Could Qur’an Change the History of Slavery?
Although, throughout history, it has been violated many times by the groups claimed to be Muslims in various ways, the rejection of slavery appears in Qur’an as one of the most important founding principles. This rejection can be seen even embedded in the most basic message of the Qur’an which is clearly presented in 11:26 as;
“Do not serve except God!..”
This message repeats many times and in several forms throughout Qur’an. Even though this and the similar verses have been interpreted in many different ways, their direct relevance to the problem of slavery which is ingrained in society has never been emphasized properly.
The Qur’an revealed to a society where slavery was considered normal and most of the economy was run through the slaves. On the contrary, Qur’an never normalized this phenomenon, and it tackled the problem from all aspects.
The first aspect of the problem was people’s mindset. In that regard Qur’an defines 3 groups of people and strongly opposes them; The first one is those who proclaim their lordship (1), the second one is those who take someone else as their master and become server (2) and the third one is those who do not take any action while they are being oppressed (3).
Group 1: According to the following verse of the Qur’an, it is not acceptable to declare lordship even for a prophet, for someone who has authority and knowledge. Consequently, no one has the right to expect others to serve him.
“It is not okay for a human that God would give him the book, the authority, and the prophethood, then he would say to the people: “Be servants to me rather than to God!”, Rather: “Be devotees to what you have been taught of the book, and to what you studied.””3:79
Group 2: The example of the second group can be seen in the following verse indicating the wrongness of devoting oneself to the service of another.
Say, “O people of the book, let us come to a common statement between us and you; that we do not serve except God, and do not set up anything at all with Him, and that none of us takes each other as lords beside God…”3:64
Group 3: In this third group, Qur’an even presents showing acceptance under the oppression instead of trying various ways to get rid of it as a reason to go to hell.
“Those whose lives are terminated by the angels, while they had wronged themselves; were asked: “What situation were you in?” They said: “We were oppressed on the earth.” They said: “Was the earth of God not wide enough that you could emigrate in it?” To these, their abode will be Hell; what a miserable destiny!” 4:97
For the ones who reason, these warnings would be enough to understand the Qur’an’s position against slavery. However, much more of that was necessary to change an ignorant society. Thus, as the second aspect of the problem, Qur’an introduced clear sanctions that would abolish the slavery system in society by cutting off the main slave supplies.
In every age, wars and invasions have been the primary and most likely the only way of obtaining slaves. In fact, some wars/invasions had one purpose which is obtaining slaves/concubines and in the end, increasing the wealth by selling them. On the other hand, Qur’an allowed fighting only in case of defense against the oppressors with the following verse;
“Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress, God does not like the aggressors.” 2:190
So, according to Qur’an, Muslims cannot attack/invade other societies to obtain slaves! But, what if they are being attacked? Imagine you are fighting in a defense war and there are captives in your hands. What will happen with the situation of these captives? Quran gives the answer;
“…If you take them as captives you may then either set them free or ransom them after the war ends.…” 47:4
Obviously, Muslims are neither allowed to kill the captives nor to keep them as slaves. The captives must return to their home safely after the war. It was by no means a joke. With this verse, Qur’an cut the vein of slave supply from the root! But the battle was not over. Now it was time to bring a solution to existing slaves in the society as the final aspect. This was not easy since the slaves in society did not have any rights or resources. Some were captive for generations and discrimination was embedded into the culture. However, Qur’an took a revolutionary step by forcing the slave owners to make agreements with their slaves for their economical rights and even for their freedom;
“…Those among your servants who seek the signature, then sign with them if you find a favor on them, and give them from the wealth of God which He has bestowed upon you…” 24:33
Then, it encouraged people in the society to marry the slaves. It is important to note here, in America it was prohibited to marry a slave until 1866 to prevent them to enter into civil contracts. However, Qur’an had already cleared the way for the slaves to gain their freedom and social status with the following order;
“Get them married off those among you that are widow, and the righteous among your male and female servants. If they are poor, then God will grant them from His grace…”24:32
Moreover, to be able to reduce the number of slaves quickly in the society Qur’an encouraged people supporting slaves economically and socially support until they gain their freedom back. Then, it suggested freeing slaves as a price for different crimes, even the small ones. Examples of this can be seen in the following verses;
“God will not hold you responsible for your unintentional oaths, but He will hold you responsible for what oaths you have made binding with consideration. Its cancellation shall be the feeding of ten poor people from the average of what you feed your family, or that you clothe them, or that you free a slave!” 5:89
“The charities are to go to the poor, the needy, those who work on their collection, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, free the slaves, those in debt, in the cause of God, and to the wayfarer. A duty from God!” 9:60
Despite all of these, some groups claimed to be Muslim maintained slavery and slave trade as usual. However, the message was always among us, being recited without understanding or hanged on the walls in a golden cover. Could Qur’an Change the History of Slavery if it was followed?? Of course! But right now this is a missed opportunity. A better question is “Is there still something that Muslims can do about slavery?”
Definitely! As Muslims initially we can struggle with the groups that claim to be Muslims but still think that slavery is approved by Islam. We can reject being a part of modern slavery and focus on eliminating it among us. Beyond that, we can oppose the enslavement of other living beings since they cannot fight back for their rights. God was not a speciesist! (read about it here) According to Qur’an, animals are communities like us and we suppose to treat them responsibly. However, we are enslaving, abusing, and killing them while it is not essential for our survival in today’s conditions. As Muslims, isn’t it our responsibility to free them from their bondage?
“One should choose the path hard to ascent. Do you know which is the path hard to ascent? Freeing a neck, or feeding during the time of hardship…” 90:11–13
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