What Muslims were forbidden to do with concubines

Islam allows a man to have several wives. Previously, it was also possible to have concubines, which could only be slaves bought at the slave market or captured in military campaigns. The concubine wasn't a free person, but that didn't mean you could do anything with her.

The Quran pays a lot of attention to the relationship between a man and a woman in and out of marriage. The Holy Book gives Muslims the opportunity to choose the way of family life. Everyone has the right to choose for himself how many wives to have or to prefer concubines to them. One of the verses about family life says this:

In order to accept a concubine into the family, a Muslim did not need to marry her. Concubines, unlike legitimate wives, do not have property rights. A man can generally be unmarried, but at the same time have a concubine. He is obliged to provide her with shelter, food and protection. But at the same time, Sharia law is very intolerant of adultery. They considered a relationship with someone else's wife or just a free woman, not a slave.

Certain laws also applied in relations with concubines. For example, it was impossible for a woman to have sexual intercourse if she was pregnant. But at the same time, different types of caresses were allowed. It was forbidden to have intimacy with a concubine who had previously had another master. A certain period of time had to pass from the moment of their separation. Most often it was one menstrual cycle, but in some Muslim communities it was necessary to wait 2-3 months.

The concubine was forbidden to force sexual contact and, moreover, to force her to sleep with other men. If a woman leads an obscene lifestyle because of her master, then all the blame for this lies solely on him.

Concubines were forbidden to cause moral and physical suffering. In their relationship with the master, everything had to happen by mutual consent.

If a concubine had a child from the master, then he was obliged to give her freedom. A child born by a concubine was recognized by the father and brought up in the family on an equal basis with children from wives.

In the event that a Muslim wanted to take a concubine as an official wife, the law did not forbid him to do so. But before that, he also had to release her.

The most famous case of such a marriage can be called the story of Roksolana. This woman was a concubine of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and then became his wife. Moreover, Roksolana, or as the Ottomans called her — Hurrem, became the monarch's only spouse. Suleiman, before marrying a former concubine, dissolved his numerous harem.