Why Is Slavery Allowed in Islam

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Question:

Why is slavery allowed in Islam, and why are domestic workers still treated as slaves in Saudi Arabia? - A discussion of Islamic rulings on slavery, its historical context, and how it is interpreted in modern times, with examples from Saudi Arabia. :::

Answer:

You mentioned:

“….Today in Saudi Arabia domestic workers are treated as slaves. They are raped and tortured. Many have returned back from Saudi Arabia for such harsh barbaric treatment to domestic workers….”

What people in saudi arabia do does not reflect Islam, just because saudi is Islamic country. Also the number of such incidents is miniscule compared to millions of expats working there.

“…. I am hugely against such inhumane behavior. Even the Quran and Hadiths speak about slavery. Being Muslim myself, it’s uncomfortable to know about verses on slavery in Quran and Hadiths…”

Muslims should not be uncomfortable regarding anything mentioned in Quran & Sunnah.

Also, you should not fall in the trap of enemies of Islam who try to tarnish the image of Islam by using these things as a tool to spread lies about our religion.

Islam permits slavery but not inhumane behaviour -these are 2 different things. Islam allows slavery but Islamic rules encourage abolishment of slavery.

You do not find any text in the Qur’aan or Sunnah which enjoins taking others as slaves, whereas there are dozens of texts in the Qur’aan and the ahaadeeth of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which call for manumitting slaves and freeing them.

Also the kind of treatment prescribed for the slaves is much better than how some people treat their employees or for example how Palestinians are treated by Israel or how British colonialists treated their subjects.

The principle of dealing with slaves in Islam is a combination of justice, kindness and compassion. Lets give few examples:

It was narrated that Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) said: “They are your brothers whom Allaah has put under your authority, so if Allaah has put a person’s brother under his authority, let him feed him from what he eats and clothe him from what he wears, and let him not overburden him with work, and if he does overburden him with work,then let him help him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6050). One day ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab passed by and saw some slaves standing and not eating with their master. He got angry and said to their master: What is wrong with people who are selfish towards their servants? Then he called the servants and they ate with them. ‘Aa’ishah the Mother of the Believers had a slave who would lead her in prayer. Indeed the Muslims have been commanded to hear and obey even if a slave is appointed in charge of their affairs. Sa’d ibn Haashim al-Khaalidi said, describing a slave of his: He is not a slave, rather he is a son whom [Allaah] has put under my care. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) manumitted a slave of his, then he picked up a stick or something from the ground and said: There is no more reward in it than the equivalent of this, but I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever slaps his slave or beats him, his expiation is to manumit him.” Narrated by Muslim (1657). During the campaign of Banu’l-Mustaliq, the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married a female prisoner from the defeated tribe so as to raise her status, as she was the daughter of one of their leaders, namely the Mother of the Believers Juwayriyah bint al-Haarith (may Allaah be pleased with her). Then the Muslims let all of these prisoners go. Hence don’t go by the term slavery - if you read all the rules concerning slaves and slavery as per Islam then it doesn’t go with the modern definition or perception of slavery.

You can check the following link for detailed explanation of slavery in islam; (However i dont accept everything written on that website.)

Islam and slavery - islamqa.info

I think people should also focus on intellectual/ideological slavery as well which is as worse if not more than physical slavery and we all are subject to it in one way or the other. Intellectual slavery is also one of the legacies of colonialism.

Nowadays, television is used as a tool widely used for social engineering, predictive programming & culture creation.

Our perception of right and wrong, moral and immoral maybe influenced not because of logical reasoning, critical thinking and exercising of judgment upon and after the establishment of objective facts, but because of ideological/intellectual enslavement.