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Islam and Slavery

Before one talks about the cause and effects of slavery, one must be disciplined to view the epidemic from all views and most importantly the origin of the phenomenon. One must look at the definition of the term and how it changed along with time, what purpose the term was meant to serve, and how the term is perceive as in modern times. To begin, the term slave was an origin of the word Slav. Slav was the short term used to identify Czechoslovakians or Slavic people during ancient times. The Slavic people were enslaved by the Romans for decades for numerous reasons. However, their term of the word slave was significantly different from the understanding of the term today. A slave was someone who was captured as a result of a war, typically women and children. However, as the Americas (the Anglo�s to be specific) started to participate in slave trade, they belligerently molded slavery to be understand as a negative term. (Quick)

����������� A slave, in the Webster dictionary, is someone who is held against his or her will and forced to work for another. That is how the mainstream of today understands the concept of the word slave. Before the Americans got involved with slave trade, slavery was practiced and recognized within many countries in the ancient times. Countries such as Africa, Middle East, America-Native Americans, Arab, China, and Europe and so on, practiced slavery to some degree or level as a norm. However, what defined a slave was not based on ones appearance but ones class. Romans, Africans, Chinese, Middle Easton�s, and etc. in the ancient times viewed slaves as individuals who were of low class and individuals who became part of a society as a results of a war. (Quick) A slave was put to work as a member of a society and was given privileges at times. There have been statements from recorded history explaining how slaves were interacting freely with their owner�s families. All these countries practices slavery and view their slaves as the workers of their society as eventually they will become part of that specific society. They were not distinguished as lesser humans considering their skin color; they were lesser because they were prisoners of war. (Quick)

����������� The Byzantine Empire considered slavery as part of their law of nature. Their Slaves were meant to be workers of the society in order for improvement of the country, in their perspective.� So, they allowed slaves to live amongst them with liberty. The empire did not accept marriage between a slave and a citizen, however. If such interaction took place and the participants were caught, they would be punished harshly. Even with this boundary of not accepting slaves to marry their citizens, they still did not torture, neglect humanity and target a certain race as ruggedly as the Americas. (Quick)

����������� The Americas took slavery to a disgustingly brutal level in the 16^th century. They captured, bought and traded for Africans, specifically in the northern and western part of the continent. The Americans brought new meaning to the term slave and slavery. The original class difference between slaves and non-slaves was overshadowed by this darkness. The targeting of Africans as workers for the �new land� wrought slavery to become racial. Once the racial phenomenon settled, it became institutionalized as laws were made suppressing all Africans that were and brought to America. These inhumane laws viewed African children as slaves once born in the Americas. There was no liberation for Africans in America. They were stripped of their physical, psychological and emotional bondage to themselves and forced to serve and obey the wishes of their owner. (Quick)

����������� The practice of Islam is based on accepting Allah as the one and only God. With that acceptance, you must be devoted to praising Allah, praying to Allah and living a lifestyle that is accepted by Allah. One who achieves all these conditions will prevail to the after life of peace, love and eternity in the heavens. Islam means submission to the way of Allah. Anyone could be a Muslim once they have submitted themselves to Allah�s ways. This conversion demands all to treat and be treated with equity. When Islam became influenced by revolting against slavery in the 19^th century, they obligated themselves to reform slavery through legalizing it as a social institution. The legalization of slavery served a positive outcome for slaves themselves. Muslims were allowed to purchase slave and have slave concubines, however they must never mistreat, torture, harm or dehumanize slaves at any level. Instead, they were to provide support, equity, and guidance to all slaves owned.

����������� Islam recognized slavery as a negative course that needed to be reformed and shaped to benefit the individuals. That recognition tied with the law of Islam which resulted in liberation of slaves by Muslims. Islam allowed members of the religion to purchase slaves and have slave concubines; however, they were to provide the slaves living conditions suitable for a person and treat them with dignity and like a creator of the one and only Allah. Anyone who does the opposite of this as a Muslim is not a true believer because they are not following the direct way of Allah.

����������� The procedures of Islam and slavery were simply specified for all the believers. If you are an owner of a slave, the Islamic law states, you must allow your slave to work and receive ransom or work towards gaining their freedom. The process of collecting ransom through work was known as mukataba. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilsam and Slavery) If an owner was to have a child with a slave concubine, it is the owners� obligations to accept the child as his own and into his family to care for his or her growth. Islam�s practice of slavery established benefits. Islam believers would enslave the non privileges and provided guidance and care for them until they were ready to be set free on their own.

����������� ��The Islamic law also allows for polygamy. Muslims are allowed to take into their house hold more than one wife. A man was only allowed to marry a slave after her conversion to Islam; it became a pathway for Muslims to demand for female slaves. To further elaborate on women and Islam, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilsam and Slavery stated:

�Slave women were required mainly as concubines and menials. A Muslim slaveholder was entitled by law to the sexual enjoyment of his slave woman. While free women might own male slaves, they had no such right. The purchase of female slaves for sex was lawful from the perspective of Islamic law, and this was the most common motive for the purchase of slaves throughout Islamic history. The property of a slave was owned by his or her master unless a contract of freedom of the slave had been entered into, which allowed the slave to earn money to purchase his or her freedom and similarly to pay bride wealth. The marriage of slaves required the consent of the owner. Under the Hanafi and Shafi�I schools of jurisprudence male slaves could marry two wives, but the Maliki permitted them to marry four wives like the free men. According to the Islamic law, a male slave could marry a free woman but this was discouraged in practice. Islam permits sexual relations between a male master and his female slave outside of marriage. This is referred to in the Quran as ma malakat aymanukum or �what your right hands posses.� There are some restrictions on the master; he may not co-habit with a female slave belonging to his wife, neither can he have relations with a female slave if she is co-owned, or already married, but Islam allowed the master to dissolve marriages among his slaves with or without the slaves� consent.�

����������� As beneficial as Islam has been to slavery, it seems na�ve when the law applies to women. The will of slave women was taken by their owners as they were used for sexual frustrations. They had no voice to disagree if their owners wanted to mate with them and to make them their concubines or wives. This is a flaw within the religion as it shows clearly the suppressing of women in the hands of a Muslim. The law however, provides shelter and care for these slave women; however it is promoting women as sex slaves as they were to be fornicated with and married only if they were converted into the religion. It just does not match with the treatment of slave men. When it came to slave women and the Islamic law, there were no equality and equity provided. Rather, there was selfishness and benefits for the men to obtain women slaves.

����������� Islam teaches believers not to submit to created things, rather to submit to the creator himself. Slavery being a created thing is against the way of Allah and if one choices to own a slave without providing ransom, freedom or care will face judgment by Allah on judgment day. Also, the freeing of slaves became a benevolent thing to do. Individuals who purchased and provided liberation for slaves will be expatiated of their sins. Since the Quran accepts the difference between the free and the slave as part of the natural order, they believe the distinction is there as part of Allah�s grace. As part of Allah�s will, the non believers of Islam will be exerted from the heavens unless they convert. So, Muslims took this in account into purchasing and converting slaves into Islam so they too could be part of Allah�s grace. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilsam and Slavery.)

����������� Islam has helped slavery tremendously. The organization has provided a great way of life for slaves as they have been converted to Muslims. They have institutionalized and reformed the American meaning of slavery and brought the true meaning of slavery back. When the Americans denied the slaves of Africa of their existence and their civilization, Africans were viewed as persons with no humanity. The Muslims helped restore to some level, the true meaning of the term slave and slavery. They helped many realize that in Islam, the term slave associated only with a person who was taken into a new society as a prisoner of war. So the institution devalued and banned capturing of individuals to be used as slaves, rather they must only derive as a result of a war.

����������� Because of Islam, many individuals have been positive figures in the world. The prophet Muhammad who is believed to have freed 63 slaves along with his wife, who autonomously freed 67, are some of these important figures. Abu Bkr who also freed numerous slaves is one as well. Many Muslims has done good deeds for slaves. As it is stated in the Quran on chapter 24, verse 33: �And if those of you, and if those who are in our possession ask for a deed of emancipation, execute the deed of emancipation with them.� The above individuals and many more have been loyal to this verse and performed the wishes of Allah himself. Freeing of slaves provided the opportunity for slaves to become important figures as well. Bilad, and Ethiopian slave owned by the prophet, an ex slave who was purchased and converted into Islam used the opportunity to show his given gift as he was established as a Muezzin-the person who calls people to prayer. (Quick)

Since slavery is mention in the Quran as a practice, it was viewed as Allah�s grace and institutionalized by the Muslims, however to enslave and to provided freedom for the slaves. Slavery has been around since ancient times and like every thing with meaning, they term changes and its understandings become revised to fit the cultural capital. As devastating as the Americans have shaped slavery to become, the Muslims have been one of the many organized groups that took slavery and reformed it to benefit all slaves. In all, the fact that Islam reformed slavery was because of how it became inhumane and as believers of Allah; it was an expatiation for their sins.

By:Agyeman

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