SLAVERY IN ISLAMIC LAW

&
DEFENCE OF TRADITIONAL ISLAMIC
JURISPRUDENCE ON SLAVERY

ORTHODOX ISLAM PUBLICATIONS

UPON THE WAY OF AHL AL-SUNNAH WA’L JAMA’AH
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Slavery in Classical Islamic Jurisprudence: Countering Contra

Islam Apologetics.............................................................................1
Slavery Before Islam......................................................................... 2
Slavery in Christianity......................................................................5
Traditional Islamic Jurisprudence Approach on Slavery................8
Did Islam Intend To Abolish Slavery?.......................................... 17
Treatment of Slaves in Islamic law................................................ 19
Does Islam Legislate Slavery in Our Times?................................. 22
Conclusion.....................................................................................23
Further Reading.............................................................................25
 ‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

‫على سيدنا محمد النّبي اأْل مي َوعلى آله وصحبه وسل ْم‬
ٰ ‫اللهم صل‬

This is the first booklet of many that will be coming from “Orthodox
Islam”. Our mission is to elaborate on particular issues in ways which
were not particularly prioritised before . In this specific booklet we
will talk about slavery. Slavery is a very sensitive topic which has
affected the faith of many Muslims today due to the ambiguity
surrounding it. This topic has also been a point of contention raised
by sincere non Muslims who want answers as to why slavery exists in
Islam. We seek to answer all of these questions by the will of Allah.

We ask the reader to send salawat on our beloved Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to

achieve clarity and tranquility. Additionally, we also ask for the reader
to follow all social media of Orthodox Islam and Apostolic Islam for
quality and unique content.
 1

Slavery in Classical Islamic Jurisprudence: Countering

Contra Islam Apologetics.

As the postmodern society develops and Muslim immigration rises to

the West, Muslims often find challenges and conflicts of values within
themselves and within the societies they live in. Western discourse has
found contentions with particular aspects of Islamic law (Sharia).

In democratic societies, slavery is a shunned institution and a highly

controversial one. Slavery is often linked to the transatlantic slave
trade resulting in a very rough and abusive image appearing in the
mind of every Westerner when it is mentioned.

The aim of this booklet is to thoroughly analyse the history of slavery

and why it exists in Islamic law. We will explore the social conditions
of slaves in an ideal Islamic society whilst comparing it to the reality
that occurred in the historical Muslim empires.

Through doing the above, readers will recognize that the claim,
“Islam allows slavery thus it is an immoral religion”, is nothing short
of a reductionist fallacy stemming from intellectual laziness and a
refusal to look into the topic through the lens of classical and
contemporary academia.
 2

Slavery Before Islam

Islam did not invent slavery nor did it come with something new
which did not exist before it. Islam came at a time where slavery was a
major institution practised globally amongst humanity and seen
as perfectly normal. In this chapter, we will be analysing the practices
of different empires in regards to slavery, specifically focusing on their
methodology of slave acquisition.

In the Neo Babylonian period, slavery was an open door and it was
not uncommon for people to become slaves as Professor Daniel c.
Snell succinctly notes:

“One became a slave by getting caught as a prisoner of war, being sold as

a debt-slave, or, in the case of the temple slaves, being ‘dedicated’ by a
family overwhelmed by crop failure and unable to continue caring for a
child.”1

In the Roman Empire, slavery was also a common institution.

Professor Jeff Fynn-Paul writes:

“Even as its western half faced the prospect of dissolution, the Roman
Empire evinced a voracious appetite for fresh slave supplies. Slave
imports into the later empire have been estimated by Walter
Scheidel at 300,000–400,000 slaves per annum. These slaves were
largely bought, rather than captured, since slave markets organised by
1
The Cambridge world history of Slavery Edited by Keith Bradelt and Paul Cartledge. Volume 1 p.15
 3

merchants provided a more reliable supply than military campaigns.

Of course, a successful military campaign might glut the market and
temporarily depress prices. Slaves were brought from all regions
bordering the empire, especially from the politically disorganised
regions, where freshly caught slaves could be had for bargain prices, but
it seems that northeast Europe was both the most populous and accessible
region, so it might well have supplied the majority of slaves brought into
the empire.”2

He also says:

“As Immanuel Wallerstein’s early modern “world-system” famously

drew most peoples of the globe into the ever-expanding European
economic ambit, so during the Middle Ages, we now know that economic
forces were operating to move people across large sections of the globe,
sometimes into quite foreign cultures. This holds true both for the early
Middle Ages as for the later period. It is therefore becoming clear
that large-scale slave-trading systems existed in the Greater
Mediterranean from ancient times – without a break – until
the twentieth century.”3

As we can see from the quotes above it is exceptionally clear that

slavery did exist before Islam and it was a driving factor in the
economy of pre-Islamic empires. Slavery was seen as totally normal

2
The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2, AD 500-AD 1420. p.29
3
The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 2, AD 500-AD 1420. p.27
 4

even by the intellectual elites of the respective societies. Consider the

quote of the famous philosopher Aristotle:

“Slavery is natural; in every department of the natural

universe we find the relation of ruler and subject. There are
human beings who, without possessing reason, understand it. These are
natural slaves. But we find persons in slavery who are not natural
slaves. Hence slavery itself is condemned by some; but they are wrong.
The natural slave benefits by subjugation to a master.”4

4
Aristotle’s politics translated by Benjamin Jowett, the modern library New York. p.32
 5

Slavery in Christianity

Modern Christians have taken a very abolitionist approach to slavery.

Most Christians do not know that the early Church and some of its
most influential figures all endorsed slavery including a so-called
Apostle.

In this section we will analyse Christian approaches towards slavery

beginning from the “Apostle” Paul up to some of the most famous
and influential saints of the Church.

As we will compare to Islam, traditional Christianity deemed slavery

to be divine punishment from God Himself and it was justified based
on this. From those who held this view was the renowned Church
father Augustine of Hippo5.

Slavery was also present in Old Testament times. Consider the

following passage:

“Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations
around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy
some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their
clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You
can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and

5
Slaves of the Churches: A History, p.280
 6

can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow
Israelites ruthlessly.”6

Paul and Peter famously ordered slaves to be obedient to their masters

with no condemnation of the system of slavery in and of itself. Peter
took a step further by commanding obedience to their masters even if
they were harsh or oppressive.7

Saint John of Chrysostom also justified the existence of slavery by

saying it was a divine punishment for sin. He said:

“If someone were to ask, where does slavery come from, and why has it
come to humanity?—and I know that many are asking these questions
and desire to have them answered—I will tell you. Slavery is the
result of greed, of degradation, of brutality, since Noah, we know, had
no slave, nor Abel, nor Seth, nor those who came after them. The
institution was the fruit of sin.”8

Some missionaries have claimed that Gregory of Nyssa vehemently

opposed slavery but contemporary scholarship has deemed this
reading to be inaccurate. Dr Mary e. Sommar writes:

“A number of modern readers have claimed that Gregory of Nyssa’s

Fourth Homily on Ecclesiastes presents an unambiguous statement of
opposition to slavery. However, this reading of his sermon is not

6
Leviticus 25:44-46 NIV
7
Ephesians 6:5, 1 Peter 2:18-20
8
Excerpt From Preaching Bondage de Wet, Chris L, p.17
 7

accurate. Gregory’s homily was about excessive greed and

arrogance, vices often typified by the ownership of large
numbers of unnecessary slaves simply for ostentation. It was
not at all a call for the abolition of slavery as an economic
practice, as a more comprehensive examination of Gregory’s
writings will illustrate.”9

As we can see, Christianity generally had a positive attitude of

slavery and did not condemn it or take any abolitionist stances up
until the modern period.

This is the same conclusion that the renowned historian Dr. Will
Durant also came to, as he says:

“The Church did not condemn slavery. Orthodox and heretic,

Roman and barbarian alike assumed the institution to be natural
and indestructible.”10

9
Slaves of the Churches: A History, p.227
10
Durant, W. (2011). The Age of Faith: The Story of Civilization, Volume IV. United Kingdom: Simon & Schuster.
 8

Traditional Islamic Jurisprudence Approach on Slavery

We have established that slavery was a common phenomenon en

masse across the entire globe and have seen that the largest religion in
the world (Christianity) and its historical approach to slavery was no
different to the rest.

Islam recognises that the original ruling on every human being

is freedom. This freedom is a necessary right of the human being
until proven otherwise. It is the base ruling (al-Asl).

Western Academia has recognised that this base ruling was a reform
that Islam brought to the institution of slavery11. This is something
which is agreed upon by all four schools of Sunni jurisprudence.

Consider the following quote from the early Hanafi judge and scholar
Abu Zayd al-Dabusi [d.430AH/1038CE]:

“When God Almighty created the human to carry his responsibilities he

was honoured with reason and protection so that he became capable of
fulfilling the rights due upon him and [receiving] the rights granted to
him. So it has been established for him the right to inviolability,
freedom and right to ownership.”12

11
Freamon, B. K. (2019). Possessed by the Right Hand: The Problem of Slavery in Islamic Law and Muslim Cultures.
Netherlands: Brill, p.155
12
al-Qādi Abu Zayd al-Dabusi, Taqwīm al-Adilla, Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyya. p.417
 9

This later became a formal legal maxim and it is that the original
status of every human being is freedom until proven otherwise (al-Asl
fil ādami al-Huriyya).

For this reason freeing a slave is one of the most desirable acts of
worship in Islam. The Hanbali jurist Mansur al-Buhuti
[d.1051AH/1641] writes:

“And [freeing slaves] contains getting rid of the harm of slavery from
the inviolable human, as well as him being able to have
autonomy over himself and its benefits (the benefits derived
from being free), fully fulfilling his religious obligations and
him being capable of acting on his own accord and choice. In
[the books]«al-Tabsira» and «al-Haawi al-Saghir» it is stated, “It is
the most loved action to God”.»13

Another major reform which Islam brought to the institution of

slavery is by drastically limiting how a free person can become a slave.

Islam says that the free human can only become a slave by either being
captured as a prisoner of war or if a slave woman gives birth to a boy
whose father is not the woman’s master.14 This is a radical
limitation from the practice of previous empires who had many
doors open for free people to become slaves.

Professor Bernard K. Freamon writes:

13
al-Buhuti, Kashāf al-Qinā’a, Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah (2009). Volume 4 p.611
14
al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya volume 3 p.298
 10

“Secondly, the Shari'a in theory also drastically reduced the

ways that people under its aegis could legally be enslaved. The
Greek, Roman, Byzantine, African, and Sasanid systems dominating
the era's cultural and legal milieu permitted enslavement as
punishment for crime, as expiation for sin, as well as self-sale of adults
into slavery, sale or gift of children into slavery by parents and others in
loco parentis for economic or other reasons, enslavement of foundlings,
debt bondage, and the commercial prostitution of female slaves,
enslavement of war captives, enslavement as a result of the
circumstances of birth. Islamic law, as developed by jurists after
the death of the Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬, abolished all of
these means of enslavement except for two: (1) the enslavement
of prisoners of war and war captives and (2) enslavement by
birth, spawned by two lawfully enslaved parents.”15

To understand the Islamic approach to slavery we first must

understand the political circumstances of the region. Professor John
Esposito writes:

“The world in which Islam emerged in the seventh century was a rough
neighbourhood where war was the natural state. Arabia and the
city of Mecca, in which Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬lived and received God's
revelation, were beset by tribal raids and cycles of vengeance and
vendetta. The broader Near East, in which Arabia was located, was
itself divided between two warring superpowers of the day, the
15
Freamon, B. K. (2019). Possessed by the Right Hand: The Problem of Slavery in Islamic Law and Muslim Cultures.
Netherlands: Brill, p.155-156
 11

Byzantine (Eastern Roman) and the Persian (Sasanian) Empires.

Each had competed against the other for world dominion.
Seventh-century Arabia was critically located along the profitable trade
routes of the Orient. As a result it was subject to the rivalry and
interventions of its powerful imperial neighbours. The rise and
spread of Islam was caught in both the local politics and fighting of
Arabia and the imperial warfare of the Near East.” 16

Slavery was a widespread phenomenon at that time.17One of the

principal methods of taking slaves was through prisoners of war. Due
to Muslims having to fight their neighbours preemptively due to the
hostile territory it would have been absurd to not reciprocate the same
treatment.

Reciprocation in the context of taking prisoners of war is an

important strategy to perform prisoner exchanges and free Muslim
captives. Even if Islam set an initiative to abolish slavery it is highly
unlikely that the neighbours in the region would comply to such a
request.

Professor Hussein Fancy writes:

16
Esposito, John L.. Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2003, p.29
17
Professor Matthew S. Gordon writes:

“Slavery was thus a feature of the social and economic history of the Byzantine and Sasanid Empires, the
two political giants of the pre-Islamic Middle East. As such it would have been instantly recognizable to their
pagan, Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian subjects. So, too, would it become for Muslims and the majority non-Muslim
populace of the Middle East, following the seventh-century establishment of the Islamic empire.” The Cambridge World
History of Slavery: Volume 2, AD 500-AD 1420. p.337
 12

“Rather than emerging all at once, the medieval tradition of ransom

and exchange developed unevenly, in fits and starts. In particular,
these practices materialized and thrived in three key contexts –
the Arab– Byzantine wars, the Crusader Levant, and the
Iberian frontier. What follows makes two central claims. First, the
development of ransom and exchange practices depended on particular
zones of encounter that promoted a conception of and a need for
reciprocity.”

Due to this the great Hanafi jurist al-Kāsāni [d.581AH/1191CE]

writes:

“Slavery occurred in a few people, legislatively, only due to the temporal

factor of dominance, which is caused by [another] temporal thing:
disbelief that resuscitates war from both sides.”18

Enslaving (which is the exclusive prerogative of the leader19) is one out

of multiple options the Sultan of the Muslims has.

He can:

1. Enslave
2. Ransom
3. Pardon

18
al-Kāsāni, Badā’ī al-Sanā’ī, Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah. Volume 8 p.315
19
al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya volume 3 p.198

“The jurists have agreed that the one who has the right to enslave, pardon or ransom is the chief ruler of the Muslims”
 13

4. Make them protected citizens

5. Kill (only for combatants)

The Sultan is to act only in the best interests of the Muslims,

prioritising their safety.20 The Hanafi school famously disagreed with
the rest of the schools of Islamic law on whether pardoning and
ransom are permitted for prisoners of war. The Hanafis held that it is
impermissible due to the reason that letting them go will cause
inevitable harm to the Muslims.

The Hanafi reasoning is that if combatants are ransomed then this

will rescue a limited number of Muslims but the combatants will
return and fight the Muslims thus it is self inflicting harm to
ransom or pardon them. This reasoning is built upon an inevitable
social reality that existed in the early and mediaeval period.

Thus the following point should not be limited to a Hanafi

perspective but rather it should show the historical reality of why
enslaving prisoners of war was sometimes an option which should be
taken.

Imam Burhān al-Dīn al-Marghīnāni [d. 593AH/1197AH] writes21:

« (If he [the ruler] wills he may enslave them) that is to defend

ourselves against their mischief alongside its benefit to the people of
Islam.»
20
al-Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut. Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah, volume 5 p.72
21
al-Marghīnāni. al-Hidāya, Dār al-Sirāj. volume 4 p.183
 14

al-Marghināni continues and says:

«The Imām (he intends Abu Hanifa) argues that in (accepting

ransom) there is support for the unbelievers for they will return as a
warring enemy against us. The repelling of his mischief hostility is
better than the release of Muslim captives because if they were to stay in
their captivity it would be a trial for them but would not be associated
with us, while support by sending their captives to them will have direct
repercussions on us.”22

The legal reasoning stated by the Hanafi jurists23 which we have

shown from al-Marghīnāni doesn’t just represent how the Hanafis
dealt with the reality they were living in but also gives us the larger
political picture of their times.

It becomes clear that Islam abolished all ways in which a free person
can become a slave except two cases due to necessity.24 It is important
to consider that Islam does not allow any free person to be enslaved
22
Marghīnāni. al-Hidāya, Dār al-Sirāj. volume 4 p.184
23
For example, this was also stated by both Ibn Nujaym brothers,Amir Kātib al-Attiqani and many other Hanafi
jurists.
24
Sarakhsi, Ibn Qudama, al-Shirazi and al-Mardawi are prominent scholars of the Hanafi, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools
of law. They viewed that taking prisoners of war was a necessity for the following reasons:
1. Prisoner exchanges (Except the Hanafis as we have shown)
2. Breaking the power of the enemy
3. Defence against their mischief
See: al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya volume 4 p.196
 15

via war if there is a mutual pact between Muslims and their enemies
that they will refrain from such.

This is what the erudite jurist Muhammad b. al-Hasan concluded. He

says:

“If they stipulate (as part of a treaty) that we do not enslave anyone
from them then it is impermissible upon us to enslave or kill them.”25

What further supports what we have said is that Islam does not allow
for people to recklessly enslave just absolutely anybody but rather
there must be a real benefit from such enslavement. People like old
men, blind people etc. cannot be enslaved according to the Hanafi
and Hanbali schools of law unless there is a real benefit from doing so
as harm is not expected from them.

The aforementioned is also stated in the Kuwaiti encyclopaedia of

Islamic jurisprudence:

“The position of the Hanafis and Hanbalis, which is a position that is

also found among the Shafi’is, is that it is not permissible to enslave
whoever it is not feared harm will come from him or there is no
benefit in enslaving him such as the old man close to death, the
old man with sickness, the blind and monks if they don’t have
strategic insight.”26

25
Sharh al-Siyar al-Kabir volume 1 p.213, Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah (1997).
26
al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya volume 4 p.196
 16

It is important to note that this excludes women and children. One

might ask, “What harm can come from women and children that does
not come from an old man?”

Firstly, it’s important to note that Muslims are not enslaving random
women. There are two conditions for them to be enslaved:

1. They are non-Muslim (because if they were Muslim we

wouldn’t fear harm from them due to them being from us)
2. They are combatants, either they themselves fight or they are in
the battlefield with a combatant27

Following the second point, the jurists said that this type of woman is
a cause of conflict due to her giving birth to soldiers who will fight the
Muslims. So it is important to pre-emptively defend against their
harm.28

As for the harm a child could bring, the jurists said a child being a
child brings no harm at all, but it was customary that when they hit
puberty they would become combatants against the Muslims, so
enslaving them is pre-emptively defending against their harm which is
inevitable in the future. 29

Whilst the Maliki and Shafi’i schools might disagree on the

permissibility aspect they still held that enslavement was enacted by

27
al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya volume 3 p.299
28
al-Kāsāni, Badā’i al-Sanā’i volume 9 p.395. al-Zuhayli, al-Fiqh al-Islāmi wa adillatuhu volume 6 p.471
29
Hashiyat Ibn Abideen volume 6 p.230
 17

the leader when he sees it as the best political interests for the Muslims
against their enemies, so the meaning in why slavery is legislated is
essentially shared.

Slavery in of itself may not be desirable, however, it was necessitated

by factors other than it such as the socio-political circumstances. This
is what Muslim scholars call in legal philosophy “hasan li ghayrihi”,
meaning that a thing may not be desirable on its own but is prescribed
due to other factors it is dependent upon.

Did Islam Intend To Abolish Slavery?

In our times, some Muslim apologists have made the claim that Islam
paved the way for the abolishment of slavery and that is the intention
of the lawgiver.

Such a claim without any elaboration is most certainly false as it

requires explicit evidence from the Quran or Sunnah. From the
Sunnah we can see that the Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬employed
enslavement as a politically necessary tool and so did his ‫ﷺ‬
companions after him ‫ﷺ‬.

We do not find any roadmap for the claim that Islam intended to
abolish slavery. However, this statement can be true depending on
what is intended.
 18

If it is intended that Islam abolished many ways in which a free man

may become a slave and left the possibility of enslavement limited
then yes this would be true.

If it is intended, however, that slavery can eventually become

permanently impermissible then this is most certainly false as
prohibition requires explicit textual evidence. Otherwise it falls under
making haram what God has made halal.

In any case, it is not wise to say that Islam intended to abolish

anything but rather it is upon the Muslims to say that Islam simply
allowed it as an option due to political necessity and disapproved of
other unjust forms of enslavement.

As for the other reforms Islam brought to the institution of slavery

then we will mention them. However, it is important to note that we
won’t elaborate too deeply into the finer rulings of each reform as this
defeats the intended purpose of this small booklet which is to make it
easy for people to read. We will suffice with Sheikh Nur al-Din Itr’s
abridgement of this. He (may God have mercy on him) says:

“[Islam] opened the ways for slaves to become free, from these paths
which are reasons for freedom are:

1. The slave woman gives birth from her master, she automatically
becomes free after his death
 19

2. Whoever owns a mahram from his relatives then he is

automatically free
3. Freeing slaves is a means of getting closer to God
4. Freeing slaves due to an obligatory clause such as an expiation
for murder, injurious comparison and making an oath to free.
5. That the slave becomes free through “al-Tadbir” and that is
when the Master makes him free after his death
6. Contracting (al-Mukātaba), and it is when the Master contracts
with his slave that he will become free once he pays a specific
amount of money to him.”30

Treatment of Slaves in Islamic law

One of the rights of slaves in Islamic law is that the master must
provide for the slave according to what is customary in that land. For
example, he must provide him with clothes. These clothes cannot be
just what covers his nakedness but rather respectable and appropriate
clothing.31

It is also not permissible to overwork the slave more than he can

handle and this is impermissible by consensus as narrated by Imam
al-Nawawi32. If the master should do such a thing then he is obligated
to help him out himself or lower the burden upon him.

30
I’lām al-An’ām Sharh Bulūgh al-Marām volume 4 p.460. Dar al-Minhāj al-Qawim
31
Hashiyat Ibn Abideen volume 5 p.382, al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya volume 23 p.25
32
Sharh Sahih Muslim volume 10 p. 55, Dar al-Minhaj al-Qawim
 20

This comes from the following Hadith:

“Abu Dharr reported God’s Messenger as saying, “God has put your
brethren under your authority, so he who has his brother put under his
authority by God must feed him from what he eats, clothe him from
what he wears, and not impose on him work which is too much for him,
but if he does so he must help him with it.”33

What is important to note is that the Hadith does not instruct owners
to provide exactly what he eats to his slave or what he wears but what
is customary and from the same genus of that particular thing.34
As we can see, the Messenger of God ‫ ﷺ‬gave slaves particular rights
which are obligatory upon the Master to impose. The Messenger of
God ‫ ﷺ‬specifically called the slaves “brethren” (ikhwānukum).
This shows the character which we are instructed as Muslims to have
towards slaves and not view them as inferior to us but rather they are
our brothers who have particular rights.

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said:

“If anyone beats a servant for an offence he did not commit, or slaps
him, the atonement due from him is to set him free.”35

This Hadith demonstrates that it is prohibited to unjustly discipline

or physically abuse a slave. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬says that the expiation

33
Mishkāt al-Masabih 3345
34
Ibn Nujaym, al-Bahr al-Rā’iq volume 4 p.369. Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah
35
Sahih Muslim 1657b
 21

for committing such a sin is that he should be set free. We see

application of this among the companions of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬,
specifically with Ibn Mas’ud where he freed a slave for unjustly hitting
him. The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬went on to say to Ibn Mas’ud that if he did
not expiate that sin by freeing him he would have been going to
Hellfire.

Allah said in the Qur’an:

“Worship Allah ˹alone˺ and associate none with Him. And be kind to
parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, near and distant neighbours, close
friends, ˹needy˺ travellers, and those ˹bondspeople˺ in your
possession. Surely Allah does not like whoever is arrogant, boastful.”36

As we can see God obligated good treatment and kindness to those

whom the right hand possesses, it is also noteworthy to point out that
the specific words “wa mā malakat aymānukum” shows the status of
slaves in Islamic law. The right hand is the hand in which honourable
things are done and represents honour in the Arabic language. With it
we shake hands and we do not clean ourselves with our right hands.

Imam al-Qurtubi writes:

“The ownership of the right hand, in justice, provides maintenance by

obligation of good custodianship and gentleness with slaves. The
Almighty attributed ownership to the right hand as it is a praiseworthy-

36
Qur’an 4:36
 22

attribute, and the right hand specifically has the best qualities to carry it
out.”37

The Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬and his companions as an

example to follow

The Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬passed away without owning a single slave. He

freed 36 slaves. The following Hadith describes his state when he
passed away:

Amr b. al-Hārith (May God be pleased with him) said:

“Allah’s Messenger ‫ ﷺ‬did not leave a Dinar or a Dirham or a male

or a female slave. He left only his white mule on which he used to
ride, and his weapons, and a piece of land which he gave in charity for
the needy travellers.”

The commentators of Hadith mention that he freed the slaves or they

died before his passing.38

37
Tafsir al-Qurtubi 4:3
38
Mirqāt al-Mafātih Sharh Mishkāt al-Masabih by Mulla Ali al-Qari volume 11 p.127, Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah.
Fathul Bāri by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, volume 5 p.424. Tahqiq Abdul Qadir Shayba al-Hamd.
 23

Dr Nur al-Din Itr, who was one of the most prominent Hadith
experts of the century, mentioned that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬freed 63
slaves.39

He also mentioned the number of slaves which the companions freed:

1. A’isha freed 67 slaves

2. al-Abbas freed 70 slaves

3. Abdullah b. Umar freed 1,000 slaves

4. Dhu'l-Kala al-Humayri freed 8,000 slaves in one day

5. Abdul Rahman b. Awf freed 30,000 slaves in his lifetime

May God be pleased with all of the companions, who followed the
example of the Messenger of God ‫ﷺ‬.

It is said that the Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬is the walking Qur’an

and his companions are the best in practising the Prophet’s ‫ﷺ‬
Sunnah.

We can clearly see the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬following the Qur’an in this

regard from the following passages:

39
I’lām al-An’ām sharh Buloogh al-Marām volume 4 p.459. Dar al-Minhāj al-Qawim
 24

“If only they had attempted the challenging path ˹of goodness
instead˺!

And what will make you realize what ˹attempting˺ the challenging
path is? It is to free a slave.”40

Does Islam Legislate Slavery in Our Times?

The simple answer to this is no. The Muslim jurists of our time have
stated that slavery is categorically impermissible in our times due to
the Muslim rulers drafting a treaty banning slavery from both sides.41
As we saw previously from the quote of Muhammad b. al-Hasan
al-Shaybani, it is permissible to contract a treaty banning enslaving
each other. Muslim nations are in mutual peace with non-Muslim
nations. This means that non-Muslim blood and wealth is
categorically inviolable. From the inviolability of blood and wealth
follows the inviolability of freedom.42 For this reason enslaving during
times of peace and mutual security would be impermissible.

40
Qur’an 90:11-13
41
Haqq al-Huriyyah fil ‘Aalam, Sheikh Dr Wahba al-Zuhayli p.111, Usmani, Muhammad Taqi, “Answers to Your
Questions”, Monthly Al-Balagh International, Karachi, Vol.26 No.06 April 2015, pp. 33-36. Open letter to Baghdadi
42
al-Muhit al-Burhāni, Ibn Maza. Volume 5 p.46. Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyyah
 25

Conclusion

As a final note it is important to realise that freedom and enslavement

are not necessarily opposites. Slaves are those whose freedom is
restricted by somebody else. At the same time everybody is restricted
by somebody else to a certain degree. There is always going to be
somebody in charge.

At the very end, the one who is in ultimate authority and charge is
Allah ‫ ﷻ‬but below Allah’s authority, humans hold authority over
each other. The head of state holds authority over his subjects and the
man holds authority over his family.

Freedom and slavery are not dichotomous. Absolute freedom is in

reality an illusion as there is no unrestricted freedom. Everybody’s
freedom is restricted to a degree. The only difference between
somebody who is enslaved and somebody who is not is the limit of
restriction which is imposed on one person which is different from
the other.

Nevertheless, we have given sufficient explanation as to why slavery

exists in Islam and we have compared it to the Christian view. We have
also shown how the doors of slavery were wide open in other empires
 26

and Islam radically limited it and made the possibility of a free person
being enslaved by Muslims by only two means.

All that we have stated is also the explanation of contemporary

scholars of Sunni Islam, scholars who have taken this religion by the
connected chain of narration. A further reading list has been added
for those who want to refer to the sources. The mentioned scholars
are major scholars of Sunni Islam.

May peace and blessings be upon the Best of Creation ‫ ﷺ‬through

whom we were guided and for whose intercession we hope to seek.
 27

Further Reading

● Treatise on Maqāsid al-Shari’ah by al-Taahir Ibn Ashur p.154

● Haqq al-Huriyyah fil ‘Aalam by Dr. Wahba al-Zuhayli

p.109-111

● I’laam al-An’aam volume 4 p.159 Dār al-Minhāj by Dr. Nur

al-dīn I’tr

● al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya “‫”الرق‬

● Min al-Fikr wal Qalb by Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Sa’id

Ramadan al-Buti p.84