In the
dark chapters of human history, social relations were characterized by exploitation,
oppression, subjugation, domination and hegemony. Perhaps slavery represents the
worst example of this social order. On the other hand, Islam seeks to create an
egalitarian social order where traditional practices that unjustly discriminate
against fellow beings will be contained and eventually abolished. Islamic
teachings are, thus, designed to reduce and abolish the class differences and the
institutional vestiges of inequality in society. Islam imagines a social space where
diversities lead to creative ensemble and the flowering of the human spirit and
not to oppression and injustice and the unjust enrichment for a few over the
many. [Inset: Watercolor by unidentified
artist, depicting plantation slaves dancing and playing musical instruments;
banjo player and a percussion player (possibily playing a gourd) at right. Image courtesy of The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record ]
In his Friday Sermon of 01 February 2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat
Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius explained the Islamic attitude towards the ancient problem
of slavery. Drawing upon the express verses of the Holy Qur’an and the
traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Messenger of Allah of our times demonstrates
the spirit of human equality and empathy for the victims of slavery apparent in
the teachings of Islam. In a world characterized by neo-slavery mind-set of
modern men who consider women as chattels and sexual trafficking of women and
girl children are everyday occurrences, the Islamic teachings are a reminder to
the oft-blaming conscience of man.
Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:
The year 2013
marks the 178th year since the abolition of slavery in Mauritius. Thus, every 1st
February is a public holiday in Mauritius. A section of the
Mauritian population is made of African originated slaves, thus the appellation
of these types of people, Creoles. But as a generality, every Mauritian is
known as Creole despite his or her religious or cultural background and
beliefs, and our mother tongue is Creole.
Let us
learn what Allah, Islam and our noble Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
have said or taught us about slaves and slavery, and the treatment which should
be given to them.
We all know that
our greatest master among the humans and prophets of Allah was a gentle soul.
Whether in poverty or wealth, he was ever the same man, a man who sticks to a
humble way of life and
living as a humble slave of Allah. According to a Hadith by Imam Ahmad and
narrated by Abu Huraira, we have come to know that the choice of being a
Prophet-King (with kingly riches) or a Slave-Messenger was put before our
beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by an angel who had never before
descended except that one time to get an answer from Hazrat Muhammad (peace be
upon him). At that moment Hazrat Jibreel (upon him be peace), the angel of
revelations was with the prophet of Allah (peace be upon him). Through further
Hadiths (not mentioned in the main six books of Sahih Hadiths), it is reported
that Hazrat Jibreel (upon him be peace) advised Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon
him) to be humble and thus he chose to remain a slave-messenger, and verily he
lived in this humble yet mighty condition till his last breath on earth. There
is even a Hadith which mentions that Hazrat Aisha (May Allah be pleased with
her) narrated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “I eat like a slave eats and I sit like a
slave sits.”
The existence of slavery
is an ancient condition. It existed long before the Holy Quran was revealed to the beloved prophet and slave of Allah Hazrat
Muhammad (peace be upon him). What is interesting is comparing the depiction of
slavery in the Holy Quran to the Bible, both the Old and New Testament. In
these older Jewish and Christian scriptures, a specific plan to eliminate the inhuman bondage of our temporal
present is never discussed. The Holy Quran, on the other
hand, not only recognised the immorality of slavery in ancient Arabia, but
sought to end it. The plan to do so is both implicit and explicit. To recognize
this is to respect the Islamic attempt, in the name of Allah, to destroy an
evil custom which existed nearly thirteen centuries before any country of the
West would contemplate to legally and politically copy the Islamic teachings. Mind
you, if the West follows the divine commandments of the Holy Quran, it is a
great thing, but unfortunately while they emulate certain aspects of the
Islamic teachings, but they do not recognise the perfect beauty of Islam
publicly. They prefer to take credit for any good rather than praising Allah,
Islam and Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) for it.
Unfortunately,
many non-Muslims, the Islam haters keep launching attacks on the person of
Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) that he encourages slavery in Islam. This
is a very delicate matter. If one studies the problem of slavery since the
Middle-Age, and even before that, and treatments of slaves are compared between
those high-class people who treated slaves like dogs and the treatment which
Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) gave to the slaves in the period prior to
Islam and even in the times of Islam, then we shall understand that the
missiles of hatred of the hate-mongers are just campaigns to blacken the image
of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), whereas the real inhumane
monsters are found among them and their ancestors who tolerated the ill-treatments
of slaves and were reluctant to put an end to it.
Hazrat
Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) advent was like a fresh breeze of freedom for
the slaves. One has to realise that prior to his becoming prophet, he was a
father-like figure to the slaves of his time. Whenever the opportunity
presented itself, he used to free the slaves and give them respect and
consideration in society. Upon his marriage to his first wife, the latter gave
him all that she possessed, but instead of enjoying the wealth which was at his
disposal, he gave the majority in charity and participated in the freeing of
slaves, and one among them, a youth at that time, Zaid ibn Harith became his
adopted son, his protégée. His fatherly love for the freed slave was so much
that the Meccans used to refer to Zaid as the son of Muhammad (peace be upon
him), calling him Zaid ibn Muhammad. It was only with the advent of Islam and
the Holy teachings of Allah that Allah clearly specified that the adopted sons
cannot be fully considered as blood-related sons, but that they are to be taken
as brothers or comrades in religion. This clause in the verse specifies the
believers from among either the slaves, free-slaves or all that involves
adoption.
When we
analyse the Quran in a profound way and we ponder over the teachings and
sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), we will understand
that slavery was meant to be put to an end, not at once, but gradually so that
people may realise that all humans are equal, and as the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) beautifully puts it (in his last sermon), except in piety. The Quran at first seeks to make
the Muslims and people in general get used to the idea that slaves are humans
and must be treated with consideration, and the first step Allah took was to
make the freeing of slaves come as a compensation for sins committed or
non-fulfilment of promises. We see in Quranic chapters two and four how Allah
leads the Muslim believers to remit their sins or breach of oaths with
specifications to free a slave. Thus this is one of the ways that Allah has
driven Arabia (at first) at the beginning of Islam towards the actual and
complete abolition of slavery. As the Holy Quran is a book for mankind as a
whole, especially for the truly god-fearing from among humankind, therefore we
see how Allah wants that the world becomes involves in mutual respect. If one
respects the other, then the latter will respect the former.
In the
Arabia of barbarians in the times of ignorance, sex with slave girls or
servants was quite the custom. It was even the custom in the other countries
outside Arabia, where slave masters used to rape their slave girls and did not
honour them in any way, despite that these women gave them children. But with
the advent of Islam, even though Allah did not abolish the custom all at once,
but a Muslim believer had to contract marriage with a slave-girl before
consummating their union. The slave girl or woman should belong to him, like the
Quran describes it: “what your right hand possesses.” But the Quran also
ventures to specify:
“But
let those who cannot find (the means for) marriage keep chaste (abstain from
sexual relations) until Allah enriches them from His bounty. And those who seek a contract (for eventual emancipation or
marriage) from among whom your right hands possess – then make a contract with
them if you know there is within them
goodness and give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you. And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if
they desire chastity, to seek (thereby) the temporary interests of
worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is (to
them, that is, the slave girls), after their compulsion, Forgiving and
Merciful.” (24: 34)
The
verse under comment is an eye-opener in the sense that Muslim believers should
not only grant them freedom, but help them financially so that they may begin
their new life with dignity. Or if they do not manumit these female slaves, but
rather want to marry them, then marriage is in a way a freedom for them when
they cease to be slaves and become an equal partner for their husbands. And the
wealth to be given to them may also refer to the dowry that these Muslim men
who desire to marry them should give them, like for any free Muslim woman who
receives her dowry as a gift from her husband, a security that Allah has
ordained for her and which the husband has to pay.
Moreover,
the verse reminds us that our wealth
verily is from Allah, and we are but temporary proprietors while Allah is the
Permanent Proprietor. Therefore any individual or society is only
entrusted by Allah with the wealth and has to manage it as per the will of
Allah, as per the guidance of Allah. If Allah says, spend in charity, or give
away Zakaat, then if we are really Muslim believers, we must comply with the
will of Allah, and not be avaricious, keeping our wealth to ourselves. These
are temporal and whatever the will of Allah dictates us, then we must comply.
Good treatment to slaves was a must in the prime time of Islam. Even though there is no slave (like
the olden times) in our modern era, but there is concealed slavery everywhere
where women are forced to prostitution, raped and forced to a miserable life of
servitude without a basic education and academic knowledge. This is all in our
present era, where governments reassure us that everything is fine when nothing
is actually fine. The teachings of the Holy Quran are daily trampled under the
feet of people who seek to take women as objects of pleasure and make them
completely subservient to them like the abominable of creatures.
If
slaves like the olden times have somewhat disappear, but it is a reality that
many people now works as servants or maids in the house of people. Even for
these types of people, deep respect is to be given to them. They may be poor,
but they are also creatures of Allah and our equal, especially if they are
believers.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “Your
brothers, your servants (or slaves), Allah has placed them under your
authority. So whoever’s brother is under his authority, he should feed him from
what he eats and clothe him from what he wears. Do
not burden them with what overpowers them, and if you burden them, help them.”
(Bukhari) He (peace be
upon him) further said: “One of you
should not say ‘my male slave’ or ‘my female slave’ and the slave should not
say ‘my lord’ or ‘my lady.’ The owner should say ‘my boy’ and ‘my girl,’ and
the slave should say ‘my master’ and ‘my mistress.” (Abu Dawud)
In his
farewell sermon, during the pilgrimage in Mecca, the noblest of all prophets
and men Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a
non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no
superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except
by piety (taqwa) and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a
brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.
Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless
it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to
yourselves.”
Overall,
Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not believe that only the slaves of a
particular race, religion, or ethnicity should be freed; he instead desired to
break the chains of slaves all over the world. The fact that the Holy Quran did
so with a specificity which has never before been witnessed in other Holy
Scriptures and teachings makes it one of the greatest of anti-slavery books,
and Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself the greatest of abolitionists.
Even his concern at the time of death was for the slaves under the care of the
Muslims. He is reported to have said: “(Be
steadfast on) prayer, and (take care of) what your right hands possess (that
is, the slaves and captives).” (Ibn Majah). In another version, the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “(Be
observant of) prayer, (be observant of) prayer! And fear Allah in what your
right hands possess.” (Abu Dawud)
If we
analyse ourselves, our own lives and beings, we will realise that we are all
slaves of Allah. We can choose to be a good slave or a bad slave, and the
mighty Master shall deal with us the way He wants. If He wants to deal with us
with mercy and kindness, then He has the full right to do so, and if He wants
to punish us, He has full right to do so. We are but instructions in His hands.
If we reflect good in our selves, He shall deal with us with kindness and
consideration, but if we go beyond limits, and involve ourselves in the satanic
evils, then it is to our own lost.
Following
the divine precepts assures us the Master’s satisfaction, while going against
His will invites upon us His wrath. It is in our best interest that we remain
ever obedient to our Rab, our Allah, for being the most subservient slave to
Him is the most enviable position that any human can reach. Our beloved prophet
Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) reached to that glorious state when he
chose to remain close to the heart of His Master and close to the hearts of the
people, by remaining humble like a slave in behaviour but having the heart of a
King, a king who is anointed by none but Allah.
May
Allah help us to follow the excellent example of the beloved prophet and slave
of Allah. Even if we can never be the primary best slave of Allah, but we can
strive to become second-best by following in the footsteps of the best of
mankind, Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him). May Allah enable us to do so.
Insha-Allah, Ameen.