(25) “Whoever among you cannot afford to marry free believing women may marry believing bondwomen from among those whom your right hands possess. Allah knows best your faith; you are of one another. Marry them, then, with the permission of their owners, and give them their bridal dues honorably, provided they are chaste—neither openly fornicating nor taking secret lovers. Once they are protected, if they commit an indecency, they shall receive half the punishment prescribed for free women. This is for whoever among you fears falling into sin. Yet to remain patient is better for you. Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Allah Most High then said, “Whoever among you cannot afford…” to the end of the verse.
That is, whoever cannot afford the means—namely, the dower—required to marry free believing women, and fears falling into sin and severe hardship, may marry believing bondwomen. This judgment is based on what is outwardly apparent; otherwise, Allah knows best who is truly a believer. Worldly affairs are governed by outward appearances, whereas the judgments of the Hereafter are based on what lies within.
“Marry them”—meaning the bondwomen—“with the permission of their owners,” whether the owner is one person or several.
“And give them their bridal dues honorably.” Even though they are bondwomen, a dower is obligatory for a bondwoman just as it is for a free woman. However, bondwomen may be married only if they are “chaste,” meaning they refrain from fornication; “neither openly fornicating,” meaning women who fornicate openly, “nor taking secret lovers,” meaning intimate partners in secret.
In summary, a free Muslim man may marry a bondwoman only when the four conditions mentioned by Allah are fulfilled: that she is a believer; that she is outwardly and inwardly chaste; that he cannot afford to marry a free woman; and that he fears falling into sin. Once these conditions are met, he may marry her.
Even so, refraining from marrying bondwomen is preferable, because such a marriage exposes the children to slave status and entails degradation and stigma. This applies when patience is possible. If, however, he cannot avoid what is forbidden except by marrying one of them, then doing so becomes obligatory. Hence He said, “Yet to remain patient is better for you. Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
His words, “Once they are protected,” mean once the bondwomen marry, or once they embrace Islam. “They shall receive half the punishment prescribed for free women.”
This applies to the punishment that can be halved, namely ⦗175⦘ flogging; they therefore receive fifty lashes. Stoning, however, does not apply to bondwomen, because it cannot be halved. According to the first interpretation, if they are unmarried, no prescribed punishment applies to them; rather, they receive a discretionary punishment that deters them from committing indecency.
According to the second interpretation, non-Muslim bondwomen who commit an indecency likewise receive a discretionary punishment.
Allah concluded this verse with these two noble names, “All-Forgiving, Most Merciful,” because these rulings are a mercy to His servants and an expression of His generosity and beneficence toward them. He did not constrain them but granted them the utmost latitude.
Perhaps the mention of forgiveness after the prescribed punishment indicates that prescribed punishments are expiations through which Allah forgives the sins of His servants, as stated in the hadith. In the punishment just mentioned, a male slave is subject to the same ruling as a bondwoman, since there is no relevant distinction between them.