1138 - Issue: He [Ibn Qudama] said: (And he may practice concubinage with the permission of his master.)

This is what is explicitly stated by Ahmad in the narration of the group. It is the position of Ibn 'Umar, Ibn 'Abbas, al-Sha'bi, al-Nakha'i, al-Zuhri, Malik, al-Awza'i, and Abu Thawr. Ibn Sirin, Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, al-Thawri, and the scholars of opinion disliked this. Al-Shafi'i has two positions on this, which are based on whether a slave possesses through the granting of ownership by his master or not. Qadi Abu Ya'la said: It is necessary that there be two opinions within the school of Ahmad regarding the slave's practice of concubinage, based on the two narrations regarding the establishment of ownership for him through the granting of ownership by his master. Those who forbade this argued that a slave does not possess wealth, and it is not permissible for him to have sexual intercourse except in marriage or through ownership of a right hand (concubinage); due to the saying of Allah the Almighty: {Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, then indeed, they are not to be blamed. But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors} (5). Our argument is the statement of Ibn 'Umar and Ibn 'Abbas, and we do not know of any opposing them among the Companions. Al-Athram narrated, with his chain of narration from Ibn 'Umar, that he did not see any harm in a slave practicing concubinage, and a similar view is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (6). Furthermore, since the slave possesses [the right to] marriage, he possesses [the right to] concubinage, like the free man. Their claim that the slave does not possess wealth is rejected; for the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Whoever buys a slave who has wealth..." (8). He thus attributed the wealth to him. Furthermore, he is a human being, so he possesses wealth like a free man, and that is because through his humanity, he is prepared for the capacity of ownership, since...