In the Indian subcontinent, enslaved girls were commonly sold in diamond markets. They were trained in singing and dancing, treated as objects of sexual gratification, and used by their owners as a steady source of income through prostitution. The roots of this practice trace back to early Islamic legal rulings and precedents.

Historical sources show that during the time of Prophet Muhammad, some owners forced their slave women into prostitution to earn money. When these women complained to the Prophet, no punishment was imposed on the owners for compelling them.

Why was no punishment given? The answer lies in the legal status of slaves in Islamic courts: the testimony of a slave woman was not admissible. Without valid testimony, no case could be proven against the owner.

This incident is directly referenced in the Quran itself:

Quran 24:33 “Do not compel your slave girls to prostitution if they desire chastity, seeking thereby the temporary benefits of worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is [to them], after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful.”

Sunan Abu Dawud (Kitab al-Talaq) records the context: Musaykah, a slave girl of some Ansari, came and said: “My owner forces me to commit fornication (in order to earn money from it).” Thereupon the verse was revealed: “And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity… And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

Key implications from classical Islamic rulings:

• Islam permitted owners to have sexual relations with their slave women without nikah, witnesses, or consent.
• Owners were also allowed to “gift” or lend slave women to others (brothers, friends, guests), who could then have sexual relations with her—again without consent or witnesses (as per Fatawa Alamgiri and other sources).
• The testimony of slaves was completely inadmissible in court in almost all cases (hudud, financial, or otherwise). Slaves could not testify against their owners or in any matter that would hold owners accountable.
• Therefore, even if a slave woman was forced into prostitution or repeatedly raped, her complaint in court would carry no legal weight. No witnesses (other slaves or free women in hudud cases) could support her, making punishment of the owner practically impossible.

At most, the Quran and hadith offered a mild discouragement (“do not compel…”) but provided no enforceable penalty or judicial mechanism to stop the practice. Owners faced no real legal consequences for forcing slave women into prostitution or sexual exploitation.

This combination of rules—lack of consent requirements, inadmissibility of slave testimony, and absence of punishment—created a system where slave women had virtually no protection or recourse. Their bodies could be used for profit with impunity.