Females POWs (Sikhi versus Islam)
The Sikh and Islamic faiths both are no strangers to warfare. Picking up the sword was critical to the preservation of Sikhi, whereas for Islam it provided a means to rapidly expand. Another distinction was the treatment these groups showcased towards women they captured during battle. This will be the focus of the article.
Islam:
Let’s start off by looking at Islam. Muslims revere their Prophet Muhammad as the final messenger of God. They try to emulate his lifestyle and behavior as narrated in the hadiths. Since Muhammad entered the bathroom with his left foot and cleaned his private parts with his left hand many orthodox Muslims today follow suit. Besides bathroom etiquette Muslims also look to their Prophet for inspiration when it comes to waging war and treatment of captive women.
Muhammad had conflicts with polytheist Arab clans and the Jews. After achieving victory Muhammad would divide the spoils of war amongst his men. This included the women of the defeated groups. These women were deemed a right-hand possession of the Muslim men. In other words they became sex-slaves.
Chapter 4 of the Quran (An-Nisa) on Verse 24 reads:
Also ˹forbidden are˺ married women—except ˹female˺ captives in your possession.1 This is Allah’s commandment to you. Lawful to you are all beyond these—as long as you seek them with your wealth in a legal marriage, not in fornication. Give those you have consummated marriage with their due dowries. It is permissible to be mutually gracious regarding the set dowry. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
Chapter 4 Verse 24 discusses what type of women Muslim men can have sexual intercourse with. As shown above female captives are permitted. 14th century Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir confirms the meaning of this verse within his tafsir (Quranic Exegesis).
Allah said,
وَالْمُحْصَنَـتُ مِنَ النِّسَآءِ إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكْتَ أَيْمَـنُكُمْ
(Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess.) The Ayah means, you are prohibited from marrying women who are already married,
إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكْتَ أَيْمَـنُكُمْ
(except those whom your right hands possess) except those whom you acquire through war, for you are allowed such women after making sure they are not pregnant. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri said, "We captured some women from the area of Awtas who were already married, and we disliked having sexual relations with them because they already had husbands. So, we asked the Prophet about this matter, and this Ayah was revealed, e
وَالْمُحْصَنَـتُ مِنَ النِّسَآءِ إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكْتَ أَيْمَـنُكُمْ
(Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess). Consequently, we had sexual relations with these women." This is the wording collected by At-Tirmidhi An-Nasa'i, Ibn Jarir and Muslim in his Sahih. Allah's statement,
This exegesis gives abundant proof that Muhammad allowed his followers to rape captured women, even if they were married. The polytheist women of Atwas had their prior marriages automatically annulled once the Muslims seized them. Muhammad clearly had no empathy towards infidel women and it transferred over to his followers. The global community witnessed this lack of empathy when Hamas raped numerous Israeli women on their savage Oct 7 attacks. Clearly Hamas drew inspiration from their Prophet.
Sikhi:
Now let’s transition to Sikhi. The Sikh Gurus faced immense persecution from the Mughal Islamic polity. This required them to pick up arms and commence battle. Guru Gobind Singh, the last human Guru had several engagements with Mughal forces. In some of these battles the Sikhs would come in possession of Muslim women. One controversial Sikh historical text brings up a tale where Sikh warriors contemplate retaliatory rape of Muslim women and the response of the Guru.
Suraj Parkash (1843) of Kavi Santokh Singh:
ਬ੍ਰਿੰਦ ਤੁਰਕ ਭੋਗੈਂ ਹਿੰਦਵਾਨੀ।
ਸਿਖ ਬਦਲਾ ਲੇ ਭਲਾ ਜਨਾਏ।
ਕਯੋਂ ਗੁਰ ਸ਼ਾਸਤ੍ਰ ਬਰਜ ਹਟਾਏ? ॥18॥
ਸੁਨਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਬੋਲੇ ਤਿਸ ਬੇਰੇ।
ਹਮ ਲੇ ਜਾਨੋ ਪੰਥ ਉਚੇਰੇ।
ਨਹੀਂ ਅਧੋਗਤਿ ਬਿਖੈ ਪੁਚਾਵੈਂ।
ਯਾਂ ਤੇ ਕਲਮਲ ਕਰਨ ਹਟਾਵੈਂ ॥19॥
ਪੰਥ ਭੂਤਨਾ ਕੋ ਹੈ ਜੋਈ।
ਲਿਯੇ ਸੰਭਾਲ ਮੁਹੰਮਦ ਸੋਈ।
ਨਹਿਂ ਨੀਚਨ ਕੀ ਰੀਤਿ ਅਛੇਰੀ।
ਪਿਖਿ ਅਪਮਾਨ ਕਰਹਿਂ ਸਭਿ ਬੇਰੀ ॥20॥
Then the Singhs comprehended the character of the Khans. Turks hordes were ravishing Indian women. If the Sikhs took revenge [by raping in retaliation] it should be recognized as good. Why does the Guru’s instruction (note: ਗੁਰ ਸ਼ਾਸਤ੍ਰ implies a written code of conduct i.e. a rahitnama) prevent them [from doing this]? (18)
Listen to what the Guru said on this matter:
I have recognized this [Khalsa] path as an exalted one. Without base degradation assimilated within. That is why I prevent you from committing [such] sins. (19) That path which adopts Mohammad, is one of demons. The ways of those lowly ones are not good. Observe how they commit outrages at every opportunity. (20)
Sikh Scholar Gurtej Singh IAS adds: In this context, and as a measure particularly relevant to wartime situation, members of the Order of the Khalsa were forbidden to have intercourse with Muslim women as Muslims were the main enemies they were fighting at that time and their women were most likely to fall into the hands of the Khalsa.
The Suraj Parkash is a controversial text amongst Sikhs. Some Sikhs argue it disparages the Gurus and distorts Gurbani. Regardless of how one views the text overall it can’t be denied that the above passage highlights how Guru Gobind Singh was against the rape of women in general. The Sikh warriors were held to a higher standard by their Guru.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the primary authoritative Sikh holy text. Not on any page does this text allow Sikh men to have sex slaves, unlike the Quran which gives the go ahead to Muslim men. The Sikhs try to emulate their Gurus’ moral standards. Respect for women is a key quality that even anti-Sikh writers observed.
I’ll finish up this article with what Qazi Nur Muhammad observed about the Sikhs circa 1764-1765 in his Jangnama.
“Listen to one more thing in which they excel all other warriors. They never kill a coward who is running away from the battlefield. They do not rob a woman of her wealth or ornaments whether she is rich or a servant (“Kaneez”). There is no adultery among these dogs, nor are they mischievous people. A woman, whether young or old, they call a “Burhi”. The word Burhi, means in Indian language, an old lady. There is no thief amongst these dogs, nor is there amongst them any mean people. They do not keep company with adulterers and house thieves though all their acts may not be commendable.”
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh