MISCONCEPTION 16: Rape Is Not a Crime in Islam

ALLEGATIONS

• Arabic has no word or term for rape
• No punishment for rapists
• Women are punished for being raped
• A woman needs to provide four witnesses to prove that she was raped
• Marital rape is not a crime in Islam
• Islam allows men rape their sex slaves

REFUTATION

Muslims rightly boast of having the lowest rate of rape among the earth's people. Islamophobes often argue that Muslim nations appear to have low rates of rape because rape is not considered a crime in Islam. 

Before we begin to penetrate the mysteries of this allegation, let's get acquainted with some Islamic principles.

Muslims are warned to refrain from doing things that expose them to danger, whether physical or spiritual. This warning is most strongly emphasized on issues that involve relations between people of opposite gender. 

Muhammad (SAW) said, “No man is alone with a woman but the Shaytan will be the third one present.”

This is enough to show how dangerous it is for people of opposite genders to stay together in isolation. 

The Maliki school of thought has a theory on abstaining from Haram. Sadd adh-dhara'i' (blocking the means) and fath adh-dhara'i' (facilitating the means). 

‘Blocking the means’ implies preventing them; this involves making the means to what is forbidden also forbidden while ‘facilitating the means’ involves making the means to what is obligatory also obligatory.

Let’s now investigate the veracity of these claims.

No Arabic Word for ‘Rape’

This is the first mendacious claim. Islamic jurist distinguished rape as zina bil jabr while fornication is called zina bil ridha. Rape is recognized as a crime in Shari’ah law, it has a name.

No Punishment for Rapists

A renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Salman al-Baaji said:

“In the case of a woman who is forced (raped): if she is a free 

woman, the one who forced her must pay her a “dowry” like that of her peers, and the hadd punishment is to be carried out on him.”

It was also narrated from Ali ibn Abu Talib.

Secondly: The rapist is subject to the hadd punishment for zina, even if the rape was not carried out at knife-point or gun-point. If the use of a weapon was threatened, then he is a muhaarib, and is to be subjected to the hadd punishment described in the verse in which Allah says:

“The recompense of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and do mischief in the land is only that they shall be killed or crucified or their hands and their feet be cut off from opposite sides, or be exiled from the land. That is their disgrace in this world, and a great torment is theirs in the Hereafter” Suratul Ma’idah (5:33)

So the judge has the choice of the four punishments mentioned in this verse, and may choose whichever he thinks is most efficacious in maintaining a salubrious society, and also serve as a deterrent to evildoers and transgressors.

Women Are Punished For Being Raped

Perversion, whether deliberate mistaken or forced is imminent when people of opposite gender mix-freely, this is the major reason why Islam abhors it. The only instances where a girl has been punished by an established court for coming forward with a rape allegation have involved scenarios where the girl has been guilty of violating the rule of exclusion. When a girl comes forward to say she raped in her boy-friend’s room, the first thing she is asked is, what where you doing in a boys room? If she is not able to give reasons acceptable under Shari’ah law, she and the boy/man are punished as fornicators.

Acceptable reasons could be:

• She was sent to pick or collect an item from the room/place
• She was deceived into believing the occupant(s) of the room was/were female(s) or any other innocuous reason.

In the west, neither free mixing people of opposite gender nor isolation by people of opposite gender is a crime hence, if any female engages in any of these and feels she was mistreated by some person(s) she has the right to prosecute because as far as the laws of the land is concerned, she didn’t do anything wrong to warrant the mistreatment. Like has been mentioned inter alia, once an allegation of rape has been confirmed to the time, no faith or legal system on earth is sterner in carrying out the punishment than Islam.

The Islamic scholar, Ibn Abd al-Barr said:

“The scholars are unanimously agreed that the rapist is to be subjected to the hadd punishment if there is clear evidence against him that he deserves the hadd punishment, or if he admits to that. There is no punishment for the woman if it is true that he forced her and overpowered her, which may be proven by her screaming and shouting for help.”

To cap it off, Muhammad (SAW) said, "Allah has forgiven, for me, my Ummah's mistakes and forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do." (Ibn Majah)

A Woman Must Provide Four Witnesses to Prove That She Was Raped

Nowhere is it stated in the Islamic scriptures or jurisprudence that a woman needs to provide four or any number of witnesses to prove that she was raped. It has never happened in any established Shari’ah law court that such was demanded from a rape victim. The woman’s body and other factors is enough proof for her claim like has been mention above.

Marital Rape Is Not a Crime in Islam

Islamic jurists opine that marital rape occurs when the man seeks to have it away with his wife during her menstrual period or in a sexual position she considers derisive or during fasting hours in Ramadan. It is also the right of a wife to turn down sexual advances from her husband if he carries a contagious disease or irritating infection. If any of these situations is established and the husband goes ahead to force himself on his wife then, the Shari’ah gives her the right to seek go as far as seeking a divorce. Furthermore, Muhammad (SAW) warned Muslim men against committing several acts of cruelty against their wives, including sex-related acts.

It was narrated by Abdullah bin Zam'a that Muhammad (SAW) said, "None of you should flog his wife as he flogs a slave and then have sexual intercourse with her in the last part of the day."

In another Hadith, Anas ibn Malik reported that Muhammad (SAW) when said, “Three things fall under unkindness and one of them is when the man engages in sexual act with his wife without sending a messenger: humor and kisses. No one should directly fall on his wife like one buffalo does to another.”

Though the second Hadith above is considered weak, it still goes to prove that for over a thousand years, Muslims believed a man needed to seek his wives approval if he intended to have marital relations with her.

However, Islam believes ordinarily, a woman should not snub advances from her husband for no justifiable reason. What would she have him do with his urge if she denies him, commit adultery?

Abu Huraira reported that Muhammad (SAW) said, “If a man calls his wife to his bed and she refuses, and he spends the night angry with her, the angels will curse her until morning.”

Islam Allows Men Rape Their Sex Slaves

To begin with, nobody can prove that Islam permits Muslims to own sex slaves. Who is a sex slave?

According to Mark Klamberg, “Sexual slavery is a particular form of enslavement which includes limitations on one's autonomy, freedom of movement and power to decide matters relating to one's sexual activity.”

Sex slaves are kept for no other purpose than sex.

For those who are not clear on whether or not Islam encourages slavery, you will gain clarity here https://towardsdalight.blogspot.com/2017/02/misconception-9-islam-supports-slavery.html

Captives, males and females alike, are absorbed into Muslim families so that there is no need for concentration camps. There are a number of narrations that confirm interactions between Muslim men and female slaves but, not a single one reported that Muslim soldiers/men asserted themselves on female slaves. 

Muslim men didn’t need to rape female captives as many of them were already fed-up with the oppressive practices of the men in their pagan societies. Some of their husband were drunkards with very poor and manners and hygiene and some other men weren’t fulfilling the duties of a man to his family. The coming of Muslim men was a sight for sore eyes for them. 

Safiya bint Huyay was a female captive; she became one of the wives of Muhammad (SAW). Read the story of Safiya bint Huyay here https://towardsdalight.blogspot.com/2018/02/safiyya-bint-huyay-relative-of-prophets.html

With all these, it has definitely been made vivid that to say that 'rape is not a crime in Islam' is a misconception.

May Allah continue to guide the Ummah of Muslims.