Because sex drive was the major factor in the temperament of the Arabs, the righteous men among them sought marital relations all the more. In order to clear the heart, marital relations with slave girls was made permissible if distress [‘anat, i.e. adultery] was feared, even though the child will become a slave, which is a kind of destruction. This is forbidden to anyone who has the means for a free woman, although causing a child to be a slave is better than the destruction of one’s deen [faith, religion]; in this case there is nothing but to grieve the life of the child for a time, whereas by falling into unlawful acts, the hereafter is forfeited.