I.—The Teaching of the Qurʾān on the subject of slavery is as follows:

(1) Muslims are allowed to cohabit with any of their female slaves. Sūrah iv. 3: “Then marry what seems good to you of women, by twos, or threes, or fours; and if ye fear that ye cannot be equitable, then only one, or what your right hands possess.” Sūrah iv. 29: “Take of what your right hands possess of young women.” Sūrah xxxiii. 49: “O prophet! verily We make lawful for thee wives to whom thou hast given their hire (dowry), and what thy right hand possesses out of the booty God hath granted thee.”

(2) They are allowed to take possession of married women if they are slaves. Sūrah iv. 28: “Unlawful for you are … married women, save such as your right hands possess.” (On this verse al-Jalālān the commentators say: “that is, it is lawful for them to cohabit with those women whom you have made captive, even though their husbands be alive in the Dāru ʾl-Ḥarb.”)

(3) Muslims are excused from strict rules of decorum in the presence of their female slaves, even as in the presence of their wives. Sūrah xxiii. 5: “Those who are strict in the rules of decorum, except for their wives, or what their right hands possess.” See also Sūrah lxx. 29.

(4) The helpless position of the slave as regards his master illustrates the helpless position of the false gods of Arabia in the presence of their Creator. Sūrah xvi. 77: “God has struck out a parable, an owned slave, able to do nothing, and one provided with a good provision, and one who expends therefrom in alms secretly and openly, shall they be held equal? Praise be to God, most of them do not know!” See also Sūrah xxx. 27.

(5) Muslims shall exercise kindness towards their slaves. Sūrah iv. 40: “Serve God and do not associate aught with Him, and show kindness to your parents and to kindred … and to that which your right hands possess.”

(6) When slaves can redeem themselves it is the duty of Muslims to grant the emancipation. Sūrah xxiv. 33: “And such of those whom your right hands possess as crave a writing (i.e. a document of freedom), write it out for them if ye know any good in them, and give them of the wealth of God which He has given you. And do not compel your slave-girls to prostitution if they desire to keep continent.”

From the teaching of the Qurʾān above quoted it will be seen that all male and female slaves taken as plunder in war are the lawful property of their master; that the master has power to take to himself any female slave, either married or single; that the position of a slave is as helpless as that of the stone idols of Arabia; but they should be treated with kindness, and be granted their freedom when they are able to ask for and pay for it.

II.—From the Teaching of the Traditions, it appears that it was the custom of Muḥammad either to put to death or take captive those of the enemy who fell into his hands. If a captive embraced Islām on the field of battle he was a free man; but if he were made captive, and afterwards embraced Islām, the change of creed did not emancipate him. ʿAt̤īyatu ʾl-Quraz̤ī relates that, after his battle with the Banū Quraiz̤ah, the Prophet ordered all those who were able to fight to be killed, and the women and children to be enslaved.

Very special blessings are attached to the emancipation of a slave. Abū Hurairah relates that Muḥammad said, “Whosoever frees a slave who is a Muslim, God will redeem every member of his body, limb for limb, from hell fire.” Abū Ẕarr asked which slave was the best to emancipate, and the Prophet replied, “That which is of the highest price and most liked by his master.” An Arab once asked the Prophet what act would take him to Paradise, and the Prophet said, “Free a slave, or assist one in redeeming a bond of slavery.” The following are some of the sayings of Muḥammad regarding the treatment of slaves:

“It is well for a slave who regularly worships God and discharges his master’s work properly.”

“Whoever buys a slave and does not agree about his property, then no part of it is for the purchaser of the slave.”

“When a slave of yours has money to redeem his bond, then you must not allow him to come into your presence afterwards.”

“Behaving well to slaves is a means of prosperity, and behaving ill to them is a cause of loss.”

“When any one of you is about to beat his slave, and the slave asks pardon in the name of God, then withhold yourself from beating him.”

“It is incumbent upon the master of slaves to find them in victuals and clothes, and not order them to do what they are not able to do.”

“When a slave-girl has a child by her master she is free at his death.”

“Whoever frees a slave, and the slave has property, it is for the master, unless the master shall have agreed that it was the slave’s at the time of freeing him.” (See Mishkātu ʾl-Maṣābīḥ, Ṣaḥīḥu ʾl-Buk͟hārī, Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim.)

III.—With regard to the Enslaving of Captives, the author of the Hidāyah says:

“The Imām, with respect to captives, has it in his choice to slay them, because the Prophet put captives to death, and also because slaying them terminates wickedness; or, if he choose, he may make them slaves, because by enslaving them the wickedness of them is remedied, and at the same time the Muslims reap an advantage; or, if he please, he may release them so as to make them freemen and Ẕimmīs, according to what is recorded of ʿUmar; but it is not lawful so to release the idolaters of Arabia, or apostates. It is not lawful for the Imām to return the captives to their own country, as this would be strengthening the infidels against the Muslims. If captives become Muslims, let not the Imām put them to death, because the wickedness of them is hereby remedied without slaying them; but yet he may lawfully make them slaves, after their conversion, because the reason for making them slaves (namely, their being secured within the Muslim territory) had existence previous to their embracing the faith. It is otherwise where infidels become Muslims before their capture, because then the reason for making them slaves did not exist previous to their conversion. It is not lawful to release infidel captives in exchange for the release of Muslim captives from the infidels. According to the two disciples, this is lawful (and such also is the opinion of ash-Shāfiʿī), because this produces the emancipation of Muslims, which is preferable to slaying the infidels or making them slaves. The argument of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is that such an exchange is an assistance to the infidels, because those captives will again return to fight the Muslims, which is a wickedness, and the prevention of this wickedness is preferable to effecting the release of the Muslims, since, as they remain in the hands of the infidels, the injury only affects them, and does not extend to the other Muslims, whereas the injury attending the release of infidel captives extends to the whole body of Muslims. An exchange for property (that is, releasing infidel prisoners in return for property) is also unlawful, as this is assisting the infidels, as was before observed, and the same is mentioned in the Maẕhabu ʾl-Mashhūr. In the Sairu ʾl-Kabīr it is asserted that an exchange of prisoners for property may be made where the Muslims are necessitous, because the Prophet released the captives taken at Badr for a ransom. If a captive become a Muslim in the hands of the Muslims, it is not lawful to release and send him back to the infidels in return for their releasing a Muslim who is a captive in their hands, because no advantage can result from the transaction. If, however, the converted captive consent to it, and there be no apprehension of his apostatizing, in this case the releasing of him in exchange for a Muslim captive is a matter of discretion. It is not lawful to confer a favour upon captives by releasing them gratuitously, that is, without receiving anything in return, or their becoming Ẕimmīs, or being made slaves. Ash-Shāfiʿī says that showing favour to captives in this way is lawful, because the Prophet showed favour in this way to some of the captives taken at the battle of Badr. The arguments of the Ḥanafī doctors upon this point are two-fold: First, it is said in the Qurʾān, ‘Slay idolaters wherever ye find them’; secondly, the right of enslaving them is established by their being conquered and captured, and hence it is not lawful to annul that right without receiving some advantage in return, in the same manner as holds with respect to all plunder; and with respect to what ash-Shāfiʿī relates that the Prophet showed favour in this way to some of the captives taken at the battle of Badr, it is abrogated by the text of the Qurʾān already quoted. (Hamilton’s Hidāyah, vol. ii. p. 160.)

IV.—Slave Traffic is not only allowed but legislated for by Muḥammadan law, and is clearly sanctioned by the example of the Prophet as given in the Traditions (see Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābu ʾl-Buyūʿ, vol. i. p. 2). In the Law of Sale (see Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār. Hidāyah, Hamilton’s ed., vol. ii. p. 458), slaves, male and female, are treated merely as articles of merchandize. In chapters on sale, and option, and wills, the illustrations are generally given as regards slaves, and the same, or very similar, rules apply both to the sale of animals and bondsmen.

The following traditions (Mishkāt, book xiii. chap. xx.) with reference to the action of the Prophet in this matter are notable:—

“ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥusain said a man freed six slaves at his death, and he had no other property besides; and the Prophet called them, and divided them into three sections, and then cast lots; he then ordered that two of them should be freed, and he retained four in slavery, and spoke severely of the man who had set them free.”

“Jābir said we used to sell the mothers of children in the time of the Prophet, and of Abū Bakr; but ʿUmar forbade it in his time.”

V.—The Manumission or Slaves is permitted by Muḥammadan law under the following forms: (1) ʿAtāq (ʿAtq, Iʿtāq); (2) Kitābah; (3) Tadbīr; and (4) Istīlād.

(1) ʿAtāq, in its literal sense, means power, and in law expresses the act of the owner of a slave (either male or female) giving immediate and unconditional freedom to his slave. This act is lawful when it proceeds from a person who is free, sane, adult, and the actual owner of the slave in question. If such a person say to his slave, “Thou art free,” or “Thou art muʿtaq” or “Thou art consecrated to God,” or make use of any similar expression to his slave, the slave becomes ipso facto free, whether the owner really mean emancipation or not.

(2) Kitābah, literally “a writing,” signifies a bond of freedom granted to a slave (male or female), in return for money paid. It is founded on the teaching of the Qurʾān, Sūrah xxiv. 33: “And such of those as your right hands possess as crave a writing, write it out for them if ye know any good in them,” which precept is held to be recommendatory, although not injunctive. The slave thus ransomed is called mukātab, until the ransom is fully paid. During the interval between the promise of freedom and the payment of the money the mukātab enjoys a certain degree of freedom, but is nevertheless placed under certain restrictions. For example, although he is free to move from place to place, he cannot marry, or bestow alms, or become bail, or grant a loan, or make a pilgrimage, &c., without the permission of his master.

(3) Tadbīr signifies literally, “arrangement, disposition, plan,” but in the language of the law it means a declaration of freedom made to a slave (male or female), to take effect after the master’s death. If the owner of a slave say, “Thou art free at my death,” or “Thou art a mudabbir,” or words to that effect, the slave can claim his freedom upon the decease of his master, and any children born to him in the interval are placed in the position.

(4) Istīlād, Lit. “the offspring’s claim,” signifies a man having a child born to him of a female slave, which he claims and acknowledges as his own, which acknowledgment becomes ipso facto the cause of the freedom of the female slave. The woman is then called ummu ʾl-walad, “the mother of offspring,” and stands in relation to her master as his wife, the child being also free.

(5) In addition to the above forms of emancipation, it is also established that the manumission of slaves is the legal penalty or expiation (kaffārah) for certain sins, e.g. for breaking the fast of Ramaẓān the expiation is either the release of a slave or feeding seven poor persons; this expiation is also made for a rash oath [OATH], as also for the rash form of divorce known as z̤ihār [ZIHAR]. (See Raddu ʾl-Muḥtār, vol. ii. p. 175; iii. p. 92; ii. p. 952.)

VI.—Modern Muslim Slavery. The slaves of the Arabs are mostly from Abyssinia and negro countries; a few, chiefly in the homes of wealthy individuals, are from Georgia and Circassia.

Mr. Lane says, in Egypt “Abyssinian and white female slaves are kept by many men of the middle and higher classes, and often instead of wives, as requiring less expense, and being more subservient, but they are generally indulged with the same luxuries as free ladies; their vanity is gratified by costly dresses and ornaments, and they rank high above free servants, as do also the male slaves. Those called Abyssinians appear to be a mixed race between negroes and whites, and from the territories of the Gallas. They are mostly kidnapped and sold by their own countrymen. The negro female slaves, as few of them have considerable personal attractions (which is not the case with the Abyssinians, many of whom are very beautiful), are usually employed only in cooking and other menial offices.

“The female slaves of the higher classes are often instructed in plain needlework and embroidery, and sometimes in music and dancing. Formerly many of them possessed sufficient literary accomplishments to quote largely from esteemed poems, or even to compose extemporary verses, which they would often accompany with the lute. The condition of many concubine slaves is happy, and that of many quite the contrary. These, and all other slaves of either sex, are generally treated with kindness, but at first they are usually importuned, and not unfrequently used with much harshness, to induce them to embrace the Muḥammadan faith, which almost all of them do. Their services are commonly light; the usual office of the male white slave, who is called (memlook) mamlūk, is that of a page, or a military guard.

“Eunuchs are employed as guardians of the women, but only in the houses of men of high rank or of great wealth; on account of the important office which they fill, they are generally treated in public with special consideration. I used to remark, in Cairo, that few persons saluted me with a more dignified and consequential air than these pitiable but self-conceited beings. Most of them are Abyssinians or negroes. Indeed, the slaves in general take too much advantage of the countenance of their masters, especially when they belong to men in power.” (Arabian Nights, vol. i. p 55.)

In Central Asia the great slave-trade is carried on with Kāfiristān. The Kāfirs, inasmuch as they enslave each other in war, sell their own countrymen and countrywomen into slavery, and, when the slave market is dull, the Muḥammadans residing on their borders make inroads upon the Kāfirs and carry them (especially the women who are very fair and pretty) into slavery. Some Kāfir slaves have risen to eminence in Cabul, the late Sher Ali K͟hān’s commander-in-chief, Feramoz K͟hān, being a Kāfir slave.

In Hindūstān British rule has abolished slavery, but it nevertheless exists in noble families, where the slaves seem willingly to assent to their condition of bondage.

VII.—The Treatment of Slaves.—It has been already shown that, both according to the teaching of the Qurʾān and also according to the injunctions of Muḥammad, as given in the Traditions, kindness to slaves is strictly enjoined; and it must be admitted that the treatment of slaves in Muḥammadan countries contrasts favourably with that in America, when slavery existed as an institution under a Christian people.

Mr. Lane (Arabian Nights, vol. i. p. 55), writing from his personal observations of slavery in Egypt, remarks:—

“The master is bound to afford his slaves proper food and clothing, or to let them work for their own support, or to sell, give away, or liberate them. It is, however, considered disgraceful for him to sell a slave who has been long in his possession; and it seldom happens that a master emancipates a female slave without marrying her to some man able to support her, or otherwise providing for her.

“The Prophet strongly enjoined the duty of kindness to slaves. ‘Feed your slaves,’ said he, ‘with food of that which ye eat, and clothe them with such clothing as ye wear; and command them not to do that which they are unable.’ These precepts are generally attended to, either entirely or in a degree.”

“Some other sayings of the Prophet on this subject well deserve to be mentioned; as the following:—

“ ‘He who beats his slave without fault, or slaps him on the face, his atonement for this is freeing him.’

“ ‘A man who behaves ill to his slave will not enter into Paradise.’

“ ‘Whoever is the cause of separation between mother and child by selling or giving, God will separate him from his friends on the day of resurrection.’

“ ‘When a slave wishes well to his master, and worships God well, for him are double rewards.’

“It is related of Othman (ʿUs̤mān), that he twisted the ear of a memlook belonging to him, on account of disobedience, and afterwards, repenting of it, ordered him to twist his ear in like manner; but he would not. Othman urged him, and the slave advanced and began to wring it by little and little. He said to him, ‘Wring it hard, for I cannot endure the punishment of the Day of Judgment [on account of this act].’ The memlook answered, ‘O my master, the day that thou fearest I also fear.’

“It is related also of Zainu ʾl-Abidīn, that he had a memlook who seized a sheep and broke its leg; and he said to him, ‘Why didst thou this?’ He answered, ‘To provoke thee to anger.’ ‘And I,’ said he, ‘will provoke to anger him who taught thee; and he is Iblīs (i.e. the Devil): go, and be free, for the sake of God.’

“Many similar anecdotes might be added; but the general assertions of travellers in the East are far more satisfactory evidence in favour of the humane conduct of most Muslims to their slaves.”

But although this testimony of Mr. Lane’s will be borne out with regard to the treatment of slaves in Islām in all parts of the Muḥammadan world, the power which a Muslim possesses over the persons of his bondsman or bondsmaid is unlimited. For example, according to the Hidāyah (vol. iv. p. 282), “A master is not slain for the murder of his slave,” nor “if one of two partners in a slave kill the slave is retaliation incurred.” In this the law of Muḥammad departs from that of Moses. See Exodus xxi. 20: “And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall be surely punished. (Heb. avenged.) Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.”

Slaves have no civil liberty, but are entirely under the authority of their owners, whatever may be the religion, sex, or age, of the latter; and can possess no property, unless by the owner’s permission. The owner is entire master, while he pleases, of the person and goods of his slave; and of the offspring of his female slave, which, if begotten by him or presumed to be so, he may recognise as his own legitimate child, or not: the child, if recognised by him, enjoys the same privileges as the offspring of a free wife, and if not recognised by him is his slave.

He may give away or sell his slaves, excepting in some cases which have been mentioned, and may marry them to whom he will, but not separate them when married. A slave, however, according to most of the doctors, cannot have more than two wives at the same time. Unemancipated slaves, at the death of their master, become the property of his heirs; and when an emancipated slave dies, leaving no male descendants or collateral relations, the former master is the heir; or, if he be dead, his heirs inherit the slave’s property. As a slave enjoys less advantages than a free person, the law, in some cases, ordains that his punishment for an offence shall be half of that to which the free is liable for the same offence, or even less than half: if it be a fine, or pecuniary compensation, it must be paid by the owner, to the amount, if necessary, of the value of the slave, or the slave must be given in compensation.

The owner, but not the part owner, may cohabit with any of his female slaves who is a Muḥammadan, a Christian, or a Jewess, if he has not married her to another man; but not with two or more who are sisters, or who are related to each other in any of the degrees which would prevent their both being his wives at the same time if they were free: after having so lived with one, he must entirely relinquish such intercourse with her before he can do the same with another who is so related to her. He cannot have intercourse with a pagan slave. A Christian or Jew may have slaves, but not enjoy the privilege above mentioned with one who is a Muḥammadan. The master must wait a certain period (generally from a month to three months) after the acquisition of a female slave before he can have such intercourse with her. If he find any fault in her within three days, he is usually allowed to return her.

When a man, from being the husband, becomes the master of a slave, the marriage is dissolved, and he cannot continue to live with her but as her master, enjoying, however, all a master’s privileges; unless he emancipates her, in which case he may again take her as his wife, with her consent. In like manner, when a woman, from being the wife, becomes the possessor of a slave, the marriage is dissolved, and cannot be renewed unless she emancipates him, and he consents to the reunion.

There is absolutely no limit to the number of slave-girls with whom a Muḥammadan may cohabit, and it is the consecration of this illimitable indulgence which so popularizes the Muḥammadan religion amongst uncivilized nations, and so popularizes slavery in the Muslim religion.

In the Ak͟hlāq-i-Jalālī, which is the popular work upon practical philosophy amongst the Muḥammadans, it is said that “for service a slave is preferable to a freeman, inasmuch as he must be more disposed to submit, obey and adopt his patron’s habits and pursuits.”

Some Muslim writers of the present day (Syed Ameer Ali’s Life of Mohammed, p. 257) contend that Muḥammad looked upon the custom as temporary in its nature, and held that its extinction was sure to be achieved by the progress of ideas and change of circumstances; but the slavery of Islām is interwoven with the Law of marriage, the Law of sale, and the Law of inheritance, of the system, and its abolition would strike at the very foundations of the code of Muḥammadanism.

Slavery is in complete harmony with the spirit of Islām, while it is abhorrent to that of Christianity. That Muḥammad ameliorated the condition of the slave, as it existed under the heathen laws of Arabia, we cannot doubt; but it is equally certain that the Arabian legislator intended it to be a perpetual institution.

Although slavery has existed side by side with Christianity, it is undoubtedly contrary to the spirit of the teaching of our divine Lord, who has given to the world the grand doctrine of universal brotherhood.

Mr. Lecky believes (European Morals, vol. ii. p. 70) that it was the spirit of Christianity which brought about the abolition of slavery in Europe. He says, “The services of Christianity were of three kinds. It supplied a new order of relations, in which the distinction of classes was unknown. It imparted a moral dignity to the servile classes. It gave an unexampled impetus to the movement of enfranchisement.”