Is It Permissible to Have Relations with a Female Slave Without Marriage? Complete Sharʿī Explanation
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām)
Question:
Is it permissible for a ruler (king) to have a female slave without marriage?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
In Islamic teachings, a kanīz or female slave refers to a woman captured by the mujāhidīn from the battlefield of jihād. After capture:
✿ She may be distributed among the fighters as part of war booty (māl al-ghanīmah) by the commander of the jihād.
✿ She may be freed as an act of kindness.
✿ She may be released in exchange for ransom.
Ruling When Distributed as War Booty
If such women are distributed among the mujāhidīn as part of the spoils:
✿ The woman who comes into a particular fighter’s share becomes his female slave.
✿ This applies whether that person is a ruler or an ordinary man.
Permissibility of Relations Without Marriage
✿ Sexual relations with such a slave woman are permissible without a marriage contract.
✿ However, there is one essential condition before establishing such relations: Istibrāʾ al-Raḥim (ensuring the womb is free from pregnancy).
Details of Istibrāʾ al-Raḥim
If She Is Pregnant:
➤ She must not be touched until she delivers the child,
➤ Completes her postpartum bleeding (nifās),
➤ And performs ghusl.
Only then is intimacy permissible.
If She Is Not Pregnant:
➤ One menstrual cycle must pass,
➤ After which she performs ghusl,
➤ Then intimacy becomes permissible.
Fatwā No.: 2248
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
