Princess Sultana's Daughters

would be- come violent toward Reema and the
eldest of their daughters.
    Reema told Nura that she feared she would
soon be divorced and separated from her two youngest sons, for
Saleem had threatened to liberate himself from Reema, insisting
that this was the only way to free himself from his
unhappiness.
    Nura was helpless at giving advice, for no
one in our family could approach Saleem’s family without creating
tension. His family had recently requested that one of Nura’s
daughters be wed to their youngest son. The engagement did not
materialize because Ahmed and Nura had already arranged a different
groom for their child. Saleem’s family had held themselves at a
distance since that time, taking offense where none was
intended.
    Nura said that while Saleem slowly pulled
himself together so that he began to function at work, his contempt
for Reema only grew more intense. Saleem began to take frequent
trips to the Far East, and Reema knew from some of the brochures
she found in her husband’s belongings that these trips were not of
a business nature. Saleem was participating in sexual junkets to
Bangkok and Manila.
    Just the month before, Reema went to Nura’s
home with a bruised face and a horrifying story. Our sister had
discovered her husband in bed with one of the Sri Lankan maids.
When she protested, Saleem went at her with his fists and
threatened Reema with the loss of her children if she dared open
her mouth to anyone in his family. Saleem’s family was known to be
devout and religious, and they would have expressed great shame at
his conduct, though they would have been helpless to change his
mood.
    While it is true that many Saudi men turn to
secret pleasures with women to whom they are not wed, none of the
females in our family had married a man so insensitive as to flaunt
sexual relations with a servant in his own home.
    Reema, perplexed and not sure where to turn,
went to an Egyptian female imam, asking that the woman put in
writing the answer to the question: Does Islam permit a man to
have sexual intercourse with his maidservant without marrying
her? Surely, her husband would heed a religious ruling, if she
brought it to him in writing. To go against the teachings of the
Koran would be unthinkable in the mind of our pious sister!
    Nura said that Reema had confessed she was
going to con- front Saleem with the ruling. Nura had cautioned our
sister, concerned that Saleem no longer enjoyed total sanity.
    I asked if Nura recalled the words of the
ruling.
    She replied that she had taken a copy for
herself and filed it with her other religious material. Who knew
what other woman might have need of the information at a later
date?
    Nura said that to the best of her memory “the
imam’s ruling clearly states that Islam does not allow a sexual
relationship between a master and a servant. The iman said that the
idea was outrageous, and only through marriage could a sexual
relationship exist in Islam.”
    The imam acknowledged that what happens in
actual life is not always sanctioned by Islam and that there were
many cases in the kingdom that had been brought to her attention
involving a master forcing his servant to yield to his wishes,
exploiting her inferior position to get cheap fulfillment of carnal
desire. The imam ruled that such a relationship was illicit and led
to the three evils expressly forbidden by Islam. The evils of which
she spoke are: “Any relationship which adversely affects the moral
fabric of society, or leads to promiscuity, or affects the rights
of any individual. In Islam, the only lawful way to have sexual
intercourse is through marriage.”
    Reema’s courage in seeking an outside opinion
caused me some surprise, for she was meek in nature.
    “Was the ruling the cause of Saleem’s
attack?” I asked my sisters.
    Nura answered in the negative.
    “Then?”
    Sara began to weep and left the room, saying
that she could not bear to hear the details again. Tahani rose to
follow her, but Asad was standing near the door. I caught a glimpse
of him wrapping his arms around his wife as he led her to a private
corner.
    Tahani returned and sat by my side, and began
nervously to pat the top of my hand.
    I thought to myself that I was being prepared
for a distressing account.
    “The physician would not tell us the full
details, but Father and Ali went to his office and were told the
truth of the matter, for Saleem finally confessed to the physician
what exactly had happened to