A Brave and Daring Invitation to the Right Hand - 4

In this issue, we are going to look at the mechanism by which one becomes a home service provider. Is it that one has to be a war captive and thus become a war booty to a member of the victorious army so that she can enter this employment type, or are there other avenues that are possible and licit in terms of the Islamic foundations?

As I expressed in the previous episode, the way I reformulated this matter sounds more acceptable as a working problem; but let's remember the original question in order to keep in mind what we are about to do. Can a person serve "like" a slave without being a war captive?

Many people in the modern world would confess that they are already living a life of slavery, but that is not what a slave is in the historical sense. For example a slave has limited freedom, but an individual of our time is relatively more free, although there are major similarities between both cases. Let's dig deeper in those similarities and differences.

A slave in the historical sense is a war captive, but a modern person is not a war captive. Nevertheless, people of the modern societies, we are directly born into a medium where we are taught, or indoctrinated, through the various media outlets and by our community fellows to become and stay a member of the crowds. So, in theory we are free to draw our own paths, but in reality that is not likely to happen.

Second, a slave in the historical sense has no right to have property, but in modern life, the individuals have that right. However, when it comes to how to use that property, the possibilities are defined and limited by those holding the majority of the resources.

Third, the slaves in history are obliged to buy their freedom in order to have access to the rights and resources available to the regular individuals, whereas in our societies, we are born with those rights. Still, when we talk about really exercising those rights, depending on where we are, we face many hindrances at social, economical or political level.

You can extend this list, but in conclusion, in today's society, we are really living very similar to slaves, but under more comfortable and more technological conditions.  We do have the basic rights in theory, but in practice, we partially have them. More precisely, we are allowed to use those rights as long as our actions don't bother the masters, whoever they are.

At this conjunction, let me ask, did we lose a war, so that we are living in this kind of a situation? No! So, returning to the starting question in this article, we see that in terms of the real, ordinary people, slavery still has validity, without relating to a war. Yet, most of us seem to enjoy the ride, and as far as Muslims are concerned, we try our best to fit in the picture, and strive to be a good servant of our Lord in context of our societal and individual conditions.

Note that I am not writing these lines in order to trigger a revolt or to favor a form of x-ism! Rather, I am trying to give the reader's mind a key in order to open a gate that has been locked for centuries. Keep reading if you want to learn what that gate is and what is behind.

To see things from another angle, I am going to make a thought experiment using the mentality of the traditional interpretation of Islam in the case of slaves. For this experiment, let's remember a few things. In the previous two episodes, I mentioned that a licit form of sexual satisfaction is available for those who have slaves. This relationship between the master and the slave is not the same as between a husband and wife, and I highlighted the distinctions between a slave and a spouse. But most importantly, I underlined the fact that relationship with the slaves is an avenue that is available not just to the rich but to all those who have the quality of being the Right Hand, independent of their economical conditions.

Here comes the thought experiment. According to the traditional interpretations, if you need sexual satisfaction beyond your marriage, or if you don't have the economical means for a marriage, you are directed to your slave. But for that, you must wait for a war, in which the Muslim army would be victorious and would distribute the slaves among the soldiers. So, in this mentality, you have no choice but to wage war to live your individual life in the licit manner. But wait, isn't there a discrepancy here? Islam is said to be the religion of peace, not war. Islam is considered as the ultimate recipe for prosperity both in this and in the after life. Then, are we to conclude that this religion is telling us to keep making wars so that economically disadvantaged individuals can find sexual satisfaction?

Let's look at the Quran to see when God allows or orders waging wars: self-protection if you are under attack (2/190), saving people from violence (4/75), stop corruption and conflict among people (5/33), terminating the deliberate violation and manipulation of clear bans of God (9/29). We can summarize all of these as the protection of the basic human rights. So again, we don't see the wars as instruments to obtain slaves and thus satisfy your personal needs! Then, the classical interpretation fails to serve a general solution to the problem of limits of licit sex.

Let me paraphrase the above paragraph. If you are a poor person who needs to satisfy his sexual desires, and if you are living in a society where there are no wars, you are doomed according to the traditional thinking. Similarly, even if there are wars, but if there is no victory nor slaves, still you are doomed. In the traditional thinking, since your only solution is to have slaves, you must be part of a war where there will be victory and slaves. Good luck! Also, good luck in explaining your religion as the religion of peace! By the way, when fighting, don't forget to keep your intentions away from your desires!

After these two paragraphs of thought experiment, let's see an alternative way. If Islam is the religion of peace, which is its fundamental premise, it must consider wars as conditional facts of humanity, not as permanent realities. Accordingly, a guidance for the general public for all times cannot be built upon the results of wars. That is Islam cannot be both religion of peace and suggesting its adherents to rely upon wars at the same time. More explicitly, the suggestion or permission of God to men for having sexual relationship with "slaves" can not be limited to war results. The same permission must be available in general, of course with some surrounding conditions or prerequisites.

Yes, the mechanism of slave labor worked in context of wars during the life time of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh per the social security system prevailing then, but it need not be so throughout the history until the end of time. This is why I preferred and decided to use the expression "home service provider" instead of a "slave", which is what is implied by the Quran, too. This is why I preferred and decided to say "Right Hand" instead of a "master", which is what the Quran says, too.

Then, if we tentatively accept the idea that one can serve at a person's home, including sexually, how is this going to happen? What would be the mechanism? Clearly, we are not talking about prostitution; then, what are we talking about?

At the beginning of this article, I had given the analogy between our modern lives and those of the slaves in the past. Later, I explained that Islam's injunction that expands the range of sex life cannot depend exclusively on wars. Third, in the second episode of this series, I had mentioned the core position of the social security and a notion of continuity at the heart of the licit. Fourth, in the previous episode of this series, I had explored the concept of the Right Hand, and showed its essential role in the handling of the affairs related to the slaves. Based on these four premises, different thoughts can be produced and examined. Here, I am going to pursue one of those. God knows best, and I seek His guidance in this matter. If you are so willing, you can do your own pursuit, as long as you validate your steps with the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh.

In order to depict a possible avenue in this matter, I am going to compose a story. The main characters are Eve, a high school graduate, Craig, a  medical doctor who is a Muslim, and AcCompany, a company that is bringing the right hand and the needy.

Eve is a girl at the age of university. She completed her compulsory education, and has great ambitions for her future. She has a vision to realize for herself and for her family. Nevertheless, her family is extremely poor, and their only plan for her and for themselves is to marry her to a person who can stand on his own, and thus can support Eve as his wife, too. This is very likely to happen, actually, since her high school has finished two years ago, and her family is already looking out for candidates. Such abrupt and merciless destruction of her dreams is eroding Eve's soul, but she is not able to do anything, either. In their community, there is no help either, because they are all surrounded by people who are more or less at the same economical and cultural level. Their dreams find culmination in securing food and shelter.

Knowing what's coming upon her, Eve talks to her teachers at school, with no avail. She shares her troubles with her close friends, but they are all drowning in the same whirlpool. Stressed between her dreams and her surroundings, she starts building anger towards all those responsible: her parents, her relatives, her community, the selfish rich, the listless politicians, and the ultimate source of all, God. Why is He giving so much means to the individuals who just think of themselves, when people like her could do incomparably more, if she was given a fraction of what's been given to the rich?

Craig is a surgeon and is 35. He is married to another medical doctor. His wife is busy with her career and patients. Craig and his wife are trying to divide their times in order to take care of their one child, of course when he is not at the day care. Because their daily and weekly routines are not well synchronized, and because both have a career plan for their future, their relationship as a couple is not going as they would like. They love each other, but they cannot find a satisfactory solution for their situation, either.

On the other hand, unsatisfied with his relationship, Craig has been building a thirst for companionship, beauty and intimacy. However, his commitment to his religion brakes him from pursuing that thirst as countless men in similar situations do. As months and years pass, his thirst grows to such a level that satisfying it comes to the forefront of every interaction of his. This means he is constantly on brakes. Since he is unable to share his situation, and since he is not acting as his desires tell him, he gets wearied and crushed. Furthermore, his mind starts searching for the reasons and alternative solutions to his problem.

Although he is not accepting with his heart, his mind objectively tells him that it is his faith that is putting him into such torture. Otherwise, why would he be in such peril, when countless ways to satisfy his needs are available out there! When he thinks of the Prophet's life and how he endured troubles for the sake of his faith, his mind makes a comparison and expresses that the men of that time had access to multiple marriages and female slaves. So, they were not really undergoing the same pressures as did Craig. So, he finds himself alone in history, and feels cast away by God, all of which aches his heart, since this shouldn't be the case. And all along, whenever he goes outside or to work, whenever he gets on the computer, he is attracted by things that are not acceptable by his faith but much needed by his physiology...

AcCompany is a company that works, in a sense, like a matchmaker, and brings together the people who have the quality of being the Right Hand and the people lacking the proper means to flourish as a dignified creation of God. Accordingly, they assess the situation of the applicants, who want to become the Right Hand and those who want to become a service provider. They train both sides as needed by their personal conditions, circumstances and duties. Eventually, they offer the match to the two sides.

Upon acceptance, the Right Hand is responsible of ensuring a minimal, but acceptable, living and providing the conditions for the flourishing of the service provider as an independent individual. In return, they receive home services that include sexual intimacy. The service provider, on the other hand, performs the services needed by the Right Hand, and in return, they find the means for education or self-improvement on top of faring a decent life. Whenever the service provider thinks that they are ready to take off independently, they request the end of the relationship. Until then, both sides receive what they need, as their mutual rights and responsibilities are monitored by AcCompany.

Eve and Craig, independently hear of AcCompany, and the idea sounds strange at first. Craig's wife freaks out upon hearing the proposal of her husband. However, as they ponder over the idea more and as they get crushed further under their circumstances, they pay a visit to the company, just like Eve. The experts there make assessment of their needs and their conditions. They analyze different combinations for both. In the end, they figure out that Eve and Craig could be a nice match, since Eve can "function" like a wife at home, and like a sister and caregiver for his child. In return, she can find not only the economical means for her education but also cultural and social means to develop her vision and capabilities to realize her dreams for herself and for her community. Craig, on the other hand, reaches for his personal needs a satisfactory solution in line with his faith, thus saving not only his current life and marriage but also his after life. He finds a reliable person to trust his child. Craig's wife, although bothered by the idea of another women in her husband's life, finds peace in knowing that her marriage is not anymore under threat, and that she can comfortably focus on her career, since her child is also taken care of.

Eight years later, Eve not only finishes her university education but also assumes a reputable job, where she can help her former community members lead a more decent life by providing them employment and means of education. So, she feels ready to take off. She makes the request to Craig. At that point, Craig's son has already grown, so he can be on his own. Craig himself has reached a more manageable state physiologically. His wife has also reached some of her career goals, so she is not as much reactionary to the family affairs. Overall, if needed, both Craig and his wife know that they can go for another service provider. So, Craig happily accepts the request of Eve, and their relationship as the Right Hand and the Service Provider comes to an end, but they stay as friends.