Clarifying the Islamic concept of Slavery

By Brother Mohammed

Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and Blessings be upon the most noble of the prophets and messengers, and upon his family and companions and all those who heed his message until the day of judgement.

"O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, and a bringer of good news and a warner, a caller to Allah by his permission, and a light-giving lamp. Give good news to the believers that they will recieve enormous bounty from Allah. Do not obey the unbelievers and the hypocrites, but disregard their abuse of you. Put your trust in Allah. Allah is enough as a protector" (33: 46-48)

Arabia was the fountainhead of the semitic tribes who spread northwards through the arabian peninsula. Pre-islamic Arabia was largely pagan, but it also included large minorities of jews and christians. The pagans believed in deities such as al-lat, al-uzza, manat and hubal. All of whom bought and sold slaves, that is the Pagans, jews and Christians.

In Islamic law the institution of slavery is covered at great length because slavery was widely practiced and accepted in pre-Islamic Arabia, as well as the early medieval world. When faced with questions in regards to slavery and Islam it is imperative that one acknowledges the context of which the revelation was received, namely during a time when slavery was widespread and therefore it’s abolishment would have been impossible. And, this is due to the fact that wars were fought for materialistic gains and slaves were acquired through warfare.

Slavery was a established, brutal and barbaric institution during pre-Islamic Arabia. Islam came with a set of divine commandments to elevate the status of slaves and intuition of slavery to something modern. Whereby slaves were treated as human beings with rights and freedom as opposed to property with no dignity.  Many pose the Question “Why was slavery not abolished under Islam” and I believe this quote summarizes it rather succinctly:

Prohibiting slavery in the context of seventh-century Arabia apparently would have been as useful as prohibiting poverty; it would have reflected a noble ideal but would have been unworkable on an immediate basis without establishing an entirely new socioeconomic system.

Jacob Neusner, Tamara Sonn, Comparing Religions through Law: Judaism and Islam,1999.

Islam recognized slavery as an institution but improved their condition, and encouraged their emancipation through various ways. As well as opened many doors to their freedom, and restricted various ways of their acquisition. And this was done by narrowing down who can be enslaved legally unlike other pre-Islamic slave instutions.

I recently came across a historical essay about slavery and it's abolishment here, I highly recommend everyone to read it. It is written from a neutral stance and it is very informative clearly showing the difference between the institution of slavery under Islam and Atlantic slave trade.

• The Atlantic trade lasted from the 15th to 19th centuries, the Eastern trade from the 7th or 9th century to the 20th
• Under Islam slaves were considered people first, and then property. In the Atlantic trade slaves were considered property not people, and often just regarded as units of productive labour
• Islamic law laid down considerable protection for slaves; those taken for the Atlantic trade had very little protection
• Islamic law only permitted those conquered in legitimate warfare to be enslaved, all other methods being illegal - although this was often ignored - whereas the Atlantic trade enslaved anyone who had commercial value
• In Islam, slave-owners were forbidden to take young children from their mothers, something common in the Atlantic trade
• The owner-slave relationship could be kinder in Islam than in the Atlantic trade, and often more personal
• Islam recommends the freeing of slaves in itself as a 'good' religious act and says that slaves who convert to Islam should be freed. Zakat (the requirement for charity) was used by Muslim states to free slaves. There were many other avenues whereby a slave could be freed, for example as expiation for irregularities in other religious rituals; as a result many more slaves were freed than in the Atlantic trade
• Under Islamic law a slave could take his/her master to the Islamic courts to address a grievance, and the judge had the right to grant freedom against the master's wishes and/or other compensations; there was no such protection for slaves taken by the Atlantic trade
• Islam permitted slaves to attain high office; those taken for the Atlantic trade stayed at the bottom of society
• In the Atlantic trade there were two males to every female; in the Islamic trade, there were two females to every male
• Islam permitted women to be enslaved for sexual purposes, although not for prostitution
• Africans were enslaved in the Atlantic trade to work on an industrial scale in agricultural labour; in the Islamic trade they had a far wider variety of roles
• The Atlantic trade only involved black Africans; Muslim slavery involved many racial groups
• Slavery in the Atlantic trade was highly racist, something prohibited in Islam where there was much less institutionalised racism. Both masters and slaves had a wide range of colours and backgrounds; the result is that former slaves became absorbed into the Islamic world, while former slaves remained a discriminated-against underclass in the USA until comparatively recently

It is clear from the above that the instution of slavery under Islamic reign  was superior to other forms of slavery which was not on the basis of colour or race. The pre-Islam instutions of slavery as well as the western forms of slavery were brutal and under a  socio-economic system which encouraged and accepted slavery, raping of women, forcing women into prostitution as well as depriving mothers of their children.

Slaves under the Roman empire were treated as property and not humans, deprived of basic rights upon the command of the master [1]. They were instructed with responsibilities and gained through warfare [2]. Wars were fought not over justice or freedom but for materialistic purposes. Without slaves the elite in the Roman Empire could not continue their luxurious life style and that is why warfare was often prevalent. However under Islamic reign wars could only be fought for justified purposes such as an enemy attacking the Islamic state or to stop dictatorships, genocide and other forms of ethnic cleansing. Slaves were not perceived or treated as properties but as Human beings with sensitivities. And the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stressed that owners of slaves should treat slaves with care, warmth and not discrimination or any inferior attitude towards them.

The law was applied to both slaves and non-slaves and therefore illustrating the rule of law, everyone is equal under the law. And this is exemplified when the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of God be upon him said)

"Whoever kills a slave, we kill him. Whoever beats a slave, we beat him" (Bukhari).

"You are all from Adam, and Adam was from dust" (Bukhari).

In other words, the Prophet (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) was referring to the one origin where the entire human race began, same source, same nature, and no differences in terms of righteousness between kings and slaves, rich and poor, the beautiful and the ugly. Islam commands the Kings, lords and elite to not abuse the slave institution but to follow the Command of God whom orders goodness towards slaves (prisoners of war).

Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are of kin, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess (slaves): For Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious. (4:36)

If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess: And Allah hath full knowledge about your faith. Ye are one from another: Wed them with the leave of their owners, and give them their dowers, according to what is reasonable: They should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours: when they are taken in wedlock, if they fall into shame, their punishment is half that for free women. This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; but it is better for you that ye practice self-restraint. And Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. (4:25)

From the above verse (4:25) we learn:

• The Masters are like the parents of the slave (so marry them with the permission of their masters).
• The lords and the slaves are like eachother, from the same origin, they are from eachother.
• The slaves are the brothers and sisters of the lords, they are to be treated as brothers and sisters - The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said "The slaves are your brothers, whoever have his brother in his hands then he feeds his brother from what he is being fed, he dresses his brother from what he dresses, and don't put on them more than they can bear, and if you had them bearing work then help them". (Bukhari)
• The slaves are not to be referred to in derogatory terms but with respect and humane ways - The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said "No one say this is my slave boy or my slave girl, say this is my boy or this is my girl". (Bukhari) 

 It is clear that Islam elevates the status of slaves, whom were prisoners of war. And it is crucial to keep in mind that wars under Islam are only fought for justfied reasons and not materialistic gains. But, Islam did not just stop from elevating the status of slaves (a practice widely accept throughout the revelation of the Qur`an among the non-Muslims), it went further to make the actual freedom of slaves possible. So we can summarize the above and claim that Islam provided slaves with self-worth and to be treated as humans, and not mere properties.

A slave may request their freedom (al mokatabah) [3] if not set free by their master even though Islam strongly encourages can find ways to work for their freedom. And the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him) illustrated this when he freed his slaves, and in following the tradition of the prophet (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) his companions freed their slaves. [4] For example Abu Baker (May Allah be pleased with him) would free his slaaves, and then buy more slaves in order to free them. [5] In fact even the Islamic treasury (Islamic house of money for the Muslim state) used to buy the slaves from people and free them whenever there was a surplus of money. 

Furthemore, slaves (prisoners of war) were given the opportunity to excercise their knowledge so much so that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) freed slaves who taught 10 Muslims to read and write. [6] And likewise in order to really open all doors to the freedom of slaves the Lord made the redemptions of great sins throuh the freeing of a slave man or woman. For example the Lord says:

And it does not behoove a believer to kill a believer except by mistake, and whoever kills a believer by mistake, he should free a believing slave, and blood-money should be paid to his people unless they remit it as alms; but if he be from a tribe hostile to you and he is a believer, the freeing of a believing slave (suffices), and if he is from a tribe between whom and you there is a covenant, the blood-money should be paid to his people along with the freeing of a believing slave; but he who cannot find (a slave) should fast for two months successively: a penance from Allah, and Allah is Knowing, Wise. (4:92)

Allah does not call you to account for what is vain in your oaths, but He calls you to account for the making of deliberate oaths; so its expiation is the feeding of ten poor men out of the middling (food) you feed your families with, or their clothing, or the freeing of a neck; but whosoever cannot find (means) then fasting for three days; this is the expiration of your oaths when you swear; and guard your oaths. Thus does Allah make clear to you His communications, that you may be Fateful. (5:89)

 This all leads to one obvious question: If Islam took all these steps towards the emancipation and liberation of the slave institution, why did it not abolish Slavery to begin with? The answer to this was addressed at the beginning of this article. But, as further elaboration it is necessary that we realize the social, psychological and political facts surrounding slavery. Islam changed the treatment, management and regulation of slaves. This radical change was in itself a huge change within a society that used slavery as a tool to flourish.

 The Arabs and ancient medieval world fully accepted and took liberty of the slave institution. The right to be free is not given but to be taken. And the freeing of slaves through a law will not necessarily be followed until the gradual change and exemplification is settled. The United States of America acts as a good example to cite where racism still exists between blacks, whites and Hispanics.

In other words, Islam was re-established during a time where the institution of slavery was continuos in it's brutality and horrific punishments on slaves. However, Islam abolished all these heinous acts and created an environment where the slave and master were brought to the same platform, on a foot of equality, that is both are created by their lord. Furthermore Islam created numerous doors for the freedom and liberation of slaves. The slavery institution is only in regards to those who are prisoners of war, as a consequence of those who are captured in war. But, even though these slaves (prisoners of war) would be the same people who waged war against the Muslims, to kill them, take over their lands and property, Islam still acts in a merciful manners.