How Islam Confronted Slavery System, Supported Emancipation
Slavery means being owned and treated as a commodity by another person. Throughout history, humans have faced wars and conflicts that have led to slavery that can be traced back to 3,500 BC in Sumer.
Slavery developed in its classical form in ancient Greece and Rome. The Greeks even had a theory of slavery, which claimed that some people were born as natural slaves. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the traditional system of slavery in Europe gradually disappeared. Denmark was the first European country to ban traditional slavery in 1792. In the early 19th century, Britain and the US also outlawed the slave trade.
Slavery also existed in Africa and Asia and was widely accepted until the Universal Declaration of Human Rights banned slavery and the slave trade in all forms. In the 20th century, all countries in the world abolished the traditional system of slavery. Sadly, slavery still exists in modern forms as many people around the world are forced to do hard labor.
Slavery and rise of Islam
Slavery was common in Saudi Arabia, as in other parts of the world, before the rise of Islam. People were enslaved for various reasons, such as war, kidnapping, debt, and poverty. The slave owners exploited their slaves and treated them as property.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his message of equality and brotherhood changed this situation. He banned all forms of slavery in Islamic lands, including Saudi Arabia, except for the prisoners of war and the children born from slaves. He also encouraged the liberation and emancipation of slaves.
However, slavery was not abolished overnight, as it was deeply ingrained in the society and economy of that time. Islam had to take gradual and timely steps to end slavery and to educate the people and the slaves about their human rights and dignity. Islam also had to deal with many internal and external enemies and challenges, and could not afford to provoke a rebellion against the old and widespread culture of slavery.
Therefore, Islam tolerated slavery only as a temporary necessity, and not as a permanent institution. It aimed to create a new type of society, where everyone would enjoy the same human rights and freedoms, and where the slaves would be prepared and supported to live independently without the domination or dependence of their masters.
How the Quran and the Ahl al-Bayt changed the attitude towards slavery
The Quran has at least 29 verses about slaves, which mostly deal with topics such as freeing them, regulating sexual relations with female slaves, and so on. The Quranic teachings brought two major changes to the practice of slavery at that time. One was to encourage the liberation of slaves and the other was to forbid the enslavement of free people.
Islam also opposed the wrong habits of the people of that time who used the words "slave" and "maid" for slaves. Muslims were advised to call them "brothers" and "sisters". Ethical commands to protect their lives and respect their human rights, such as prohibiting torture and accepting slaves as family members, transformed the traditional face of slavery in Arabia. Islam also preached the equality, inherent dignity and equal worth of all human beings centuries before the adoption of international laws.
The Ahl al-Bayt (AS), the pure family of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), also showed the utmost respect for the slaves and granted them special rights. Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam, ate with his slaves at the same table.
It is narrated that Imam Ali (AS), the first Shia Imam, once ordered his slave Qanbar to buy two clothes, one for one dirham and the other for two dirhams. Qanbar bought the clothes and gave them to the Imam. The Imam gave the more expensive dress to Qanbar and took the cheaper one for himself. When Qanbar asked why, the Imam said: "I have passed the age and this dress is enough for me. But you are young and need better clothes."
In another narration from Imam Reza (AS), it is reported that "whoever frees a slave who has no choice, it is his duty to support that freed slave until he is no longer in need." Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also said: "Feed your slaves from what you eat and clothe your slaves from what you wear."
How Islam challenged slavery system
In a Persian-language article titled “Exploring the concept of slavery in Islam according to the requirements of the contemporary world” in 2017, Iranian researcher Hossein Mehrparvar examines how Islam dealt with the slavery system. The author argues that based on the Quranic verses, Islam's first step to abolish slavery was to forbid anyone from becoming a slave of another person, as this was against human dignity. For example, verse 80 of Surah Al-Imran says: “Nor would he order you to take the angels and the Prophets for lords, what, would he order you with disbelief after you were submitters.”
Islam's second step was to create the necessary conditions to end slavery, and to encourage people to free slaves as a virtuous act. Several verses in Surahs Al-Balad, Al-Mujadila, Surah Al-Ma'idah and An-Nisa mention this.
Another achievement of Islam was to protect the rights and dignity of the war captives and slaves. Islam also limited and prohibited the slave owners from abusing or mistreating them. Instead, Islam offered several ways to free them, such as freeing them in exchange for teaching Muslims, paying a ransom for their freedom, or freeing them without any compensation. Islam also recommended kindness and respect for the human rights of slaves. The author of the article lists some of the practical measures and legal orders that Islam issued to achieve this:
- Preventing new enslavement
Islam stopped new slaves from entering the slavery system by blocking the common ways of enslaving people at that time. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said about this: "The worst people are those who sell humans." Islam also tried to limit this phenomenon culturally and used various methods to do so. Many of the enslaved people were freed by paying ransom or by teaching Muslims to read and write. Therefore, most of the remaining slaves and maids in the society were either born as slaves or captured by slave traders and dealers from Africa and other places.
- Gradual emancipation
Since the slaves had lived under the control of their masters for a long time and had become inexperienced and unskilled as a result of their dependent life, their sudden release was risky and could disrupt the economy and society. Considering this, Islam planned for the gradual emancipation of slaves. It abolished some types of slavery by banning gambling, forbidding the buying and selling of stolen property and establishing special laws for bankrupt debtors. For the gradual liberation of the other slaves, Islam suggested solutions such as paying attention to the issue of slaves’ marriage and providing financial assistance to the slaves for their independence after freedom.
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