Hijab and discrimination? I dont want to wear a hijab anymore tbh

Question

So, basically I have been reading a lot and I found out that slave women even if they are muslims arent allowed to wear hijab or even dress modest?

Isn't that discrimination against them? Let alone they are slaves and we add the law that they are different or even low?

Also arent they women like all women? I mean I dont get a thing anymore. Sources:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful

-- Surat Ahzab, verse 59

In the tafsirs, its mentioned that the words an yo'rafna means: That they would be known to be free women, and not slave women.

This is from the tafsir Ibn Al Kathir:

SO FROM THIS I SEE THAT SLAVE WOMEN WERE ANNOYED OR ABUSED AND MUSLIMS SIMPLY INSTEAD OF HELPING THEM THEY SAID " you cant wear a hijab because you are a SLAVE".

I have searched for the answer and I saw videos of Arab scholars saying that "slave women are different and that men will not be attracted to them somehow" or "that they were allowed to not wear it because they work and run errands"

Tbh, I started to believe Muslim scholars are liars.

Answer 1

Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said many times الحياء شعبة من الإيمان (modesty is part of faith) and Islamic society upholds modesty and opposes indecencies. Women, whether free or slaves, have never been allowed to be indecent in public because that spreads evils as evident from the past society of the unbelievers. It's said that during the time of Imam Malik some slave-women started to dress inappropriately (i.e., their chests not covered properly) and he advised punishing them until they start dressing appropriately, demonstrating how early Muslims were against such public indecency. Therefore, your assumption that slave women were not allowed to be 'decent' is false.

The only difference between a free woman's dress and the slave woman's dress is that the slave woman does not cover her head/face. This is, relatively speaking, still a great level of modesty.. but just not as strict/complete as that of a free woman.

"arent they women like all women?" - Yes, which is why Islam raised the standard of how slaves are treated i.e., humanely like they're our own sisters. But since they are not free, they do inevitably have some differences in rules, in which there is wisdom. e.g., the wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) and the believing women as mentioned in the verse wore face veils to the point that only one eye was showing, the other was covered. It would be difficulty for a slave women to do manual labor while her head is covered and her face is veiled and she can only see through one eye. So as you see, the rules of Islam benefit everyone.

Another incorrect assumption you made is the idea that Hijab as a protection for free Muslim women automatically means slave women can be harassed or that Muslims wouldn't stop harassers if they harassed slave women. Islam does not tolerate harassment, injustice or harm against anyone - free or slave.

My advice for any Muslim is to study a topic without getting too emotional and to never make assumptions, both being factors towards misguidance.