Should slaves and concubines (female slaves) have disappeared?

Dear Brother / Sister,

When we study our primary source, the Book (Quran), and the Sunnah, which is its explanation and application, we arrive at the following conclusion:

With the arrival of Islam, the deplorable conditions of slaves and concubines (female slaves) were first improved, and then – thanks to the measures and regulations implemented by Islam – in time there would be no slaves or concubines left in Islamic society.

However, did things really turn out that way?

No.

So, who is to blame, the religion itself, or those who claim to be Muslims?

Undoubtedly, the fault lies with those Muslims who prioritize their own pleasures and interests over the divine purpose.

Let us first examine the issue of slaves and concubines according to primary sources, and then look at what happened.

Sayyid Sabiq summarized this issue as it should be in his book “Fiqhus-Sunnah”:

There is no verse in the Quran that permits enslavement, but there is a call to free existing slaves.

It is not recorded that the Prophet (pbuh) enslaved any captives; however, he freed the captives of Makkah, Sons of Mustaliq and Hunayn. He freed those who had been enslaved in the Era of Jahiliyya and those who had been given to him as gifts.

The Rightly-Guided Caliphs enslaved some captives in retaliation, but they considered pre-existing forms of enslavement to be haram and limited it to “captives taken in a legitimate war declared by the state against its non-Muslim enemies”.

Apart from this limitation, Islam improved the situation of existing slaves, ensured that they were treated well and opened the door to freedom wide.

Treating Them Well

- Allah Almighty has commanded kindness (ihsan) to slaves and female slaves. (See an-Nisa: 4/36)

According to what Ali (ra) reports, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Fear Allah about slaves.”

- He forbade any addressing that belittled them and reminded them that they were slaves, and wanted the Muslims to call the slaves as “my son, my daughter”.

- The following historical statement belongs to him: “Your servants are your brothers and sisters. Allah entrusted them to you. Feed those who are under your command from what you eat and clothe them with what you clothe yourselves; do not burden them with what they cannot bear; if you do, help them.”

- He forbade treating them badly: “If someone slaps or beats his slave, the way to get rid of its sin (atonement) is to set him free.”

- He saw a Companion beating his slave and said, “Allah’s power against you is greater than your power against this slave.” When the Companion said, “I am setting him free for the sake of Allah,” he said, “If you had not done so, you would have been punished with fire.”

- He ordered the education and training of male and female slaves and said:

If someone has a female slave and educates her, treats her well, and marries her, there are two rewards for him in this world and the Hereafter.

a) The reward for marriage and teaching,
b) The reward for emancipation (the female slave who marries her master proceeds to the path to freedom).

Door of Freedom

The door to freeing male and female slaves was wide open.

If Muslims had correctly understood and implemented Islam’s goal with regard to slavery, there would have been no slaves in Islamic society and perhaps in the world for two reasons:

1. By means of emancipation, which we will explain below.

2. By a treaty, led by the Islamic state, to abolish enslavement, for whatever reason, throughout the world. Once this treaty was concluded, the need for retaliation would be eliminated and there would be no resources left.

The measures that Islam took and the provisions and remedies it introduced to free male and female slaves:

1. In many verses and hadiths, the virtue, reward and thawab of freeing slaves for the sake of Allah are mentioned and Muslims are encouraged to do so.

2. The atonement (spiritual punishment) for causing accidental death is to free a slave.

3. One of the atonements for breaking an oath is to free a slave.

4. The atonement for the deed called zihar, which is a vow not to approach one’s wife, is to free a slave.

5. One of the ways of giving zakah is buying and freeing slaves.

6. If a slave who wants to gain his freedom by working or by other means and paying for it, his master is commanded to accept his offer and give him financial assistance.

7. If a person makes a vow to free a slave, he is obliged to free a slave when he has achieved his goal.

On the one hand, the reduction of the source to one and the fact that it is not obligatory (being left to the discretion of the administration), and on the other hand, the existence of ways, some of which are obligatory and some of which are encouraged, to free existing slaves - if they had been fulfilled - there would have been no male and female slaves left in Islamic society centuries ago.

Questions on Islam