View Full Version : Islam and Slavery
as salaam alaikum
I thought i would start with a book i have had on my shelf for many years.. slowly i'll inshallah paste some more references that I have as well.
from "A Refutation of Doubts about current issues" by Saleh Abdullah bin Humaid
Islam and Slavery
It is an Islamic principle that God created man as a fully responsible creature to carry out all religions duties, to be accountable for doing so, having the necessary volition and free behaviour. No other human may restrict that freedom, and if he does he is an oppressor.
This is as plain a principle in Islam as plain can be. when someone wonders "How was it that Islam legitimized slavery?" we reply without ernbarassrnent: yes, Islam did legitimize slavery. But fairness and on honest search for truth would demand that one follow up his inquiry and try to comprehend in detail the Islamic legislation concerning slavery. He shonid comprehend how a slave is treated in Islam, the eqijality between a free person and a slave in rights and duties, and also he should learn how many methods have been provided for in shariah for freeing slaves. Such legislation will be all the more admirable if it is contrasted with other systems, and if contrasted with the modern version of slavery in the so-called civilized world.
The reader will observe that there are here numerous quotations from the Quran and snnnah, as the practice of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, is or special significance here, and to emphasize the importance of separating faulty applications from the original teachings
We may say here that Islam's position on slavery Is superior to that of any other creed or system. if things had developed in accordance with the teachings of the Islamic shariah the unfortunate practices that were perpetrated later on would have been avoided. One more faulty practice has been the enslavement of free people through snatching, overpowering, or trickery in both old and recent past. This has led to a horrible custom of slavery in all continents, especially in Europe and America in the last few centuries
Islam takes a very strong exception to such practices. In a kudsi' tradition the Prophet says :
Three types of people will stand apart on the day of Resurrection as My enemies - and an enemy of Mine will be doomed; a man who vowed in My name then betrayed, a man who sold a free person as a slave and
appropriated his price, and a man who employed a worker and had him do the assigned work then failed to ray him his wages~!!<bukhari>
The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, says : Three types of people will not have rewards for their prayer: a man who forces himself as Imam on a group, a man who postpones prayer until its time is out and a man who enslaves a free
person~" <dawood and Ibn Majah>
It is interesting to note that there is no statement in Qur'an or sunnah ordering a Muslim to enslave, while statements abound in the hundreds which urge the setting free of slaves.
At the advent of Islam the ways and means of enslavement were numerous while the outlets to freeing were almost nill so Islam reversed this formula, by mutiplying the outlets to freedom and drying up the sources of enslavement
One such source of enslavement was captives taken in war who were routinely enslaved or killed off But Islam introduced a third alternative in which a prisoner - of - war is treated well and set free. 'This is the purport of the The following verses of the Sacred Qnr'an: "(The deveotees of God feed, for the Love of God, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive, (saying), We feed you for the sake of God alone no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks." (66:8-9) The above verses indicate such sympathy and kindness that need no commentary. We may qoute here a tradition of the Prophet's, peace be upon him, exhorting noble conduct : "Visit the sick, feed the hungry, and set free the captives" <bukhari>
In the first clash between muslims and their enemies, the Battle of Badr, the Muslims won, and a number of the noblest Arabs fell captives in the hands of Muslims. If such dignitaries were punished severely they would have deserved the punishment - they had done so much harm to Muslims at the early stage of Islamic da'wah (call to Islam). Nevertheless, the Sacred Qur'an directs the Prophet and his companions in these words
"0 Apostle say to those who are captives in your hands: 'If God findeth any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you and He will forgive you for God is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. But if they have treacherous designs against thee (0 Apostle), they have already been in treason against God, And God is He who bath (fitH) knowledge and wisdon~" (VIII, 70-71).
Since the beginning of the Islamic dawah and up to the battle, those men had done Muslims all kinds of injury and cruelty with the intention of overpowering and exterminatIng them In a state like this, would it have been good policy to set the captives free at once?
The situation is obviously related to the state's high interests Therefore, the Muslims accepted ransam to free prisoners-of-war after the Battle of Badr, while after the fall of Makkah its inhabitants were told (by the Prophet): 'You may go! for I give you your freedom~" At the Raid of Al-Mustalak the Prophet married a noble captive from the defeated tribe, thus raising her statns. The result of this was that all Muslims set free all the captives in their hands
It must be clear by now how few ways of enslavement were left open through Islamic legisla tion. To abolish it completely would not do, since the disbelieving captives had been fierce in confronting the cause of justice and truth at least in being a tool in tbe hands of oppressors. To set them free as a routine would only have led to the supremacy of oppression and tyranny.
After all, the chances of regaining freedom in Islam are numerouss and frequent. And the rules of treating slaves are just and merciful
Let's just mention some of the ways of freeing slaves: A share of zakat (i.e. the enjoined charity) is allotted to the freeing of slaves, the atonement for unintended killing, the vow of thihar (the vow which a man will not cohabitat with his wife for a period of time), atonement for broken oaths, for breaking the fast during the day of Ramadan. There is besides this a general appeal to the human sentiment of Muslims to set slaves free for the pleasure of God.
As for the treatmeat of slaves, let's survey here some of the rules laid down by Islam to ensure a decent and kind treatment for them
1) Giving them the same food and clothing as taken by their masters
Aby Dawood reports on the authority of Al-Maroor bin Suwaid that he said: "We entered Abu Thar's house at Al Ribthah and found him dressed in a garment called 'burd' and found his slave dressed in an identical 'burd'. So we said 'why don't you Abu Thar wear that burd of your slaves so that you may have a full suit, and give him instead a less sumptuous garment? He replied I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of God be upon him say Those slaves are your brothers, only god gave you an upper hand over them. So let that who has his brother (i.e slave) under him give him the same food he himself eats, and the same clothing as he himself wears. The master may not give his brother a task that is beyond his ability. If he does give him such task, let him lend him a hand"
2) Recognizing their dignity
Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet of Repentence (i.e Prophet Muhamamd) sad: Any on who slander his slave of adultery, and it is a flase charge will receive on the day of resurrection the same punishment his slave would have recieved in the world had the carge been true <Bukhar>
Abdul-Lab bin 'Urnar freed a slave of his then picked a twig from the ground and said "I shall not receive for freeing him the worth of this in the Hereafter, I heard the Messenger of Allah say: If a man hits or beats his slave, his atonement is the freeing of that slave. <abu Dawood>
3) A slave is given the lead in religious or mundane matters which he is skilful at.
He ran be imam (i.e. to lead the prayer). Aishah had a slave who led her prayer. The believrs are even ordered to heed and obey if a slave becomes their ruler, so long as he proves to be better qualified than others
Freedom is man's natural right. No one may be deprived of this right except for an exceptional reason. Although Islam reco
umm sohaib
19-07-2001, 22:47
Assalam alaykum nzingha,
Could u pls finish the article. Jazakallahu khair!
>Freedom is man's natural right. No
>one may be deprived of
>this right except for an
>exceptional reason. Although Islam reco
>
umm_suhayb
28-07-2001, 00:59
LAST EDITED ON 28-07-01 AT 02:57 AM (GMT)[p] Bismillah
Assalam alaykum,
It is interesting to note that majority of our pious scholars of the past were actually "mawla"-freed slaves.this is an excerpt taken from GF haddad's piece on arabs:
....."narration adduced by Ibn al-Salah in his Muqaddima on the Hadith sciences
from `Ata' that the latter was asked by the Caliph Hisham ibn `Abd al-Malik
in al-Rusafa:
- "O `Ata'! Do you know anything about the foremost Ulema in the world?"
- "Yes, Commander of the Believers."
- "Who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Madina?"
- "Nafi` the Mawla of Ibn `Umar [most likely a Persian according to
al-Dhahabi]."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "A Mawla."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl Makka?"
- "`Ata' ibn Abi Rabah."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "No! A Mawla."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Yaman?"
- "Tawus ibn Kaysan."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "No! A Mawla."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Yamama?"
- "Yahya ibn Abi Kathir."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "No! A Mawla."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Sham?"
- "Makhul."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "No! A Mawla."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Jazira?"
- "Maymun ibn Mihran."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "No! A Mawla."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl Khurasan?"
- "Al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "No! A Mawla."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Basra?"
- "Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin."
- "Were they Mawlas or Arabs?"
- "No! Mawlas."
- "Then who is the Faqih of Ahl al-Kufa?"
- "Ibrahim al-Nakha`i."
- "Was he a Mawla or an Arab?"
- "An Arab!"
Hearing which, Hisham said:
- "Had you not said an Arab I think I would have expired on the spot."
Mawla is one of the addad in Arabic- words referring also to their
opposites - and can mean the slave-owner, as illustrated by `Ali's word to
the Ansar: "How can I be your Mawla [=owner] when you are all Arabs [= free
men]?". Narrated by Ahmad with a chain of sound narrators as per al-Haythami
in Majma` al-Zawa'id (9:128-129 #14610)."
Sahabah Ibnu Abbas radiallahu anhu used to chain his slave Ikramah in order to teach him the Quran and the sciences of hadith...Ikramah later became one of the most learned a'lim among the tabi'in....he was called as "the ocean of knowledge" and "the most learned ummah"..
Qatadah said "there were only 4 person that were considered as the most learned among the tabi'in and ikramah was one of them".
wassallam
Umm Suhayb
as salaam alaikum
I just figured out that I did not post the whole thing.. duhh. And I'm having problems viewing the thread.. oh well. here is the continuation.
Freedom is man's natural right. No one may be deprived of this right except for an exceptional reason. Although Islam recognizes slavery within the limits we have explained, it strictly warned those who have the upper hand or freedom against manipulating their position for cruel ends. Beyond that, we assert that it is justified to hold a person who falls captive as a result of his aggression, but it is necessary to treat him nicely
If someone does fall captive and becomes a slave, then shows signs of repentance, gives up his old way of life, forsakes the way of evil and follows a well-guided life, such a person should be set free. Islam favours such response to a slave's conduct Some Islamic jurists enjoin freeing him and others recommend it
The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, again and again ordered kindness to the slaves For instance, when the captives taken in the Battle of Badr were distribnted he directed 'Be kind to your captives.
Uthrman bin 'Affan once punished a slave of his by pinching his ear-lobe. But he told him later " come and pinchh my ear.' And when the slave would not do, he insisted So the slave proceeded to pinch Uthman's ear lightly, but Uthrnan said 'pinch more painflilly, I have no endurance for punishment on the Day of Resurrecion.' "Wel Sir," rejoined the slave, 'the day you fear I fear, too"
when Abdul-Rabman bin 'Awf walked in the company of his slaves, people would not know who is master and who is slave nor did he have smarter clothing
'Umar bin Al-Khattab once walked in Makkah and saw some slaves standing aside waiting, while their
master ate. He was angry at this and inquired of the master : "Why do some masters regard themselves as superior to their slaves ? " Then he ordered the slaves to advance and eat.
A man once entered the house of Salman, may God be pleased with him, and saw him kneading his dough. "What are you doing, Abu 'Abdullah? " "I have sent my servant on an errand, " he answered and I didn't like to give him another work,"
This is some of what Islam did for slaves !
LAST EDITED ON 29-07-01 AT 05:59 PM (GMT)[p]as salaam alaikum
This i got from the answering christianity site
Islam's position on Slavery
Islam was the first Religion in history that abolished slavery. The Islamic perspective is that all of humanity is the descendant of Adam and are, therefore, all equal in the eyes of Allah (God). Superiority of one over the other is based on Righteousness, Humility, and Taqwa (God Consciousness). Prior to the advent of Islam, slavery was an accepted way of life among the Arab people. Slaves had no legal status and led a life of unmitigated drudgery in the hands of the pitiless masters. The Islamic teachings gave a death blow to the institution of slavery.
Muhammad (S) did not end slavery instantaneously, otherwise there would have been a civil war; the wealth of some of the Arabs was entirely in the form of slaves. Instead, he (S) implemented a practical, steady and well planned procedures in a step wise fashion which completely ended slavery in a peaceful fashion.
Islam used three important criteria <<NARROWING THE INPUT>> and <<MAKING SLAVERY A LIABILITY AND REGULATING THE INSTITUTION>> and <<ENLARGING THE OUTPUT>>, which ultimately abolished slavery:
<<NARROWING THE INPUT>>
Before Islam there were various ways of enslavement, such as selling or gambling, kidnapping, paying of a debt, wars, piracy and the class
system. Islam abolished all of this. Slavery by purchase and sale was discontinued.
<<MAKING SLAVERY A LIABILITY AND REGULATING THE INSTITUTION>>
Etiquette's for the treatment of slaves was established and slaves became equal in status to their masters. "Abu Thar said he had heard the Prophet say, Slaves are your brothers. God put them into your hands so you should give them from the same food you eat and give them from the same clothes you wear and don't use them in hard jobs, but if you have to, you should help them."
An excellent example of equality took place when Omar ibnul Khattab, a companion of the Prophet (S), went to Jerusalem with his servant on the camel. They took turns to ride the camel and it was the servant's turn when they arrived at the gates of the city. Omar was walking while the servant was on the camel's back. Abu Obedia, one of the leaders of the Muslim army rebuked the Caliph for this saying, "I see that you are doing something which is not fitting. All the people are watching you." The Caliph then said firmly, "We were the meanest and the least people but God has made us strong and honorable by Islam. If we seek glory outside of Islam we will fail."
The Prophet says, "Do you know who is the worst among you? It is he who eats alone, helps none and beats his slave" And once the Prophet (pbuh) saw a man on his horse with his slave following him on foot. The Prophet at once shouted at the rider saying, "Oh Abdullah carry him behind you, he is your brother and his soul is exactly like yours". In this way they were no longer some inferior class as was the case in pre-Islamic times and thus the incentive for slavery was destroyed.
<<ENLARGING THE OUTPUT>>
Islam viewed slavery as a temporary thing and tried to finish it, so it opened all the doors to free the slaves by setting up rules which greatly facilitated the emancipation of slaves:
Manumission became a way to redeem on oath made by a Muslim which he
could not fulfill. Or it was an atonement for sins. Slaves had the right to make manumission contracts with their owners which delineated an agreement by which they could be freed (ie. if they paid a certain sum of money or if they worked for a certain period of time for their masters).
Omar once manumitted a slave woman because her master beat her, because the Prophet (S) had said, "He who beats or slaps his slave on the face, must free his slave as a redemption".
A slave once brought a sheep with broken leg, and put it in front of his master Zaid al Abideen, a grandson of the Prophet (S), who asked the slave why he had broken the sheep's leg? The slave said that he had done it to enrage his master. Zain al Abideen replied: "And I will enrage Satan who taught you that. Go, you are free for the sake of God."
Islam also made some part of Zakat to be paid to help slaves get their freedom from their masters. In the Quran we read:
"Alms are for the poor and needy, and those employed to administer the funds, for those whose hearts have been recently reconciled to truth, for those in bondage ..." (Quran 24:33)
Yahia Bin Said once said, "The Caliph Omar Bin Abdul Aziz sent me to Africa to collect Zakat, which I did, but when I wanted to distribute the money among those who needed it, I found none. The period of Omar Bin Abdul Aziz was so prosperous that every one became rich and no poor people were left. So, with that money I brought a large number of slaves and set them free."
After the battle of Badr, the Prophet (S) manumitted each slave who taught ten Muslims how to read and write.
Women slaves who gave birth automatically became free and their newborns could not be enslaved.
"Muaz-B-Jabal reported: The Messenger (S) of Allah said to me: O Muaz! God created nothing on the face of the earth more dear to Him than emancipation of slaves and God created nothing on the face of the earth more disliking to Him than divorce" (Al-Hadis, Mishkat-ul-masabih, 27:390w)
It is no wonder that rich Muslims of that time used to buy the freedom of slaves from their masters as a routine practice.
"Virtue does not mean for you to turn your faces towards the East and West, but virtue means one should believe in God (Alone), the Last Day, angels, the Book and prophets; and no matter how he loves it, to give his wealth away to near relatives, orphans, the needy, the wayfarer and beggars, and towards freeing captives; and to keep up prayer and pay the welfare tax; and those who keep their word whenever they promise anything; and are patient under suffering and hardship and in time of violence. Those are the ones who act loyal, and they perform their duty." (Quran 2:177)
"What will make you realize what the Obstacle is? It means redeeming the captive, or feeding some orphaned relative on a day of famine or some needy person in distress." (Quran 90:11-13)
Among the closest companions of the Prophet (S) were manumitted slaves,
such as Bilal the Abyssinian, Salman the Persian and Suhaib the Roman.
Manumission then was the thing that Islam legislated while it forbade slavery which was considered legal before Islam. The end result was that slavery was abolished with the completion of the Islamic Faith. As proof that this methodology is effective, today, no-one in Saudia Arabia and the rest of the Muslim world owns slaves.
LAST EDITED ON 29-07-01 AT 06:02 PM (GMT)[p]With the advent of Islam the condition of slavery became a temporary condition and slaves gained equal status with their caretakers; they were, therefore, no longer referred to as slaves. In Arabic, the closest word used for slaves is ibaad (if male) and imaa (for female slaves). The Quran, however, referred to these people as *milk yameen* (although there is no English equivalent to this Arabic term, it can most accurately be translated as what your right hand possesses).
In the Quran we read: "Serve God and join not any partner with Him, and do good to your parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are kin, nighbors who are stranger, the companions by your side, the way farer (you meet) and what your right hands possess." (Quran 4:36)
PRISONERS OF WAR
Besides pre-Islamic slaves, there was another group of human beings that were temporarily detained against their will and were also referred to in the Holy Quran as *milk yameen*, i.e. what your right hands possess. These people were those that were captured and detained temporarily when the Muslims were forced to fight to defend themselves against their enemies; these people were actually prisoners of war. However, unlike the slaves, these people temporarily forfeited their freedom by engaging in an aggressive war to destroy Islam. So in a justified war - a defensive war, the kind of slavery allowed by Islam was also allowed by the civilized nations who agreed to abolish slavery in the 18th century.
These nations allowed taking prisoners of war, keeping them or paying
ransoms or fines. It was the same thing done by Islam , 14 centuries ago.
Muslims scholars said that if a boy was found and a Christian claimed that the boy was his son, and a Muslim claimed that he was his slave then the judge would give the boy to the Christian man so that the boy would not be a slave even if that would have led to making the boy non-Muslim. Islam also made some conditions that were necessary before a prisoner-of-war can be categorized as one whom the right hand possesses. One of these conditions is that the Head of the State should decree such a ruling. If all the conditions were met then those prisoners of war were supported and given shelter by the Muslims who were required to dress, clothe, and feed them to the same standard as themselves.
All prisoners of war were ultimately set free, whenever and wherever they were caught, irrespective of the time and magnitude of their offenses. The different methodology employed for freedom was discussed earlier.
Finally we can say that Islam found the slavery system already existing and put forward a plan to abolish it and made the only source of slaves a justified war. Islam then decreed that prisoners of war should be either set free or ransomed.
Van Denburg, a non-Muslim historian says, "Many regulations have been made by Islam, showing how noble was the feeling of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers towards slaves. In those regulations, we find that the merits of Islam are contrary to all the systems used until recently by nations, who claim to be most civilized and developed."
Those who criticize the Islamic legislation towards Slavery are holding those views because they analyze the process of abolition using a tunnel vision. In other words they fail to see the big picture in which this process not only completely abolished slavery from the Muslim world but the approach was the most humane and most peaceful method ever employed for this task.
Dr. George Brest, a non-Muslim historian says, "Christianity did not object to slavery. Politically or economically, it did not encourage the believers to
oppose the traditions of their generations as regards slavery. Christianity did not even discuss the problem and said nothing against the rights of slave owners. It did not urge slaves to demand their freedom and did not basically ask to free the slaves."
In the Grand Larouse of 19th century one reads: "Man does not wonder at the presence of slavery and its being common among the Christians till now. The religious representatives approve it and believe that it is legal. In brief Christianity approves it completely till our time and it is very hard to prove that Christianity tried to abolish slavery."
It is no wonder that Christians continued to practice slavery until very recently.
In less than fifty years, Western slave traders carried to North and South America slaves, who now number about twenty million people, left after killing and oppression. This number is five times that of the slaves in the Ancient World more than a thousand years ago. And the difference between the slaves of the Ancient World and the New World is so great that Negroes in America are still a race of secluded pedigree, of lesser privilege and no practical rights.
One does not find this in any nation of the East. A black man who comes to any country there is considered a citizen in about one generation. He has the same rights and duties and needs no protection by legislation or law.
In the Encyclopedia Britanica Vol. II p. 779 under <<Slavery>> one reads: "Catching slaves from their villages which were surrounded by jungle happened this way: Fire was started in the dry hedges surrounding the huts and when the residents fled away into the jungle the Englishmen caught them in devices prepared for that purpose. Some of the people died during this human hunt on their way to the coast to the ships of the British and other companies. A third of the remaining captives died because of climate alteration and during the shipping 4.5 % died and 19 % died during the journey. Those who died in the
colonies were uncountable."
In 1502, about eight hundred thousand slaves entered the colony of Jamaica alone, and only three hundred and forty thousand were alive at the end of the same year.
Queen Elizabeth I was partner in the slave trade. Her partner was John Hawkins the greatest slave dealer in history. She made him a knight because she admired his courage and made a coat of arms a slave in chains and handcuffs. It is really ironic to read that ship which the queen prepared for Hawkins was called <<Jesus>> and the ships made for the slave trade numbered 192 and each ship could hold 47,146 slaves. England asked the clergy to find documents to justify this trade and they readily enough found the text from the Old Testament which were mentioned above under Slavery and Jews.
The Bible, unlike the Holy Quran, widely promoted the institution of Slavery; Muslims cannot believe that God could have inspired the following on the issue of slavery found in the Bible:
"Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be defamed." (Timothy I 6:1)
"As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you." (Leviticus 25:44)
"If a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave, betrothed to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, an inquiry shall be held. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free" (Leviticus 19:20)
"When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be punished; for the slave is his money." (Exodus 21:20-21)
And the Lord said, "When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labour for you and shall serve you..."
(Deuteronomy 20:10-11)
"And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant" (Genesis 9:26)
"So the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of Ephraim to this day, but become slaves to do forced labour." (Josh 16:10)
"And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not the children of Israel; their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day."
(I Kings 9:20-21)
"but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him." (Exodus 12:44)
"When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing." (Exodus 21:2)
St. Paul asked the slaves to obey their masters as they obey Jesus Christ. In his message to the people of Ephsus St.. Paul said "O slave! Obey your masters in body with fear and trembling in your hearts as you do for Christ, not deceiving the eye as those who please people, but as slaves of Christ working God's will, serving with good intention as for God, not for people, knowing that whatever good you do, it will be accepted by God weather you were free or slave."
St. Peter made a similar recommendation and ordered priests to adhere to it, because slavery is a redemption of human errors, offered by men for the wrath of the greatest Lord.
St. Thomas Aquinas added the philosophical view to the view of religious leaders and did not object to slavery, but praised it, because he, like his teacher Aristotle, believed that slavery was natural case and some people are originally born to be slaves. Also he believed slavery did not contradict the faith and humans should be satisfied with their lowly lot.
Perhaps the above verses in the Bible were the thoughts of men as the Bible itself claims:
"How can you say we are wise and the law of the Lord is with us behold, the false pen of the scribes turned it into a lie." (Jer 8:8)
"And the burden of the Lord shall you mention no more...For you have perverted the words of the living God" (Jer 23:36)
LAST EDITED ON 29-07-01 AT 06:15 PM (GMT)[p]"Behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach, they have no delight in it..From the least of them even unto the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness, and from the prophet even unto the priest, everyone deals falsely." (Jer 6:10)
"The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them." (Jer 14:14)
"They use their tongues and say, 'He says' " (Jer 23:31)
Many years after Jesus left the earth, Paul says about the Old Testament and the New Testament:
"But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (1 Corin 13:9)
The good news to mankind is that Allah (God) has revealed The Holy Quran, a perfect Revelation and a Mercy for mankind.
<end qoute>
The Position of Slavery in Islam
by Abul Ala Mawdudi
Appendix A Excerpted from "Human Rights in Islam" by 'Allamah Abu Al-'A'la Mawdudi. Chapter 3, subsection 5 - Al Tawhid Journal, vol. IV. No. 3 Rajab-Ramadan 1407. 5.
Individual's Right to Freedom:
Islam has clearly and categorically forbidden the primitive practice of capturing a free man, to make him a slave or to sell him into slavery. On this point the clear and unequivocal words of the Prophet are as follows:
"There are three categories of people against whom I shall myself be a plaintiff on the Day of Judgement. Of these three, one is he who enslaves a free man, then sells him and eats this money" (al-Bukhari and Ibn Majjah).
The words of this Tradition of the Prophet are also general, they have not been qualified or made applicable to a particular nation, race, country or followers of a particular religion. The Europeans take great pride in claiming that they abolished slavery from the world, though they had the decency to do so only in the middle of the last century. Before this, these Western powers had been raiding Africa on a very large scale, capturing their free men, putting them in bondage and transporting them to their new colonies. The treatment which they have meted out to these unfortunate people has been worse than the treatment given to animals. The books written by the Western people themselves bear testimony to this fact.
The Position of Slavery in Islam:
Briefly I would like to tell you about the position and nature of slavery in Islam. Islam tried to solve the problem of the slaves that were in Arabia by encouraging the people in different ways to set their slaves free. The Muslims were ordered that in expiation of some of their sins they should set their slaves free. Freeing a slave by one's own free will was declared to be an act of great merit, so much so that it was said that every limb of the man who manumits a slave will be protected from hell-fire in lieu of the limb of the slave freed by him.
The result of this policy was that by the time the period of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs was reached, all the old slaves of Arabia were liberated. The Prophet alone liberated as many as 63 slaves. The number of slaves freed by 'Aishah was 67, 'Abbas liberated 70, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar liberated one thousand, and 'Abd al-Rahman purchased thirty thousand and set them free. Similarly other Companions of the Prophet liberated a large number of slaves, the details of which are given in the Traditions and books of history of that period. Thus the problem of the slaves of Arabia was solved in a short period of thirty or forty years.
After this the only form of slavery which was left in Islamic society was the prisoners of war, who were captured on the battlefield. These prisoners of war were retained by the Muslim Government until their government agreed to receive them back in exchange for Muslim soldiers captured by them, or arranged the payment of ransom on their behalf. If the soldiers they captured were not exchanged with Muslim prisoners of war, or their people did not pay their ransom money to purchase their liberty, then the Muslim Government used to distribute them among the soldiers of the army which had captured them. This was a more humane and proper way of disposing of them than retaining them like cattle in concentration camps and taking forced labour from them and, if their women folk were also captured, setting them aside for prostitution. In place of such a cruel and outrageous way of disposing of the prisoners of war, Islam preferred to spread them in the population and thus brought them in contact with individual human beings. Over and above, their guardians were ordered to treat them well.
The result of this humane policy was that most of the men who were captured on foreign battlefields and brought to the Muslim countries as slaves embraced Islam and their descendants produced great scholars, imams, jurists, commentators, statesmen and generals of the army. So much so that later on they became the rulers of the Muslim world.
The solution of this problem which has been proposed in the present age is that after the cessation of hostilities the prisoners of war of the combatant countries should be exchanged. Whereas Muslims have been practising it from the very beginning and whenever the adversary accepted the exchange of prisoners of war from both sides, it was implemented without the least hesitation or delay.
In modern warfare we also find that if one government is completely routed leaving her in no position of bargaining for the prisoners of war and the winning party gets its prisoners easily, then experience has shown that the prisoners of war of the vanquished army are kept in conditions which are much worse than the conditions of slaves.
Can anyone tell us what has been the fate of the thousands of prisoners of war captured by Russia from the defeated armies of Germany and Japan in the Second World War? No one has given their account so far. No one knows how many thousands of them are still alive and how many thousands of them have perished due to the hardship of the Russian concentration and labour camps.
The forced labour which has been taken from them is much worse than the service one can exact from slaves. Even perhaps in the times of ancient Pharaohs of Egypt such harsh labour might not have been exacted from the slaves in building the pyramids of Egypt, as has been exacted from the prisoners of war in Russia in developing Siberia and other backward areas of Russia, or working in coal and other mines in below zero temperatures, ill-clad, ill-fed and brutally treated by their supervisors.
The Slave Trade of Western Nations:
After the occupation of America and the West Indies, for three hundred and fifty years, traffic in slave trade continued. The African coasts where the black-skinned captured Africans were brought from the interior of Africa and put on the ships sailing out from those ports, came to be known as the Slave Coast.
During only one century (from 1680 to 1786) the total number of free people who were captured and enslaved only for British Colonies amounts, according to the estimate of British authors, to 20 million human beings. Over the period of only one year (1790) we are told that 75,000 human beings were captured and sent for slave labour in the Colonies. The ships which were used for transporting the slaves were small and dirty. These unfortunate Africans were thrust into the holds of these ships like cattle right up to the top and many of them were chained to the wooden shelves on which they could hardly move because these were only eighteen inches apart, kept one on top of the other. They were not provided with suitable food, and if they fell ill or were injured, no attempt was made to provide them with medical treatment.
The Western writers themselves state that at least 20% of the total number of people who were captured for slavery and forced labour perished during their transportation from the African coast to America. It has also been estimated that the total number of people who were captured for slavery by the various European nations during the heyday of the slave trade comes to at least one hundred million. This is the record of the people who denounce Muslims day and night for recognizing the institution of slavery. It is as if a criminal is holding his finger of blame towards an innocent man.
How is it that Islam, a religion inspired by God for the good of humanity, allows slavery?
[by Fethullah Gulen]
There are historical, social and psychological dimensions to this question, which we must work through patiently, if we are to arrive at a satisfactory answer.
First of all, it is useful to recall why the institution of slavery is thought of or remembered with such revulsion. Images of the brutal treatment of slaves, especially in ancient Rome and Egypt, provokes sorrow and deep disgust. That is why even after so many centuries, our conception of slaves is of men and women carrying stones to the pyramids and being used up in the building process like mortar, or fighting wild animals in public arenas for the amusement of their owners. We picture slaves wearing shameful yokes and chains around their necks.
Nearer modern times there is the practice of slavery on an enormous scale by the Western European nations; the barbarity and bestiality of this trade beggars all description. The trade was principally in Africans who were transported across the oceans, packed in specially designed ships, thought of and treated exactly like livestock. These slaves were forced to change their names and abandon their religion and their language, were never entitled to hope for freedom, and were kept, again like livestock, for hard labouring or for breeding purposes-a birth among them was celebrated as if it were a death. It is difficult to understand how human beings could conceive of fellow human beings in such a light, still less treat them thus. But it certainly happened: there is much documentary evidence that shows, for example, how ship-masters would throw their human cargo overboard in order to claim compensation for their loss. Slaves had no rights in law, only obligations; their owners had absolute rights over them to dispose of them as they wished-brothers and sisters, parents and children, would be separated or allowed to stay together according to the owner’s mood or his economic convenience.
After centuries of this dreadful practice had made the West European nations rich from exploitation of such commodities as sugar, cotton, coffee, they abolished slavery-they abolished it, with much self-congratulation, first as a trade, then altogether. Yet the Muslim regions had also known considerable prosperity through the exploitation of sugar, cotton, coffee (these words in European languages are of Arabic origin), and achieved that prosperity without the use of slave labour. More important, let us also note, when the Europeans abolished slavery, it was the slave-owners who were compensated, not the slaves-in other words, the attitude to fellow human beings which allowed such treatment of them had not changed. It was not many years after the abolition of slavery that Africa was directly colonized by the Europeans with consequences for the Africans no less terrible than slavery itself. Further, because the attitude to non-Europeans has changed little, if at all, in modern times, their social and political condition remains, even where they live amid the Europeans and their descendants as fellow-citizens, that of despised inferiors. It is barely a couple of decades since the anthropological museums in the great capitals of the Western countries ceased to display, for public entertainment, the bones and stuffed bodies of their fellow human beings. And such displays were not organized by the worst among them, but by the best-the scientists, doctors, learned men, humanitarians.
In short, it is not only the institution of slavery that causes revulsion in the human heart, it is the attitudes of inhumanity which sustain it. And the truth is, if the institution no longer formally exists but the attitudes persist, then humanity has not gained much, if at all. That is why colonial exploitation replaced slavery, and why the chains of unbearable, unrepayable international debt have replaced colonial exploitation: only slavery has gone, its structures of inhumanity and barbarism are still securely in place. Before we turn to the Islamic perspective on slavery, let us recall a name famous even among Western Europeans, that of Harun al-Rashid, and let us recall that this man who enjoyed such authority and power over all Muslims was the son of a slave. Nor is he the only such example; slaves and their children enjoyed enormous prestige, authority, respect and (shall we say it) freedom, within the Islamic system, in all areas of life, cultural as well as political. How could this have come about?
Islam amended and educated the institution of slavery and the attitudes of masters to slaves. The Qur’an taught in many verses that all human beings are descended from a single ancestor, that none has an intrinsic right of superiority over another, whatever his race or his nation or his social standing. And from the Prophet’s teaching, upon him be peace, the Muslims learnt these principles, which they applied both as laws and as social norms:
Whosoever kills his slave: he shall be killed. Whosoever imprisons his slave and starves him, he shall be imprisoned and starved himself, and whosoever castrates his slave shall himself be castrated. (Abu Dawud, Diyat, 70; Tirmidhi, Diyat, 17; Al-Nasa’i, Qasama, 10, 16)
You are sons of Adam and Adam was created from clay. (Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 49; Manaqib, 73; Abu Dawud, Adab, 111)
You should know that no Arab is superior over a non-Arab and, no non-Arab is superior over any Arab, no white is superior over black and no black is superior over white. Superiority is by righteousness and God-fearing [alone]. (Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 411)
Because of this compassionate attitude, those who had lived their whole lives as slaves and who are described in ahadith as poor and lowly received respect from those who enjoyed high social status (Muslim, Birr, 138; Jannat, 48; Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 54, 65). ‘Umar was expressing his respect in this sense when he said: ‘Master Bilal whom Master Abu Bakr set free’ (Bukhari, Fada’il al-Sahaba, 23). Islam (unlike other civilizations) requires that slaves are thought of and treated as within the framework of universal human brotherhood, and not as outside it. The Prophet, upon him be peace, said:
Your servants and your slaves are your brothers. Anyone who has slaves should give them from what he eats and wears. He should not charge them with work beyond their capabilities. If you must set them to hard work, in any case I advise you to help them. (Bukhari, Iman, 22; Adab, 44; Muslim, Iman, 38–40; Abu Dawud, Adab, 124)
Not one of you should [when introducing someone] say ‘This is my slave’, ‘This is my concubine’. He should call them ‘my daughter’ or ‘my son’ or ‘my brother’.
(Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 2, 4)
For this reason ‘Umar and his servant took it in turns to ride on the camel from Madina to Jerusalem on their journey to take control of Masjid al-Aqsa. While he was the head of the state, ‘Uthman had his servant pull his own ears in front of the people since he had pulled his. Abu Dharr, applying the hadith literally, made his servant wear one half of his suit while he himself wore the other half. From these instances, it was being demonstrated to succeeding generations of Muslims, and a pattern of conduct established, that a slave is fully a human being, not different from other people in his need for respect and dignity and justice.
This constructive and positive treatment necessarily had a consequence on the attitudes of slaves to their masters. The slave as slave still retained his humanity and moral dignity and a place beside other members of his master’s family. When (we shall explain how below) he obtained his freedom, he did not necessarily want to leave his former master. Starting with Zaid bin Harith, this practice became quite common. Although our Prophet, upon him be peace, had given Zayd his freedom and left him a free choice, Zayd preferred to stay with him. Masters and slaves were able to regard each other as brothers because their faith enabled them to understand that the worldly differences between people are a transient situation-a situation justifying neither haughtiness on the part of some, nor rancour on the part of others. There were, in addition, strict principles enforced as law:
Whosoever kills his slave, he shall be killed, whosoever imprisons his slave and starves him, he shall be imprisoned and starved himself. (Tirmidhi, al-Ayman wa l-Nudhur, 13)
Beside such sanctions which made the master behave with care, the slave also enjoyed the legal right to earn money and hold property independently of his master, the right to keep his religion and to have a family and family life with the attendant rights and obligations. As well as personal dignity and a degree of material security, the Islamic laws and norms allowed the slave a still more precious opening-the hope and means of freedom.
Human freedom is by God, that is, it is the natural and proper condition which must be regarded as the norm. Thus, to restore a human life, wholly or partly, to this condition is one of the highest virtues. To set free half of a slave’s body has been considered equal to saving half of one’s own from wrath in the next world. In the same way to set free a slave’s whole body is considered equal to assurance of one’s whole body. Seeking freedom for enslaved people is one of the causes for which the banner of war may be raised in Islam. Muslims were encouraged by their faith to enter into agreements and contracts which enabled slaves to earn or be granted their freedom at the expiry of a certain term or, most typically, on the death of the owner. Unconditional emancipation was, naturally, regarded as the most meritorious kind, and worthiest of recognition in the life hereafter. There were occasions when whole groups of people, acting together, would buy and set free large numbers of slaves in order to obtain thereby the favour of God.
Emancipation of a slave was also the legally required expiation for certain sins or failures in religious duties, for example, the breaking of an oath or the breaking of a fast: a good deed to balance or wipe out a lapse. The Qur’an commands that he who has killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing slave and pay the blood-money to the family of the slain (al-Nisa’, 4.92). A killing has repercussions for both society and the victim’s family. The blood-money is a partial compensation to the family of the victim. Similarly, the emancipation of a slave is a bill paid to the community-from the point of view of gaining a free person for that community. To set free a living person in return for a death was considered like bringing someone back to life. Both personal and public wealth were expended to obtain the freedom of slaves: the examples of the Prophet, upon him be peace, and of Abu Bakr are well known; later, especially during the rule of ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-’Aziz, public zakat funds were used for this purpose.
Alas, there are, even among Muslims themselves, people who feel the need to somehow ‘disprove’ the worth of Islam, especially on socio-political issues. In reality they feel this need because they have been more or less seduced by Western values, even though these values are only formal, theoretical utterances of law and principle and not, not by any means, lived realities. Such people do not go among the wretched and poor of the so-called ‘third world’ and ask them about the merits of Western values as they are practised. Rather, they listen to an account such as we have given of the practised reality of Islamic values and claim, on purely theoretical grounds, that Islam is lacking in the best principles. This is what they say:
‘It is true that Islam has commended humanity in the treatment of slaves, and encouraged most forcefully their emancipation. We can see from the history of many different peoples in the Islamic world that slaves quickly integrated into the main society and achieved positions of great prestige and power, some even before they gained their freedom. And yet, if Islam regards slavery as a social evil, why did the Qur’an or the Prophet not ban it outright? There are, after all, other social evils which pre-existed Islam, and which Islam sought to abolish altogether-for example, the consumption of alcohol, or gambling, or usury, or prostitution. Why does Islam, by not abolishing slavery, appear to condone it?’
Until the evil of the European trade in black slaves, slavery was largely a by-product of wars between nations, the conquered peoples becoming the slaves of their conquerors. In the formative years of Islam, no reliable system existed of exchanging prisoners of war. The available means of dealing with them were either (i) to put them all to the sword; or (ii) to hold them and attend to their care in prison; or (iii) to allow them to return to their own people; or (iv) to distribute them among the Muslims as part of the spoils of war.
The first option must be ruled out on the grounds of its barbarity. The second is practicable only for small numbers for a limited period of time if resources permit-and it was, of course, practised-prisoners being held in this way against ransom, many so content with their treatment that they became Muslims and changed sides in the fighting. The third option is imprudent in time of war. This leaves, as a rule for general practice, only the fourth option, whence followed the humane laws and norms instituted by Islam for what is, in effect, the rehabilitation of prisoners of war.
The slave in every Muslim house had the opportunity to see at close quarters the truth of Islam in practice. His heart would be won over by kind treatment and the humanity of Islam in general, especially by the access the slave had to many of the legal rights enjoyed by Muslims, and, ultimately, by getting his freedom. In this way, many thousands of the very best people have swelled the numbers of the great and famous in Islam, whose own example has then become a sunna, a norm, for the Muslims who succeeded them-imams such as Nafi’, Imam Malik’s sheikh, and Tawus bin Qaisan, to name only two.
The reality is that in Islam it is overwhelmingly the case that being a slave was a temporary condition. Unlike Western civilisation, whose values are so much in fashion, slavery was not passed down, generation after generation in a deepening spiral of degradation and despair, with no hope for the slaves to escape their condition or their status. On the contrary, regarded as fundamentally equal, the slaves in Muslim society could and did live in secure possession of their dignity as creatures of the same Creator, and had steady access to the mainstream of Islamic culture and civilisation-to which, as we have noted, they contributed greatly. In the Western societies where slavery was widespread, particularly in North and South America, the children of the slaves, generations after their formal emancipation, remain for the most part on the fringes of society, as a sub-culture or anti-culture-which is only sometimes tolerated, and mostly despised, by the still dominant community.
But why, our critics will ask, when the Muslims were secure in their conquests did they not grant emancipation wholesale to former captives or slaves? The answer has, again, to do with realities not theories. Those former captives or slaves would not have either the personal, psychological resources or the economic resources needed to establish a secure, dignified independence. Those who doubt this would do well to examine the consequences upon the slaves in the former European or American colonies of their sudden emancipation-many were abruptly reduced to destitution, rendered homeless and resourceless by owners who (themselves compensated for their loss of property) no longer accepted any kind of responsibility for their former slaves. We have already noted the failure of these ex-slaves to enter upon or make a mark in the wider society from which they had been so long excluded by law.
By contrast, every good Muslim who embraced his slave as a brother, encouraged him to work for his freedom, observed all his rights, helped him to support a family, to find a place in the society before emancipating him, might well be pleased with an institution that opened to him a means of pleasing God. The example that comes first to mind: Zayd bin Harith who was brought up in the Prophet’s own household and set free, who married a noblewoman, who was appointed as the commander of a Muslim army which included many of noble birth. But one might swell the list of examples to many thousands if one had the space.
Ah yes, our critics will say, it may be so, but now there are exchanges of prisoners if there are wars, now the institution of slavery does not exist, so are not the Islamic injunctions, however good, an irrelevance? No, indeed. There is nothing in Islam whose origin is in the commands and guidance of the Qur’an which can ever become irrelevant. Rather, we would say to these critics: open your eyes, study by what subtle means wars are now conducted, by what cunning devices whole nations are now conquered; how they are reduced to a state of absolute slavery (which is yet not called slavery) and made to devote their whole energies, indeed to dedicate the lives of their children for generations to come, to sustain their masters (who are yet not called masters) in a lifestyle of unbelievable affluence. We say, study how national currencies are bought and sold, how impossible sums of money are lent on terms of extraordinary brutality, not in order to help the poor nations, but in order to permanently entrap them in a state of dependence. To those who say, now there is no slavery, we say look into the faces of the earth’s poor peasants, striving to grow (in an increasingly barren soil) commodities which are not food for themselves but luxuries for the rich, and only if they have grown enough of these, have they some hope of buying something to eat-but there are still millions of others too poor to be poor peasants, who live upon mountains of urban rubbish, earn from it, eat from it. If you study the expressions of such people, locked in endless, fruitless toil, you will understand that slavery is not an evil that Western civilisation has eradicated, rather one which Western civilization has ably disguised and distanced from itself.
Let no person, at least let no Muslim, claim that mankind has nothing now to learn from Islamic values about how to deal with the problem of slavery. On the contrary, we have everything to learn. How urgent, then, is our need to pray for guidance of God lest we persist in error, for His forbearance lest we persist in arrogance, for His help in finding a sure way to end the domination of those who do not know compassion except as a fine-sounding word.
LAST EDITED ON 29-07-01 AT 08:24 PM (GMT)[p]Liberate, Emancipate and Marry Slaves
Verses From The Glorious Qur'an
Copyright © 1990, 1998 Compiled by Dr. A. Zahoor and Dr. Z. Haq
Attempt the Ascent, Free a Slave, Qur'an: Surah 90 Al-Balad (The City): Nay, I swear by this city... We verily have created man in an atmosphere... But he hath not attempted the Ascent, Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Ascent is! It is to free a slave, And to feed in the day of hunger, An orphan near of kin, Or some poor wretch in misery. And to be of those who believe and exhort one another to perseverance and exhort one another to pity.
Marry: Slaves and Maid Servants; Emancipation, Qur'an 24:27-34 Surah An-Nur (Light): Tell the believing men... And tell the believing women... And marry such of you as are solitary and the pious of your slaves and maid servants. If they be poor; Allah will enrich them of His bounty. Allah is of ample means, Aware. And let those who cannot find a match keep chaste till Allah give them independence by His grace. And such of your slaves as seek a writing of emancipation, write it for them if ye are aware of aught of good in them, and bestow upon them of the wealth of Allah which He hath bestowed upon you. Force not your slave girls to whoredom that ye may seek enjoyment of the life of the world, if they would preserve their chastity. And if one force them, then (unto them), after their compulsion, Lo! Allah will be Forgiving, Merciful...
Free Slaves, Qur'an 2:177 Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow): It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the Prophets; and giveth his wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God fearing.
Prefer Marriage to a Believing Slave, Qur'an 2:221 Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow): Wed not idolatresses till they believe; for lo! a believing bondwoman is better than an idolatress though she please you; and give not your daughters in marriage to idolaters till they believe, for lo! a believing slave is better than an idolater though he please you. These invite unto the Fire, and Allah inviteth unto the Garden, and unto forgiveness by His grace, and expoundeth thus His revelations to mankind that haply they may remember.
Expiation of Breaking Sworn Oath, Qur'an 5:89 Surah Al Ma'idah (The Table Spread): Allah will not take you to task for that which is unintentional in your oaths, but He will take you to task for the oaths which ye swear in earnest. The expiation thereof is the feeding of ten of the needy with the average of that wherewith ye feed your own folk, or the clothing of them, or the liberation of a slave, and for him who findeth not (the wherewithal to do so) then a three day fast. This is the expiation of your oaths when ye have sworn; and keep your oaths...
Set Free a Believing Slave, Qur'an 4:92 Surah An-Nisa (Women): It is not for a believer to kill a believer unless it be by mistake. He who hath killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing slave, and pay the blood money to the family of the slain, unless they remit it as a charity. If he (the victim) be of a people hostile unto you, and he is a believer, then (the penance is) to set free a believing slave. And if he cometh of a folk between whom and you there is a covenant, then the blood money must be paid unto his folk and (also) a believing slave must be set free. And whoso hath not the wherewithal must fast two consecutive months. A penance from Allah. Allah is Knower, Wise.
Free a Slave, Qur'an 58:3-4 Surah Al-Mujadilah (She That Disputeth): Those who put away their wives by saying they are as their mothers and afterward would go back on that which they have said; the penalty in that case is the freeing of a slave before they touch one another. Unto this ye are exhorted; and Allah is informed of what ye do. And he who findeth not the wherewithal, let him fast for two successive months before they touch one another; and for him who is unable to do so the penance is the feeding of sixty needy ones. This, that ye may put trust in Allah and His messenger. Such are the limits imposed by Allah; and for disbelievers is a painful doom.
Those who wish to understand the specific and broader meaning of the verses of the Qur'an, it is recommended that they should also read commentary on these subjects and verses. The English readers will find either Yusuf Ali's or Maududi's commentaries a good source. Allama Yususf Ali presents the meaning Ayah (verse) by Ayah with detailed footnotes for relevant words in each verse and includes a detailed index of the topics mentioned in the Qur'an. Maulana Maududi's work covers commentary for each Surah (chapter) of the Holy Qur'an.
Pickthall writes in his foreward of 1930: "... The Qur'an cannot be translated. ... The book is here rendered almost literally and every effort has been made to choose befitting language. But the result is not the Glorious Qur'an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy. It is only an attempt to present the meaning of the Qur'an-and peradventure something of the charm in English. It can never take the place of the Qur'an in Arabic, nor is it meant to do so. ..."
"The Holy Qur'an," Text, Translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1934. (Latest Publisher: Amana Publications, Beltsville, MD, USA; Title: "The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an," 1992). A pocket edition of Yusuf Ali's translation is also available in contemporary English.
"The Meaning of the Glorious Koran," An Explanatory Translation by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall, a Mentor Book Publication. (Also available as: "The Meaning of the Glorious Koran," by Marmaduke Pickthall, Dorset Press, N.Y. and several Islamic book publishers; Published by several publishers since 1930). Note: The Mentor publication (451 MJ1529 195) contains a few errors/omissions, e.g., in Surah 72: the last part of Verse 2 should read "we ascribe no partner unto our Lord", and Surah 68: Verse 22 should read "straight" road instead of "beaten" road. In case of any doubt, the reader is advised to check with a copy from an Islamic publisher and also check with an Islamic scholar for the meaning directly from the Arabic original.
For the serious readers of the meaning of the Qur'an in English, it is recommended that it should be read along with a good commentary to comprehend the essential meaning and scope of verses. Either Yusuf Ali's or Maududi's commentaries are a good starting point. The former presents the meaning Ayah (verse) by Ayah with footnotes and includes a detailed index of the topics mentioned in the Qur'an, while the latter presents commentaries for each Surah (chapter) of the Qur'an.
Non-Muslim Writers on Slavery in Islam
Taken from The Wisdom Fund
Annemarie Schimmel in "Islam: An Introduction" Slavery was not abolished by the Koran, but believers are constantly admonished to treat their slaves well. In case of illness a slave has to be looked after and well cared for. To manumit [free] a slave is highly meritorious; the slave can ransom himself by paying some of the money he has earned while conducting his own business. Only children of slaves or non-Muslim prisoners of war can become slaves, never a freeborn Muslim; therefore slavery is theoretically doomed to disappear with the expansion of Islam. The entire history of Islam proves that slaves could occupy any office, and many former military slaves, usually recruited from among the Central Asian Turks, became military leaders and often even rulers as in eastern Iran, India (the Slave Dynasty of Delhi), and medieval Egypt (the Mamluks). Eunuchs too served in important capacities, not only as the guardians of the women's quarters, but also in high administrative and military positions. -- p. 67
Roger Du Pasquier in "Unveiling Islam" To answer this question, it should first be remarked that Islam has tolerated slavery but has never approved of it, and that all its teachings and prescriptions in this regard lead to its alleviation as far as possible in the short term, and, in the longer term, conduce to its progressive suppression. To abolish it would have been impossible in a world in which it was generally practiced by all the states which bordered on the new Muslim empire, and in which the idea of challenging the principle itself had not occurred to anyone. It was the custom to enslave prisoners of war -- when these were not simply massacred -- and the Islamic state would have put itself at a grave disadvantage vis-a-vis its enemies had it not reciprocated to some extent. By guaranteeing them humane treatment, and various possibilities of subsequently releasing themselves, it ensured that a good number of combatants in the opposing armies preferred captivity at the hands of Muslims to death on the field of battle.
It should be very clearly underlined that the slavery once practiced in the Muslim world cannot be compared to the form it had assumed -- for instance -- in the Roman Empire. Islamic legislation subjected slaveowners to a set of precise obligations, first among which was the slave's right to life, for, according to a hadith, 'Whoever kills his slave shall be killed by us'. In consequence, the murder of a slave was punished like that of a free man.
There are many other hadiths which define Islam's true attitude in this regard. The Prophet said: 'Your slaves are your brethren; therefore whoever has a brother who depends upon him must feed and clothe him in the way he feeds and clothes himself; and should not impose upon him tasks which exceed his capacity; should you ask them to do such things, then you are obliged to help them.' The Sharia takes this injunction, among many others, into account when defining the responsibilities and duties of slaveholders.
There is another teaching which enjoins respect for the human dignity of slaves: 'Let none of you say, "This man, or this woman, is my slave". He must rather say: "This is my man, and this my woman."' Putting into relief the provisional character of social ties and the authority exercised by slaveowners over their slaves, the Prophet said: 'It is true that God has made you their masters, but, had He so wished, He could equally well have made you their slaves.'
To manumit a slave has always been regarded as one of the most meritorious of all acts, and many passages of the Qur'an recommend or even require it, particularly as a means of expiation for serious faults. Traditional legislation lays down the methods of voluntary liberation of slaves by their masters (itq), and there were very many Muslims who observed these, especially at the end of their lives, so as not to die and appear before God without having given full freedom to the human beings placed in their power during their earthly lives.
Additionally, slaves had the ability to enfranchise themselves at their own initiative, without waiting passively for the goodwill of their masters: the procedure known as mukataba allowed them to buy their own freedom with sums which they saved from their work, and which the state frequently augmented with advances -- a measure which the slaveowner had no right to oppose. In contrast to the situation under Roman law, slaves were not deprived of the legal ability to exercise their rights and to appeal to a judge against their masters in all cases of illegal treatment.
Besides domestic slavery, which was generally imbued with a patriarchal character, there also existed a form of military slavery, which was frequently employed by princes in need of recruits, especially for their personal guards. This situation had the effect of conferring an often considerable influence and power on men of servile condition or origin, and some of these became the founders of great and illustrious dynasties such as the Tulunids and Mamlukes of Egypt.
The object of a prosperous commercial sector, which under the Abbasid Empire was often the speciality of non-Muslims, particularly Byzantine and Venetian Christians, and Jews, slavery gradually declined in importance until, at the beginning of the present century, it was confined to a few survivals which have now disappeared entirely. Thanks to the strict traditional controls which have always regulated the practice, it would be difficult to deny that social conditions were remarkably humane during the great periods of Muslim civilization, and that these, moreover, were in conformity with the 'egalitarian' spirit of Islam, which, in a hadith, teaches that 'the blackest of Abyssinians' is superior to most noble of Quraishites, if he has more faith. -- p. 104 to 107
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