Several schools evolved among Muslims.
The majority of Muslims belong to
the school called Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaat.
Shiites Muslims constitute the
largest minority.
The former follow the teachings of
Prophet Muhammad as interpreted by the four Imams: Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Ahmed
bin Hambal, Imam Malik and Imam Shafi. The latter follow the interpretation of
the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, interpreted by Imam Ali and Imams from his
family.
The differences among Muslims
occurred after the death of prophet Muhammad, in regard to his succession, and
were of a political nature. The Sunni Muslims believe that the succession to
Muhammad was left up to the people to decide, whereas the Shiites Muslims
believe that Prophet Muhammad had designated his cousin and son-in-law Ali as
his successor. Since then kings, rulers, religious leaders have exploited these
differences in order to achieve their selfish and material objectives.
It must be emphasized that he
fundamentals of the faith are common to all Muslims. All Muslims believe in One
God. All Muslims follow one book, the Qur’an. All Muslims believe in Prophet
Muhammad and strive to emulate him. All Muslims agree upon the basic tenets of
Islam.
Slavery is a very old practice
that was gradually abolished in Islam (Submission). Many people out of
ignorance or out of biased attack Islam (Submission) for its stand on slavery,
distorting and misrepresenting the true stand of Islam (Submission). In this
article we will see the great humane position of Islam on slavery.
The central issue of slavery and
equality is the concept of human dignity. In Islam, God has conferred honor and
dignity on all human beings irrespective of their race, gender, age, social
status and beliefs.
In (17:70) God says, “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.”
Together with human dignity and
honor comes freedom to live, the right to be
respected on an equal basis before
the law and to enjoy equal social
treatment. Islam (Submission)
stresses the equality of mankind as God created man
from a common source and the only
allegiance and obedience is to God, the Almighty creator. Islam has never
condoned any form of discrimination. The only thing that sets men apart is
their righteousness.
[49:13] "O people, we created
you from the same male and female, and rendered you distinct peoples and
tribes, that you may recognize one another. The best among you in the sight of
GOD is the most righteous. GOD is Omniscient, Cognizant."
Slavery has been gradually
abolished by Islam, it did not come by decree or injunction but rather in the
form of total management principles which were applied during the early periods
of Islam and still applicable today if necessary.
Slavery has long been practiced
before the coming of Islam (Submission). In the
pre-Islamic Egyptian, Jewish,
Greek and Roman societies , slavery was in full use in different aspects.
Aristotle subscribed to the idea that men were born not to be equal as some
will become master due to their superior brain power and intellectual capacity
while others will become slaves.
The approach taken by Islam
(Submission) is full of wisdom and at the same time provides a package of
pro-active measures to eliminate this practice. It is a gradual but effective
approach which combines several affirmative measures. The main strategy is:
To narrow down the sources of
slavery with a view to eliminating it all-together; and
OPENING a wide avenue for slaves
to gain independence.
People became slaves because of
criminal actions, unpaid debts, gambling, kidnapping, piracy, irresponsible
parents who sold their children into slavery, being descendants of slaves,
prisoners of war and voluntary submission to be a slave in order to get out
from the miseries of life such as acute poverty. These were effectively reduced
by Islam.
The provision of slavery through
wars was no longer important after the Islamic civilization redefined the mode
of interaction between nations -- from power struggle to peaceful and
productive coexistence. Indirectly but effectively Islam has closed this source
of slavery.
Islam (Submission) opened all the
doors to free the slaves by setting up rules which greatly facilitated the
emancipation of slaves:
The initiative of Islam in
promoting independence for slaves was carried out in the following ways:
(1) Encouraging the masters and
the Muslim societies at large to help in freeing the slaves. The act of freeing
the slave is considered a noble one which is highly valued by God. The slaves
themselves entered into an agreement with the master to buy their independence
by paying certain amounts of money. The society was encouraged to help in
providing the freedom money.
[24:33] “Those who cannot afford
to get married shall maintain morality until GOD provides for them from His
grace. Those among your servants who wish to be freed in order to marry, you
shall grant them their wish, once you realize that they are honest. And give
them from GOD's money that He has bestowed upon you. ………”
(2) Making the act of freeing the
slave a part of punishment for any criminal act as well as for non-conformity
of the Islamic rituals. There are several verses in the Holy Quran which
specifically mentioned the requirement of freeing the slave as a way of meeting
the punishment for wrongdoing. See 4:92, 5:89 and 58:3
(3) Using Charity money as a
financial source to free the slave.
[9:60] 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.
[2:177] “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 ******ure, 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. These are the truthful; these are the
righteous.”
[90:10-13] Did we not show him the
two paths? He should choose the difficult path. Which one is the difficult
path? The freeing of slaves.
Finally we can say that Islam
found the slavery system already existing and put forward a plan to abolish it.
No slaves or Free the slaves:
Some people question why God in
the Quran did not prohibit slavery and instead commanded and rewarded the
freeing of the slaves.
God, The Almighty, knows that
slavery is a social disease that will persist as long as humans are present on
earth. If the order in the Quran is to prohibit slavery, it would be a noble
command but since ONLY the believers in the Quran would be the ones following
the Quran, the command would not help slavery outside Islam (Submission.) Every
Muslim would then free his slaves and remind the other Muslims not to have
slaves any more and their duty stop at that. The command in the Quran to FREE
THE SLAVES, does not stop at the Muslims or Islam but extend to all the slaves
wherever they are. A muslim (Submitter) would therefore free any slaves he
might have had and after that turns to any other slaves in any location and of
any religion to free, as commanded by God in the Quran. In other words, the
command to free the slaves is far more reaching and far more effective than the
mere order to stop having slaves.
Van Denburg, a non-Muslim
historian says, "Many regulations have been made by Islam, showing how
noble was the feeling of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers towards slaves.
In those regulations, we find that the merits of Islam are contrary to all the systems
used until recently by nations, who claim to be most civilized and
developed."
Islam never became a force nor a
party that promoted and condoned slavery. A balanced analysis of this issue
would recognize the wisdom of Islam in managing the heinous practice of slavery
and effectively putting an end to it.
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