Back to search

Did the Prophet punish whoever compelled the slave girl to prostitution, and why is there no mention in the Qur’an of a warning or punishment for this act?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The verse: (And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, to seek [thereby] the fleeting goods of worldly life. And if someone compels them, then indeed, Allah is, after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful) [An-Nur: 33], was revealed concerning Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul, who used to compel his slave girls to fornication out of greed for money. The verse prohibits compelling slave girls to fornication and indicates that the sin falls upon the compeller, not upon the compelled woman, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful to the compelled woman. There is no evidence of a specific punishment from the Prophet, peace be upon him, for one who committed this act; rather, it was a general prohibition. The compelled slave girls are forgiven, while the compeller faces a severe threat of punishment, and the prohibition is not restricted to those who desire chastity. The compelled woman must resist and defend herself as much as possible to be deserving of forgiveness.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy