The Quran on slavery
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Slavery still exists though most people don't realize it does because most people imagine hundreds of people working on a pyramid in ancient Egypt when they think of slaves (even though the latest research in Egyptology shows that the pyramid builders were actually paid for their work and had pretty decent working conditions). Children from the rural parts of many third-world countries are sold as sex-slaves by their parents who can't afford to look after them. These children are perhaps the most unfortunate kind of slaves because they're made to endure sexual abuse and the only way these children can survive is prostitution. Such children often end up doing drugs and all other kinds of self-destructive behaviour.
The Quran defines a slave as somebody who is owned
God puts forth the example of a slave who is owned and cannot achieve anything, against one whom We have provided a good provision which he spends of it secretly and openly. Are they the same? God be praised, but most of them do not know.
There is a common misconception among Muslims and Non-Muslims that Islam permits slavery. I can't think how this misconception arose because there isn't any indication in the Quran that slavery is lawful. Everyone here knows that Ma Malakat Aymanukum doesn't mean "Sex-slaves" or "Concubines", so I don't think there's any need to discuss it. The Arabic word for "Slave" is Abd and the plural is Abidoon. Another word, Faty, is mistranslated as "Servant" by Rashad Khalifa. I don't know Arabic, but I can read it and I checked the meaning of the word in a dictionary. It certainly doesn't mean "Servant"; it actually means "Adolescent". Faty appears in the following verses
And Moses said to his youth ?I will not stop until I reach the junction of the two seas, or I spend a lifetime trying.? But when they did reach the junction between, they forgot their fish, and it was able to make its way back to the sea in a stream. And when they had passed further on, he said to his youth ?Bring us our lunch; we have found much fatigue in this journey of ours.?
There is no verse in the Quran that says "You may enslave such and such people". Orthodox Muslims claim that God permits Muslims to enslave POWs (prisoners of war), but this is complete nonsense. Look at what the Quran says regarding POWs
So, if you encounter those who have rejected, then strike their formations until you overcome them, then bind them securely. You may either set them free or ransom them, until the war ends. And had God willed, He alone could have beaten them, but He thus tests you by one another. As for those who get killed in the cause of God, He will never let their deeds be put to waste.
Anyway, what matters is that 474 gives us two options 1) ransom POWs, or 2) set them free. There isn't any mention of enslaving them.
And around them (Yatufu) will be children like protected pearls.
5224 is a very abused verse of the Quran. The word Ghulmaan occurs in it, it is the plural of Ghulaam and Ghulaam means "Servant", ?Slave?, ?Neonate?, ?Beardless?, ?Child?, ?Manservant?, or ?Boy?. The Quran tells us that children (boys and girls) will circumambulate (Yatufu) the dwellers of Heaven. The word Yatufu is derived from Tawaf which means ?To circumambulate?. Muslims are commanded to Tawaf (circumambulate) the Kaaba in 2229. The children who'll be running around the believers in Heaven will be like ?Pearls that have been protected (inside their shells)?, that is, they will be very pleasing to look at, like brand new pearls. Some people infer from this verse that there will be young male sex-slaves in Heaven, which is completely ridiculous, since sex isn't even hinted in this verse, or the verses succeeding and preceding it! Only desperate perverts draw such disgusting conclusions from pure verses like 5224.
We will supply them with fruits and meats that they love. They will enjoy drinks that are never polluted, and never sinful to drink.
They will meet each other and reminisce among themselves. They will say, "We used to be kind and humble among our people. "GOD has blessed us, and has spared us the agony of ill winds. "We used to implore Him; He is the Most Kind, Most Merciful."
See? No mention of sex. God knows that the presence of children is pleasing, uplifting and soothing, which is why immortal children are included in the allegorical descriptions of Heaven. The Quran often allegorically describes Heaven as a garden, and when adults and their children are in a garden, the adults are often seated on chairs while their kids seem to be running around them. Such a scenario creates a feeling of happiness, togetherness and security, which is perhaps why the Quran says that this is what awaits the people who'll make it into Heaven.
Moving amongst them will be immortal children.
The Quran doesn?t literally say that these immortal children will be moving amongst the dwellers of Heaven. Once again the Quran says that these children will be Yatufu (going around) the dwellers of Heaven.
"Immortal children" is a translation of Mukhaladoona Wildan. Mukhaladoon means "Immortal" and Wildan means "Children", "Neonates" or "Boys". Masculine plurals in Arabic don?t necessarily indicate males only; they may indicate females in addition to males.
Like 5224, 5617 is deliberately misconstrued by perverts. They somehow infer from this verse that there will be boys in Heaven for the dwellers of Heaven to have sex with. Please read the verses that surround 5617, you'll notice that there isn't a single mention of sex in them, implicit or explicit. The following verse is another verse that's abused
And they are encircled with eternal children. If you see them you will think they are pearls which have been scattered about.
The same words, Wildan and Yatufu, appear in 7619, and again, the Quran doesn?t say that these children will be there for adults to have sex with.
So we've seen that neither Wildan nor Faty mean "Slave" or "Servant", and that Ghulam can mean "Slave" or "Servant", but also "Child" or "Boy". God willing, I?ll now prove that slavery isn?t permitted at all in Islam.
The Quran tells us that God delivered the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. The Egyptians had enslaved the Israelites, so God sent Moses to Pharaoh so that he could preach to him, guide the Israelites and convince Pharaoh to let them go. The Quran tells us that Pharaoh was an egomaniacal tyrant who didn?t want to set the Israelites free, that he considered himself God, and that the Egyptians were equally misguided, and so God punished the Egyptians and emancipated the Israelites. God did give Pharaoh a chance to end the subjugation of the Israelites before drowning him, but Pharaoh turned it down
"Go to Pharaoh and say, `We are messengers from the Lord of the universe. Let the Children of Israel go.'" He said, "Did we not raise you from infancy, and you spent many years with us? Then you committed the crime that you committed, and you were ungrateful." He said, "Indeed, I did it when I was astray. Then I fled, when I feared you, and my Lord endowed me with wisdom and made me one of the messengers. You are boasting that you did me a favor, while enslaving the Children of Israel!"
?While you are enslaving/Abadata (from Abd) the Israelites!? Moses, a messenger from God, was commanded to demand the emancipation of the Israelites from Pharaoh (2617). God wouldn?t have commanded such a thing if God?s system permitted slavery. No, in this story we?re told that slavery is awful, and that slave-owners incur God?s wrath.
Every human has the right to dignity
We have honored the children of Adam, and provided them with rides on land and in the sea. We provided for them good provisions, and we gave them greater advantages than many of our creatures.
If God has honoured us, then it stands to reason that dishonouring each other is ungodly.
There isn't a single verse in which the Quran allows believers to own slaves under any circumstance. On the contrarty, it commands us to set them free in several verses
Righteousness is not turning your faces towards the east or the west. Righteous are those who believe in GOD, the Last Day, the angels, the scripture, and the prophets; and they give the money, cheerfully, to the relatives, the orphans, the needy, the traveling alien, the beggars, and to free the slaves; and they observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat); and they keep their word whenever they make a promise; and they steadfastly persevere in the face of persecution, hardship, and war.
The freeing of slaves is so important that it?s mentioned along with the fundamentals of Islam (believing in God, believing all the scriptures to be from God, etc.), so believing that God permits slavery is tantamount to believing that God also permits disbelieving in the fundamentals of Islam. 2177 gives a direct command to free slaves, so clearly owning slaves is a violation of 2177 and therefore a sin.
Those who estrange their wives in this manner, then reconcile thereafter, shall atone by freeing a slave before resuming their sexual relations. This is to enlighten you. GOD is Cognizant of everything you do. If you cannot find a slave to free, you shall fast two consecutive months before resuming sexual relations. If you cannot fast, then you shall feed sixty poor people. You shall believe in GOD and His messenger. These are GOD's laws. The disbelievers have incurred a painful retribution.
Freeing slaves isn?t only a command; setting slaves free also atones for one?s sins. We see from verses such as 583-4 that God?s provided many reasons and opportunities to emancipate slaves; there isn?t just the command to free slaves.
Note that 584 states that "Fast for two consecutive months if you can?t find a slave to free". It?s unlikely one would not know where to find one?s own slave, so 584 mentions freeing a slave that is owned by someone else (since owning a slave isn?t allowed in Islam).
Charities shall go to the poor, the needy, the workers who collect them, the new converts, to free the slaves, to those burdened by sudden expenses, in the cause of GOD, and to the traveling alien. Such is GOD's commandment. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.
True Muslim societies aren?t simply made up of believers; they?re also meant to be humanitarian organizations that collect money and use it to fight slavery. We should think of Mohamed and his followers as eager humanitarians who sought to improve the lives of all people and grant all people their rights, especially their right to freedom! Muslims blaspheme against God when they claim that slavery is lawful in Islam, and they do Mohamed a great disservice when they claim he condoned and encouraged slavery. Mohamed and his followers did the exact opposite of owning slaves.
Slavery was the major reason why God destroyed Pharaoh
Then we sent our messengers in succession. Every time a messenger went to his community, they disbelieved him. Consequently, we annihilated them, one after the other, and made them history. The people who disbelieved have perished. Then we sent Moses and his brother Aaron with our revelations and a profound proof. To Pharaoh and his elders, but they turned arrogant. They were oppressive people. They said, "Shall we believe for two men whose people are our slaves?" They rejected the two, and consequently, they were annihilated. We gave Moses the scripture, that they may be guided.
Given that God has so much abhorrence for slavery, there?s no logic in assuming that slavery is permitted in Islam.
More reasons to free slaves
No believer shall kill another believer, unless it is an accident. If one kills a believer by accident, he shall atone by freeing a believing slave, and paying a compensation to the victim's family, unless they forfeit such a compensation as a charity. If the victim belonged to people who are at war with you, though he was a believer, you shall atone by freeing a believing slave. If he belonged to people with whom you have signed a peace treaty, you shall pay the compensation in addition to freeing a believing slave. If you cannot find* a slave to free, you shall atone by fasting two consecutive months, in order to be redeemed by GOD. GOD is Knower, Most Wise.
GOD does not hold you responsible for the mere utterance of oaths; He holds you responsible for your actual intentions. If you violate an oath, you shall atone by feeding ten poor people from the same food you offer to your own family, or clothing them, or by freeing a slave. If you cannot afford this, then you shall fast three days. This is the atonement for violating the oaths that you swore to keep. You shall fulfill your oaths. GOD thus explains His revelations to you, that you may be appreciative.
Major commandments
I swear by this land. And you remain committed to this land. And a father and what he begets. We have created man to struggle. Does he think that no one is able to best him? He says ?I spent so much money!? Does he think that no one saw him? Did We not make for him two eyes? And a tongue and two lips? And We guided him to both paths? He should choose the better path. Do you know which is the better path? The freeing of slaves. Or the feeding on a day of great hardship. An orphan of relation. Or a poor person in need. Then he has become one of those who have believed, and exhort one another to patience, and exhort one another to kindness. Those are the people of happiness. As for those who rejected Our revelations, they are the people of misery. Upon them is a Fire closed over.
One isn?t a believer unless one chooses the ?Better path?. Walking the better path is, among many things, defined as freeing slaves. Those who don?t walk the better path are ?The people of misery?. They?re the people of misery because they?ll burn in Hell.
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Peace supernaut
Its a good a article/text, and i completely agree with it. I think many people are not aware of the new type of slavery that exists in the world. The slavery actuallt never ended, it just changed its face to a new form. The form of slavery that is called modern slavery. All of us have heard stories of how slavery was ended in 1865, but this is common bullshit, a total lie.
Let me quotes something from an article below
Modern-day slaves can be found laboring as servants or concubines in Sudan, as child "carpet slaves" in India, or as cane-cutters in Haiti and southern Pakistan, to name but a few instances. According to Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest human rights organization, there are currently over 20 million people in bondage.
http//www.infoplease.com/spot/slavery1.html
Check out this political hiphop song. It has great messages and exposes the use of slavery in factories
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAH_ixBhhEY#
Some people also claim that popular brands like for example nike, has used child labor, aka slavery
http//www.american.edu/TED/nike.htm
Supernaut, i know that the Quran tells human beings to free the slaves, but do you think us that don't have any slaves have a responsibility to free slaves also? How can we contribute, and what does the quran says about this matter?
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This is a good post.
Somebody in some thread has said recently that what is not forbiden in the Quran then it is allowed. I can't remember that in the Quran it is said slavery is forbiden. However when it tells you to get rid of the slaves you and other people have and that the right path is to free the slaves -as opposite to the wrong path- it doesn't look either as if it was some extra good that you do, but that it is not incumbent upon you, but rather that if you don't free slaves you are not following the right path. It cannot be at the same time that you are ordered to get freedom for slaves and that at the same time you understand that you can keep getting more slaves. No person of good faith understand thats, although it is quite imaginable that some people who doesn't mind winning arguments by twisting words and purposes might think that they are right and that they have a point over you. That of course would win an argument, but would not take away anything at all from the Quran as a vehicle of Divine Mercy. And whoever doesn't get it it is their loss.
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Peace supernaut
Its a good a article/text, and i completely agree with it.
Peace David,
Thanks.
Supernaut, i know that the Quran tells human beings to free the slaves, but do you think us that don't have any slaves have a responsibility to free slaves also? How can we contribute, and what does the quran says about this matter?
It is a must that we Muslims form organizations to buy people out of slavery. Muslims must unite to improve the world. God commands us to buy people out of slavery in the following verses
Charities shall go to the poor, the needy, the workers who collect them, the new converts, to free the slaves, to those burdened by sudden expenses, in the cause of GOD, and to the traveling alien. Such is GOD's commandment. GOD is Omniscient, Most Wise.
Those who estrange their wives in this manner, then reconcile thereafter, shall atone by freeing a slave before resuming their sexual relations. This is to enlighten you. GOD is Cognizant of everything you do. If you cannot find a slave to free, you shall fast two consecutive months before resuming sexual relations. If you cannot fast, then you shall feed sixty poor people. You shall believe in GOD and His messenger. These are GOD's laws. The disbelievers have incurred a painful retribution.
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This is a good post.
Thanks man )
Somebody in some thread has said recently that what is not forbiden in the Quran then it is allowed.
The story of the Israelites in the Quran makes it crystal clear that those who own other human beings are doomed. God doesn't tell us stories from the past for our amusement; those stories have important moral lessons
We narrate to you enough history of the messengers to strengthen your heart. The truth has come to you herein, as well as enlightenments and reminders for the believers.
In their history, there is a lesson for those who possess intelligence. This is not fabricated Hadith; this (Quran) confirms all previous scriptures, provides the details of everything, and is a beacon and mercy for those who believe.
Those who can't infer from the story of the Israelites that slavery is forbidden in Islam are people who lack intelligence.
God tells us that stories from the past are narrated to the believers so that they may learn some of the rules of Islam
We recite to you herein some history of Moses and Pharaoh, truthfully, for the benefit of people who believe.
The unintelligent unbelievers will not learn from the stories of the Quran. They'll insist that slavery is permitted since God hasn't said "Oh, don't own slaves".