take the women of other Arab groups captive. For this reason, none of them were enslaved, and no prohibition against taking them captive has been transmitted from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

As for an Arab man marrying a slave woman, a free man may marry a slave woman only under two conditions: fear of falling into sin and lack of the means to marry a free woman, according to the schools of Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, and Ahmad. They explain this by saying that such a marriage results in his child being enslaved. Thus, a free man, whether Arab or non-Arab, may marry a slave woman only out of necessity. If he marries her out of necessity, his child is a slave. According to Abū Hanīfah, however, the impediment is his already having a free woman as his wife; he distinguishes between Arabs and others regarding enslavement. If a man has unlawful intercourse with a slave woman, her child belongs to her master as a slave, by agreement, even if the father is an Arab, because paternal lineage is not legally established.

If, however, he has intercourse with her within marriage, believing her to be free, or waits until her womb has been established to be free of pregnancy and then has intercourse with her believing her to be his own slave woman, his child is free, whether Arab or non-Arab. Such a man is called “the deceived party.” The child of a man deceived in a marriage or purchase is free because he believed that he was having intercourse with a free wife or his own slave woman. He must pay a ransom to the slave woman’s master, as the Companions ruled, because he deprived her master of his ownership rights and was therefore liable for compensation. There are further subsidiary rulings and disagreements on this matter, but this is not the place to discuss them. And Allah knows best.