Why is concubinage accepted in Islam despite its ethical complexities?

Concubinage — the ownership of a female slave (a non-free woman) without a marriage contract and engaging with her as a wife — was a common social and economic system in the ancient world, including among pre-Islamic Arabs, Romans, Persians, and other civilizations. When Islam emerged, it did not introduce concubinage but rather regulated and restricted it, as it did with many pre-Islamic customs.

The acceptance of concubinage in Islam is based on several considerations:

In a society where slavery was an entrenched part of the economic and social structure, Islam approached this reality gradually, aiming for comprehensive reform without immediate confrontation with the status quo.

Islam strongly encouraged the freeing of slaves, made manumission one of the greatest acts of worship, and opened multiple avenues for ending slavery — such as expiations, contractual emancipation (mukataba), and purifying one’s wealth through charitable giving.

Furthermore, Islam did not permit concubinage unconditionally. It required full ownership (legal possession), prohibited coercion, and mandated kind and respectful treatment.

Concubines were not to be treated as objects for casual pleasure. Islam granted them rights similar to those of wives, including maintenance, clothing, and freeborn children if they gave birth. A concubine who bore a child could not be sold and became known as an umm walad (mother of a child).

Selling Muslim female slaves to non-Muslims was forbidden, as was separating mothers from their children. Freeing a slave was regarded as one of the most virtuous and spiritually rewarding deeds.

Islam regulated concubinage as an alternative to the spread of fornication, adultery, and sexual exploitation outside a legitimate framework that preserved dignity — at a time when modern concepts like "individual rights" and "bodily autonomy" did not yet exist in human thought.

From the Islamic perspective, sexual relations must occur within a legally sanctioned context — either through marriage (nikah) or lawful ownership (milk al-yameen) — not through unlawful or exploitative means.

With the abolition of slavery and the signing of international agreements by Muslim-majority countries prohibiting it, concubinage effectively came to an end. Contemporary scholars unanimously agree that it is impermissible to revive concubinage today, as it is inherently tied to the institution of slavery — which no longer exists in either Islamic law or modern reality.

Concubinage was accepted in Islam as a transitional framework to organize an existing social reality, governed by regulations that limited injustice and preserved rights. It was not a call to unrestrained desire or a violation of human dignity. Rather, it served as a step on the path to human emancipation. With the changing of circumstances, its rationale disappeared, and its practice ceased. Therefore, Islam should not be judged by isolated rulings detached from their historical and social context, but understood within a comprehensive vision that connects purpose, reality, and outcome. Every matter has its proper context.