{"id":3155,"date":"2008-12-28T21:15:31","date_gmt":"2008-12-28T21:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com.108-166-28-151.mdgnetworks.com\/wordpress\/?p=3155"},"modified":"2013-03-25T21:16:28","modified_gmt":"2013-03-25T21:16:28","slug":"are-slave-girls-in-islam-equivalent-to-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/are-slave-girls-in-islam-equivalent-to-animals\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Slave-girls in Islam Equivalent to Animals?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n

Jihad Watch<\/em><\/p>\n

Many are now aware that the Koran \u2014 that is, Allah\u2019s word \u2014 permits, not just polygamy, but forced concubinage (sex with captive women), according to Koran 4:3: \u201cMarry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice, then only one, or what your right hands possess [captive women taken in war].\u201d There is, however, an interesting, and very telling, linguistic aspect to this verse that is often overlooked \u2014 or intentionally obscured. The Arabic states: \u201cAnkahu<\/em>\u00a0[marry]\u2026ma<\/em>\u00a0[what]\u00a0malakat<\/em>\u00a0[possess]\u00a0aymankum<\/em>\u00a0[your right hands].\u201d<\/p>\n

Oddly enough, the Arabic relative pronoun used to indicate these captive women is “ma<\/em>“:\u00a0ma malakat aymankum<\/em>, literally, \u201cwhat your right hands possess\u201d (see Shakir\u2019s acclaimed\u00a0English translation<\/a>\u00a0which most literally translates this). In Arabic, when one refers to a rational being (i.e., a human), the word used is\u00a0min<\/em>, which means \u201cwho(ever)\u201d;\u00a0ma<\/em>, on the other hand, refers only to things or animals \u2014 trees, rocks, dogs and cats \u2014 very much similar to the English \u201cit.\u201d Thus, in proper Arabic the phrase might have been\u00a0min malakat aymankum<\/em>: \u201cwho(ever) your right hands possess.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a long time, I assumed this was but a stylistic matter. However, the highly revered Islamic scholar al-Qurtubi (d.1273) also makes this observation in vol. 5, p.12 of his authoritative 20-volume\u00a0Tafsir Al Koran<\/em>\u00a0(Exegesis of the Koran<\/em>). He points out that members of the human race should be referred to with\u00a0min<\/em>(who), whereas only \u201cinanimate objects\u201d or \u201cbrute beasts\u201d should be referred to with\u00a0ma<\/em>\u00a0(what).<\/p>\n

Does this suggest that the Koran\u2019s Arabic \u2014 touted as the most perfect Arabic \u2014 is flawed? Of course, no Muslim would allow for that. Nor need they, as this phenomenon (portraying concubines as non-human) accords well with a number of hadiths that place females and animals in the same category. Musnad Ibn Hanbal (vol. 2, p. 2992), for example, records Muhammad saying \u201cWomen, dogs, and donkeys annul a man\u2019s prayer.\u201d Indeed, in Qurtubi\u2019s sameTafsir<\/em>\u00a0(vol.15, p.172), after examining such hadiths, he writes, “A Woman may be likened to a sheep \u2014 even a cow or a camel \u2014 for all are ridden.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Raymond Ibrahim is the editor of the\u00a0Al-Qaeda Reader<\/i>, translations of religious texts and propaganda.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Raymond Ibrahim Jihad Watch Many are now aware that the Koran \u2014 that is, Allah\u2019s word \u2014 permits, not just polygamy, but forced concubinage (sex with captive women), according to Koran 4:3: \u201cMarry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[227,736],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-OT","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6255,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/islam-on-cows-horses-camels-and-women\/","url_meta":{"origin":3155,"position":0},"title":"Islam on Cows, Horses Camels and Women","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0FrontPage Magazine One of the few positive developments following the rise of the Islamists during the \u201cArab Spring\u201d is that today many average and\/or nominal Muslims are seeing the true face of Islam and its teachings.\u00a0 And many\u2014as evinced by the June 30 Revolution of Egypt, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Islam","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Arab_market-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Arab_market-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Arab_market-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Arab_market-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Arab_market-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1476,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/liberalism-and-islam\/","url_meta":{"origin":3155,"position":1},"title":"Liberalism and Islam?","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Top Muslim cleric Qaradawi urges western Muslims to 'liberalize' outwardly, anyway. by Raymond Ibrahim PJ Media A\u00a0recent episode\u00a0of the popular Arabic show\u00a0al-Sharia wa al-Haya\u00a0(Law and Life), which airs weekly on Al Jazeera and features renowned Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, addressed the important yet little known Muslim concept of\u00a0taysir\u00a0(pronounced \"tey-seer\").\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2509,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/new-saudi-fatwa-defends-pedophilia-as-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":3155,"position":2},"title":"New Saudi Fatwa Defends Pedophilia as ‘Marriage’","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Jihad Watch Muslim \"child-marriage\" \u2014 euphemism for pedophilia \u2014 is making headlines again, at least in Arabic media:\u00a0Dr. Salih bin Fawzan, a prominent cleric and member of Saudi Arabia's highest religious council, just issued a fatwa asserting that there is no minimum age for marriage, and that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Islam"","block_context":{"text":"Islam","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1789,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-islamist-mindset-how-it-rationalizes-and-promotes-sex-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":3155,"position":3},"title":"The Islamist Mindset: How it Rationalizes–and Promotes–‘Sex Sins’","author":"victorhanson","date":"March 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim PJ Media Is it inconsistent for Muslim \u201choly warriors\u201d to engage in voyeuristic acts of lasciviousness? 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