Theology of Rape.. “Women Enslaved — Sabayah/Sabaya”

Rami Zahra
3 min readNov 15, 2023

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The Slave Market, 1910

I heard growing up hearing the term Sabayah/Sabaya (سبايا) and I did not understand it. It sounded like women who the Khalifa or wealthy men have on the side as extra-marital legal in a way under Islam.

Always presented on the sideline of fun or comedy TV sketches.

What I did not expect is the horror of what this really means.

It is the selling, buying, and owning of women as sex slaves usually taken as war bounty.

We must understand the difference:

A group of young girls; صبايا
With the letter; Sad / ص
e.g.“girls / 9abaya” went out for a walk.
This word is not a conversation here, just for clarification
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A group of women/girls of war’s loot — (sex slaves); سبايا
With the letter; S/س
Sabaya سبايا which are literally the war’s loot of girls/women, and according to Islam is Halal.
The word “Sabaya” unequivocally means “women captives at war for sex”.

Where did this trade come from?

It comes from the term Melk Alymein (ماملكت إيمانكم & ملك اليمين) or what your right hand possess.

Mentioned in the Quran at least 13 times:

Quran [4:23–24]; [16:71]; [23:5–6]; [24: 31–33–58]; [30:28]; [33:50- 52 -55]; [70:30], And as you can see confirmed in the Hadith.

In fact, so casual it is mentioned in the hadith, here is a random hadith for you:

Sahih al-Bukhari 4350.

Narrated Buraida: The Prophet (ﷺ) sent `Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (war booty tax) and I hated `Ali, and `Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus). I said to Khalid, “Don’t you see this (i.e. `Ali)?” When we reached the Prophet (ﷺ) I mentioned that to him. He said, “O Buraida! Do you hate `Ali?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Do you hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumlus.”

You want more? Here are 15 Hadiths on this topic.

How can an all-knowing and all-merciful Allah allow the “Owning of Humans” and owning of women as sex objects! It is, if anything, evidence the Quran is man made for men.

— The “Assabi & Al-Riqab” booklet is one of ISIS’s publications to attract more foreign fighters.
— “Sex slaves and Al-Riqab” booklet, “the plural of Raqqaba, which is the neck, refers to the owned slave.”

It is from these Quranic verses that ISIS sold Yazidi women as slaves, girls as young as infants were sold. The records now show what happened to them. Think, Muhammad did the same thing.
How beautiful…how peaceful…how example for ALL humanity.

Don’t just get angry, read and educate yourself. You can read more about it here.

A 25-year-old Yazidi woman showed a “Certificate of Emancipation” given to her by a Libyan who had enslaved her. He explained that he had finished his training as a suicide bomber and was planning to blow himself up, and was therefore setting her free.Credit…Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

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Rami Zahra

A British by choice & conviction, my roots were planted in the soil of Arameans. A writer. Political-Religious liberal commentator.