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Free Slaves
The Noble Qur'ân Al-Baqarah 2:177
It is not Al-Birr (piety,
righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allâh,
etc.) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in
prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who
believes in Allâh, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the
Prophets and gives his wealth, in spite of love for it, to the
kinsfolk, to the orphans, and to Al-Masâkin (the poor), and to
the wayfarer, and to those who ask, and to set slaves free,
performs As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), and gives the Zakât, and who
fulfill their covenant when they make it, and who are As-Sâbirin
(the patient ones, etc.) in extreme poverty and ailment (disease)
and at the time of fighting (during the battles). Such are the
people of the truth and they are AlMuttaqûn (pious).
Attempt the Ascent, Free a Slave
The Noble Qur'ân Al-Balad 90:1-15
1. I swear by this city
(Makkah);
2. And you are free (from
sin, to punish the enemies of Islâm on the Day of the conquest)
in this city (Makkah),
4. Verily, We have created
man in toil.
5. Thinks he that none can
overcome him?
6. He says (boastfully):
"I have wasted wealth in abundance!"
7. Thinks he that none
sees him?
8. Have We not made for
him a pair of eyes?
9. And a tongue and a pair
of lips?
10. And shown him the two
ways (good and evil)?
11. But he has made no
effort to pass on the path that is steep.
12. And what will make you
know the path that is steep?
13. (It is) Freeing a
neck (slave, etc.)
14. Or giving food in a
day of hunger (famine),
15. To an orphan near of
kin.
Emancipation: Marry a Slave
The Noble Qur'ân An-Nur 4:32-33
32. And marry those
among you who are single (i.e. a man who has no wife and the
woman who has no husband) and (also marry) the Sâlihûn (pious,
fit and capable ones) of your (male) slaves and maid-servants
(female slaves). If they be poor, Allâh will enrich them out
of His Bounty. And Allâh is All-Sufficent for His creatures'
needs, All-Knowing (about the state of the people).
33. And let those who find
not the financial means for marriage keep themselves chaste,
until Allâh enriches them of His Bounty. And such of your
slaves as seek a writing (of emancipation), give them such
writing, if you know that they are good and trustworthy.
And give them something yourselves out of the wealth of Allâh
which He has bestowed upon you. And force not your maids to
prostitution, if they desire chastity, in order that you may make
a gain in the (perishable) goods of this worldly life. But if
anyone compels them (to prostitution), then after such
compulsion, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to those
women, i.e. He will forgive them because they have been forced to
do this evil action unwillingly).
Prefer Marriage to a Believing Slave
The Noble Qur'ân An-Nur 2:221
And do not marry Al-Mushrikât
(idolatresses, etc.) till they believe (worship Allâh Alone).
And indeed a slave woman who believes is better than a (free)
Mushrikah (idolatress, etc.), even though she pleases you. And
give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikûn till they
believe (in Allâh Alone) and verily, a believing slave is
better than a (free) Mushrik (idolater, etc.), even though he
pleases you. Those (Al-Mushrikûn) invite you to the Fire, but
Allâh invites (you) to Paradise and Forgiveness by His Leave, and
makes His Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs,
revelations, etc.) clear to mankind that they may remember.
If You Break an Oath: Free a Slave
The Noble Qur'ân An-Nur
2:221
Allâh will not punish you
for what is uninentional in your oaths, but He will punish you
for your deliberate oaths; for its expiation (a deliberate
oath) feed ten Masâkin (poor persons), on a scale of the
average of that with which you feed your own families; or clothe
them; or manumit a slave. But whosoever cannot afford
(that), then he should fast for three days. That is the expiation
for the oaths when you have sworn. And protect your oaths (i.e.
do not swear much). Thus Allâh make clear to you His Ayât
(proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)
that you may be grateful.
Hadith - Al-Muwatta,
#38.16
Malik related to me from Nafi that
Abdullah ibn Umar freed an illegitimate child and its mother.
If You Kill a Believer: Free a Slave
The Noble Qur'ân An-Nisa 4:221
It is not for a believer
to kill a believer except (that it be) by mistake, and
whosoever kills a believer by mistake, (it is ordained that) he
must set free a believing slave and a compensation (blood
money, i.e Diya) be given to the deceased's family, unless they
remit it. If the deceased belonged to a people at war with you
and he was a believer; the freeing of a believing slave (is
prescribed), and if he belonged to a people with whom you
have a treaty of mutual alliance, compensation (blood money -
Diya) must be paid to his family, and a believing slave must be
freed. And whoso finds this (the penance of freeing a slave)
beyond his means, he must fast for two consecutive months in
order to seek repentance from Allâh. And Allâh is Ever
AllKnowing, AllWise.
To Take Back Lawful Wife: First, Free a Slave
The Noble Qur'ân Al-Mujaadilah
58:3-4
3. And those who make unlawful to
them (their wives) (by Az-Zihâr ) and wish to free themselves
from what they uttered, (the penalty) in that case (is)
the freeing of a slave before they touch each other. That is
an admonition to you (so that you may not return to such an ill
thing). And Allâh is All-Aware of what you do.
4. And he who finds not (the
money for freeing a slave) must fast two successive months before
they both touch each other. And for him who is unable to do so,
he should feed sixty of Miskîn (poor). That is in order that you
may have perfect Faith in Allâh and His Messenger. These are the
limits set by Allâh. And for disbelievers, there is a painful
torment.
Slaves Are To Be Treated Like Brothers
Hadith - Sahih Al-Bukhari
3.721, Narrated Al Marur bin Suwaid
I saw Abu Dhar Al-Ghifari wearing
a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a cloak. We asked him
about that (i.e. how both were wearing similar cloaks). He
replied, "Once I abused a man and he complained of me to the
Prophet. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked me,
'Did you abuse him by slighting his
mother?' He added, 'Your slaves
are your brethren upon whom Allah has given you authority. So, if
one has one's brethren under one's control, one should feed them
with the like of what one eats and clothe them with the like of
what one wears. You should not overburden them with what they
cannot bear, and if you do so, help them (in their hard job).'
"
Hadith - Al-Muwatta 54.41,
Kindness to Slaves
Malik related to me that he heard
that Umar ibn al-Khattab went to the villages every Saturday.
If he found a slave doing work which he was not capable of doing,
he lightened it for him.
Hadith - Sunan of Abu Dawud,
#2694, Narrated Ali ibn Abu Talib
Some slaves (of the unbelievers)
went out to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) on the day
of al-Hudaybiyyah before treaty. Their masters wrote to him
saying: O Muhammad, they have not gone out to you with an
interest in your religion, but they have gone out to escape from
slavery. Some people said: They have spoken the truth, Apostle of
Allah, send them back to them. The Apostle of Allah (peace be
upon him) became angry and said: I do not
see your restraining yourself from this action, group of Quraysh,
but that Allah send someone to you who strike your necks.
He then refused to return them, and said:
They are emancipated
(slaves) of Allah, the Exalted.
Hadith - Sahih Muslim, #2182,
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar
Khaythamah reported: While we
were sitting in the company of Abdullah ibn Umar there came in
his steward. He (Ibn Umar) said: Have you supplied the provision
to the slaves? He said: No. Upon this he said: Go and give (the
provision) to them, for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon
him) has said: This sin is enough for a man that he
withholds the subsistence from one whose master he is.
Malik related to me from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar freed an
illegitimate child and its mother.
The Non-Muslim Perspective
Annemarie Schimmel in "Islam:
An Introduction", p. 67
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.
Be a Slave
Hadith - Al-Muwatta, #47.15
Yahya related to me
from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj from Abu Hurayra that
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "Beware
of suspicion. Suspicion is the most untrue speech. Do not spy and
do not eavesdrop. Do not compete with each other and do not envy
each other and do not hate each other and do not shun each other.
Be slaves of Allah, brothers."
The Noble Qur'an 43:59
He ['Iesa (Jesus)]
was not more than a slave. We granted Our Favour to him, and We
made him an example to the Children of Israel (i.e. his creation
without a father).
Hadith - Bukhari 4.654,
Narrated Umar, r.a.
I heard the Prophet
saying, "Do
not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son
of Mary, for I am only a slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah
and His Apostle."
Hadith - Bukhari 6.360,
Narrated Al Mughira
The Prophet (peace
be upon him) said,
"Shouldn't I be a
thankful slave (of Allah)?"
- Slavery
was an established practice amongst the many nations prior to
the revelation of The Qur'an to mankind. This practice of
slavery was nothing like the inhumane slavery of Africans in
America.
- The Qur'an
frequently encourages the practice of freeing slaves and
prohibits the Muslim from beating any human being in a way that
leaves marks or injury.
- Know that
the first Adhan (call to prayer) was chosen to be given by
Bilal, a former slave.
- Nafa' related that Ibn 'Umar said, "The Muslims would
gather and calculate the time of prayer, and no one would
call them. They spoke about that one day. Some said, 'We
should have a bell like the Christians.' Others said, 'We
should have a horn like the Jews.' Suggested 'Umar, 'Why
don't we have one person call the others to prayer?' The
Messenger of Allah said, 'Stand, Bilal,
and make the call to prayer."
[Related by Ahmad and
al-Bukhari]
- Reported 'Abdullah ibn (Zaid ibn) 'Abd Rabbih, "...When
the morning came, I went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be
upon him) to tell him what I had seen. He said,
'Your dream is true, Allah willing. Go
to Bilal, tell him what you have seen, and tell him to make
the call to prayer, for he has the best voice among you.'
[Related by
Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ibn Khuzaimah and at-Tirmidhi,
who called it hassan sahih]
- Narrated the merits of Bilal bin Rabah the freed slave of
Abu Bakr. The Prophet said (to Bilal),
"I heard the sound of your shoes
in Paradise just in front of me."
[Bukhari]
- Know that
a slave can be an Imam, leading the others in prayer.
- When the earliest emigrants came to Al-'Usba, a place in
Quba', before the arrival of the Prophet, Salim, the slave of
Abu Hudhaifa, who knew the Qur'an more than the others, used
to lead them in prayer. [Bukhari]
- Encourage
the freeing of slaves.
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