So marry them with the permission of their masters, and give them their dowries justly, they being chaste, not fornicating, nor receiving paramours … This is for him among you who fears falling into evil” (4:25). The conditions of marriage, as laid down in this case, are the same as those in the case of a free woman, with one addition, viz., that the consent of the master of the slave must be obtained, in addition to the consent of the girl herself. The dowry (mahr) must be paid as in the case of the free woman, though the burden would be lighter. In 4:3 again, the taking of a slave as wife is permitted, but still it is through proper marriage that she can become a wife,43 as explained further on in 4:25.
There is only one more verse of the Holy Qur’ān which has a bearing on this subject. It runs thus: “O Prophet, We have made lawful to thee thy wives whom thou hast given their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesses, out of those whom Allāh has given thee as prisoners of war … specially for thee, not for the rest of the believers. We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess” (33:50). Here it is stated that all his wives and all those whom his right hand possessed, out of the prisoners of war, were made lawful to the Holy Prophet specially. These words must be read along with 4:3, which lays down that the permission of plurality of wives was limited to four. Those of the believers who had more than four wives were thus required to divorce the excess number, but a special permission was given to the Holy Prophet to retain all his wives, and those whom his right hand possessed, out of the prisoners of war, though their number was more than four. This phrase mā malakat aimānu-ka (what thy right hand possesses) is the same as mā malakat aimānu-kum (what your hands possess), the former speaking of one person and the latter of many. Now the question is, who were the women that fell in the category of “what thy right hand possesses?” Were they women to whom the Holy Prophet had gone in simply because they had fallen into his hands as captives of war? In other words, were these concubines with whom sexual relations were legalized because of the right of ownership? There was none such in the Holy Prophet’s household. The Holy Prophet had taken only two women as wives out of the prisoners
43 The verse states first that a man may marry up to four wives under exceptional circumstances and then adds that if he fears that he will not be able to do justice, then (he should marry) only one or (if he cannot find a free woman as wife, then he may marry) that which your right hands possess. A reference to the original would show that both wāhidat-an (one) and mā malakat aimānu-kum (that which your right hands possess) are objects of ankiḥū (marry).