List of Tables and Figures; Acknowledgements; Notes on the Text; 1. Introduction: Why Muslims of Slave Origins Matter; 2. Insiders with an Asterisk: Maw?l? and Enslaved Women in the Quran; 3. Ab? Bakra, Freedman of God; 4. Enslaved Prostitutes in Early Islamic History; 5. Concubines & Their Sons: The Changing Political Notion of Arabness; 6. Singers & Scribes: The Limits of Language and Power; 7. Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.