale.....in war. Hasn't it been the case everywhere since time memorial? When in war do the victors NOT rape? Any time, any place on this planet earth from when war first started it seems it has ALWAYS happened. Kaffirs and Muslims alike rape wrongfully during war time. Now with this Sharia, it's generally limited to one man who is commanded to provide for her and take care of her. If she bears a kid for him, even if the kid dies, she is free when her owner dies. That is this Sharia.
Also, we probably have more incentives to free a slave than any other religion in existence. Don't you know how many hadith there are on this?
Also, Allah limited the methods in which slaves are taken. Before there were obviously so many ways to have a slave. In the Sharia of Yaqoub alayhisalam, I think the punishment for theft is not that the thief gets the hand cut off like in our Sharia but that he becomes a slave. Listening to Yasir Qadhi's tafsir, this is implied in the conversation the brothers had in Surah Yousef when the kings cup/goblet/can't remember was "stolen."
We must remember that Allah is just, he puts some in control over others and tests us by various means. In the end, what matters is our scales on yawm al Qiyamah, not what we went through in this life.
Oh....people in charge, I am going by my name Mahmud now.
ASSALAMALAIKUM-
burka was compulsory
BURKHA IS THE WORD and -NOT WAS IT IS NOW ALSO IN SHARIAH AND PLS NOTE THIS U WILL UNDERSTAND VERY EASILY-
The Noble Qur'an - Al-Ahzab 33:59
O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils)* all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
'Aisha used to say: "When (the Verse): 'They should draw their veils over their necks and bosoms,' was revealed, (the ladies) cut their waist sheets at the edges and covered their faces with the cut pieces."
THIS TWO RFERENCES ARE SUFFICIENT ONE FROM QURAN AND ONE FROM HADEES NEED NOT ASK PEOPLE WHEN SO GOOD ADVICE IS IN OUR HAND-
REGARDS
Salam,
Thanks brother Mahmud for replying. May Allah forgive me and give me strength. I just find it really hard to accept why Islam did not abolish slavery completly like how it did with other bad practices. As slavery is so oppresive to the women. Even limiting it a women is bought and sold. So may have been used by hundredths of men in her lifetime! I thought rape was forbidden in Islam. Nobody would want their mother sister or daughter to be raped by anyone let alone their enemies. I can get the image out of my head of a captured women begging and crying for mercy for the men to let her go. She would be in such a traumatised state after losing her men folk and then her children taken away, and being raped forever would be the icing on the cake. Wouldnt the muslim man feel a tinge of compassion and let her go? If this life is a test then why doesnt the man control his desire and help this women by letting her live free or give her a dignified job which involves no sex? Then at least the women can live peacefully!
Why would anyone good person want to rape a women. What satisfaction will they get out of torturing someone.; (
SIster Sumaira, rape is haraam in Islam so you should know better than to use the word 'rape' for sexual relations with captives. The rulings for sexual relations with captives is almost the same as that with wives. There should be mutual agreement before a man can even touch the slave(I'm not an expert on shareeah so I dont know for sure but you get my gist right?).
This question is so creepy to me,I'm wondering if you are asking this because you have kidnaped a girl and are holding her prisoner or involved in human trafficking
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Sister, please read through the answers because the information you need is there.
What the brother in question is doing is NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST HALAL.
Yes-there is a form of concubinage in Islam if you define "concubine" as the following-
con·cu·bine (kngky-bn, kn-)
n.
1. Law A woman who cohabits with a man without being legally married to him.
However, this only applies to female girls captured in war or born to two slave parents. I don't know any other authentic method in the Shariah of the final Messenger, Muhammad ibn Abdullah sallahualayhiwasalam then those two. It's in the Quran that a Muslim man is allowed his wives and slave-girls. But that is it.
Considering the way that Muslim battles are being fought today, it's pretty clear there are next to no slaves on planet earth in the Shariah sense at all.
Sex trafficking is COMPLETELY HARAM and is nothing more than forced prostitution. There is NO "fllirting with semantics and zina here"-what the brother mentioned in the question by talk2farhan is doing is unequivocally HARAM. Kidnapping a girl and enslaving her is the equivalent of enslaving a free person-not a captive of far, but a free person. Enslaving a free person is HARAM in this Shariah. Enslaving captives(hence, not free) of war is halal.
I hope I got that across. I encourage you all to read up on the fiqh of this, you can find it on Islam QA because Shaytan can spread confusion and doubts among us.
Salaams,
I don't get why respondents are getting so passionate and defensive about the haram actions of this man. Not one person who responded to this post condoned what he is doing or justified it in anyway, so clearly we are all in agreement that he is in the wrong. Why are we still beating this dead horse?
-Amy
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
YOU CAN ONLY HAVE SEX WITH THEM THROUGH MARRIAGE / WEDLOCK
004:025
“If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess: And God has full knowledge about your faith. Ye are one from another: Wed them with the leave of their owners, and give them their dowers, according to what is reasonable: They should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours: when they are taken in wedlock, if they fall into shame, their punishment is half that for free women. This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; but it is better for you that ye practise self-restraint. And God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”
- It was better if one practiced self restraint. But if one couldn't marry free believing women, then the directive was given to marry from what their right hands possessed. Not for prostitution, not for lust, but for wedlock.
- Notice here that although one can ‘marry’ a woman from one's right hands possess, her status is not that of a ‘Free believing woman’ (as can be seen from the half punishment she can potentially exact for the same sin). This is the reason why women that form part of those whom your right hands possess are referred to as a separate category. However, they do not form an exception to the marital rule in terms of who is lawful for sex. See 23:6 & 70:30. In other words, they still have to be married.
Source:
http://quransmessage.com/articles/sex%20with%20slave%20girls%20FM3.htm
http://www.islamawareness.net/Muhammed/ibn_kathir_wives.html
Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Brothers and sisters,
Quite an intriguing debate through which we can learn a lot but at the same time it raises many questions. In my very humble view which is based on my limited understanding of the religion, the whole issue needs to be seen in the light of two more aspects, in addition to the aspects already stated by respected brothers and sisters:
1. The ENVIRONMENT / SOCIETAL CONDITIONS in general that prevails at the time when a certain act is performed.
2. SPIRIT of an action versus the FORM in which a certain action is practiced at a given time
What was the prevailing environment or the social conditions in the world in general and Arabia in particular when these orders regarding slaves were given more than 1400 years ago? The general environment was that victor would possess the right to decide about the lives and property of the nation / tribe that was defeated / captured. Mass massacres of the population of defeated nation / tribe regardless of the age / sex / willingness to fight / resist and looting of the entire property as per victor's wish was an acceptable norm. Enslaving a human being at that time (1400 year ago and earlier) was considered a relatively humane act as the victor who had the choice to kill would decide to spare a man / woman's life; hence a humane act. (please try to imagine this in the light of conditions that existed at that time and not as per the conditions / norms that exist in the world today). Enslaving the captured men / women and thereby owing rights over their lives (including their bodies & property) was therefore a customary law that existed during those times meaning by a person could claim in the court that he captured so and so man / woman during war and therefore he/she is his property and the local law would acknowledge that. Under the prevalent law in all nations of that time that I know and more so amongst the Arab tribes, slaves had to no rights and they had to submit entirely to the will of their master who owned them. Moreover, women in Arab culture before Islam in general had hardly any rights, less a few women from aristocratic families.
In these social conditions where a captured / enslaved human being did not have any rights as a citizen and women in general did not enjoy any respect / equal status, Islam brought up a huge change, ie, for the first time in the history of mankind it legally gave rights to the slaves; laying down terms and conditions under which slave men / women would be dealt. Slave women which were thus far used only to please the male masters in all possible forms or as desired by the master were given the rights and respect (though less than the free women / legal wives). Even their children had rights and had their share in father's (master's) property. This was a quantum jump in human rights and was absolutely un-heard of at that time. Even the Romans, who were considered the most civilized and well educated nation at that time, did not give any rights to the slaves. Islam though did not abruptly abolish a customary law that existed all over the world at that time but put strong checks on its practice with regard to giving rights to slaves and laying down terms & conditions for owning slaves. Please note that as per customary law at that time slavery was allowed and as per the laws nowadays (UN Resolutions and Geneva Convention etc), prisoners of war / human beings can not be enslaved and almost all Muslim countries are signatories to these laws. Islam therefore was a step ahead from rest of the world in "implementation of Human Rights" at that time.
Secondly, the spirit of a certain action. In a social environment which acknowledged slavery or right of a victor over the lives / property of the defeated, Islam laid down clear rules that old people, women, children and those who submit / surrender will not be killed. Property will not be looted at will, rather would be collected and distributed centrally under laid down rules. Men / women could still be enslaved but under laid down terms and conditions, providing them rights to exist as a human being. No master could kill his slave lest that would be considered a murder. Similarly, status of women was elevated a great deal by granting them a laid down share in inheritance, giving them right to chose a person to marry / willingness for marriage (Nikah) and so many other aspects. So what is the SPIRIT that stems out of these actions? As per my humble understanding, Allah (ST) taught the Muslims (and the mankind) the value of the life of a human being and that how dear was His creation to Him. And of course, the Messenger of God (PBUH) displayed the same through his action and deeds. His concubines enjoyed the same rights as a human being as his other wives in terms of facilities that he provided for them and the time that he gave to them. Again, the message of Quran and the actions of the Prophet (PBUH) were far ahead of the contemporary societies in terms of establishing the human rights.
I would request that the whole discussion should be seen with regard to SPIRIT of a certain action in the light of Quran and teachings of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and not in the FORM in which those actions were performed at that time (which was deeply impacted by the culture and customary laws existing at that time). I am not trying to negate anything that has been said so far. Just requesting my brothers and sisters to see the whole thing from a different angle. In my very humble understanding, SPIRITof Islam CAN NOT CHANGE and will stay the same as described in Holy Quran and the teachings of Holy Prophet (PBUH) for times to come. FORM, ie, the action, may change with change in culture, customs and agreed upon laws. In my humble view we need to redefine certain things as per prevailing environment while strictly keeping the spirit of Holy Quran intact.
We may also like to see the issue of slavery (including keeping concubines) in the light of last address of Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Please forgive me if I have offended anyone with my comments. My purpose is not to hurt anyone but to educated myself better on the religion that I belong to and in which I have FULLEST FAITH that it is the best remedy for mankind for times to come.
Jazak Allah al Khair