Yahya Silmi’s ridiculous view regarding "slave girls"
26 March 2026 • 764 views
There is a discussion between Yahya Silmi and another person, recorded in their voices in two sessions, regarding the issue of “who is intended by ‘right-hand possession’ in the religion of Islam.”
This discussion arose from a fatwa issued by Yahya Silmi in Sri Lanka that spread to India, the Maldives, and elsewhere. The fatwa states that in Islam, free women can be taken as right-hand possessions without being captives of war or being slave women through lineage generation after generation. It is permissible to enjoy them without a marriage contract! Yahya Silmi considers this a solution to the plight of women in his country, Sri Lanka.
Salafi brothers from Sri Lanka and India, who are trustworthy according to Sheikh Abdulhamid Al-Hajuri and Hussein Al-Hatibi, witnessed when they came to Sri Lanka to Yahya Silmi regarding this deviant fatwa and his manipulation of it.
Here are the statements of Yahya Salmi, with their meaning translated into Arabic:
Yahya Silmi says:
There is no slavery in Islam. So if someone is taken in Islam, he becomes a right-hand possession and receives all rights.
He says: “Or what your right hands possess” came in the religion, and in the Qur’an and Sunnah, to end and eliminate slavery for the female slave.
He says: None of the scholars interpreted “right-hand possession” as a male or female slave; rather, this was the usage of the pre-Islamic era. But in the Qur’an and Sunnah, the meaning of “abd” (male slave) and “amah” (female slave) is servants of Allah and female servants of Allah: “Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from the masjids of Allah.” Because Islam came to end slavery.
He says: Whoever says that “right-hand possession” is a slave has fabricated lies against the Qur’an and the Messenger. Rather, Islam, the Qur’an, and the Messenger came to end slavery.
What is the definition of right-hand possession according to Yahya Silmi?
According to him, right-hand possession consists of three categories. His statements on two of them are consistent, but his own statements on the third category are contradictory. All of this is confirmed by his voice recordings we have in the Tamil language.
The first category according to Yahya Silmi: What is taken as spoils of war—they are called “saraari” (concubines), not “imaa’” (female slaves). They become free in Islam and are taken as right-hand possession, not as a male or female slave in the sense of human bondage, because there is no slavery in Islam.
The second category according to Yahya Silmi: What is given as a gift—this occurred during the time of the Messenger of Allah and after, up until now. Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah was gifted to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, as a free woman, not a slave. She and her sisters were gifted to him, peace be upon him, from Egypt. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, set them free and took Mariyah as a right-hand possession.
The right of gifting applies to whoever is responsible for the woman. It is permissible for parents to give their free daughter as a gift, and she becomes a right-hand possession for the one to whom she is gifted. The evidence is the gifting of Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah, who was free and not a slave.
The statement that gifting is only permissible for a slave is an incorrect statement.
Yahya Silmi was asked: If a father gives his son a right-hand possession today, is it permissible for this right-hand possession to enter into a contract of manumission?
Yahya Silmi answers: Yes, it is permissible, as it came in the Qur’an.
Then he is asked: Does this ruling exist in the world today?
The questioner answers: No, because there are no slaves today.
Yahya Silmi says: That is your religion, not our religion.
Yahya Silmi was asked: If a person gives a woman a free male, and he is with her as a right-hand possession, is it permissible for her to display her adornment before him?
Yahya Silmi answers: Yes, the Qur’an says this. It is not my opinion. You say this is specific to a slave—can this happen today?