Islamic Sharia imposed almost no physical punishment on a husband who had sexual relations with his wife’s slave girl — even if it was without her consent (rape). At most, the slave girl might be freed, but the man faced no lashes, imprisonment, or other penalty.

The following traditions make this clear:

Sunan an-Nasa’i 3364 (graded Hasan by Darussalam): It was narrated from Salamah bin Al-Muhabbaq that a man had intercourse with a slave woman belonging to his wife, and was brought to the Messenger of Allah. He said: “If he forced her (i.e., raped her without her consent), then she is free at his expense and he has to give her mistress a similar slave as a replacement. If she obeyed him in that, then she belongs to her mistress, and he has to give her mistress a similar slave as well.”

Sunan an-Nasa’i 3363 (also graded Hasan): It was narrated that Salamah bin Al-Muhabbaq said: “The Prophet passed judgment concerning a man who had intercourse with his wife’s slave woman: ‘If he forced her, then she is free, and he has to give her mistress a similar slave as a replacement; if she obeyed him in that, then she belongs to him, and he has to give her mistress a similar slave as a replacement.’”

In both cases:

• If the husband raped the slave girl against her will, the only consequence was that he had to free her and provide her mistress with another slave as compensation.
• There was no physical punishment (such as 100 lashes) or imprisonment for the husband.
• The focus remained on compensating the wife (the owner) rather than punishing the rapist.

This ruling once again highlights the deep imbalance in Islamic Sharia regarding slavery and sexual consent. A free Muslim man could rape his wife’s slave girl with virtual impunity. The system protected the property rights of the wife (by requiring replacement) far more than it protected the bodily autonomy and dignity of the enslaved woman.