A look at Islam's theological/divine sanction of slavery, and its historical practice in the Muslim world and its continuation today...
We all know about those nasty Europeans – Portuguese/ Spanish/ ‘Americans’ and their purchase of slaves between the (15th-19th century), but how many know of Islam’s far longer and still going slave trade from Africa (e.g. East & West Africa), Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey/Central Asia, China, India, and South East Asia. The Islamic slave trade was/is vast and is a significant feature of Islamic ‘civilization.’
After slavery became unacceptable in the West slaves continued to flow in the Islamic world. In 2003, Al Fawzan, a member of the Senior Council of Clerics, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body and a member of the Council of Religious Edicts and Research, the Imam of Prince Mitaeb Mosque in Riyadh and a professor at Imam Mohamed Bin Saud Islamic University, stated:
“slavery is part of
Jihad and jihad will remain as long as there is Islam.”
He claims that those who say Islam is against slavery are ignorant,... infidels. (source)
Some will pretend this is not the ‘true’ Islam, just Wahhabism, but 18th century Abd al-Wahhab demanded a return to Islam’s original text and Mohammad’s example. Both endorse slavery and the sexual and physical abuse of slaves.
Slavery existed pre-Christianity and Islam and was taken as fact and rarely questioned across cultures and centuries. However, under Islam, slavery is permanent, lawful and satisfies religious scruples. Owning slaves is a right given by allah. Allah even promises immortal/pearl-like serving boys (slaves) in paradise (Koran 5.17; 76.19). Abolition of slavery is contrary to Islam’s text, slave-trading Mohammad’s example and Islamic practice and law. Powerful Mohammad stopped adoption but at no time did he even attempt to stop slavery which provided wealth and endless sexual partners. The decline in slavery in the Islamic world resulted from European colonialism and the pressure of western governments. The halting of slavery in the west was due to arguments based on Christian and humanitarian principles.
“the West, rather than being the origin of slavery in the world, is in fact the only civilization to have created from within itself a successful movement to abolish it.” (3)
Slavery is very much alive today among pious Muslims
In Islam jihad to force the world to follow or be subjugated under Islam encompasses the ‘institutions’ of dhimmitude and slavery. Any who have read about dhimmitude know that it is a form of slavery where conquered people are allowed to live as long as they adhere to a series of repressive, inhuman laws. The laws require dhimmis to be humbled and to serve their overlords. Hence dhimmis are forced to do foul, menial tasks and whole villages can be forcibly moved to another area to work the land while their homes are destroyed behind them. Dhimmis were also forced to hand over their children (or women and children) either to pay their taxes or under laws demanding them as tribute so they became slaves. (see Dhimmitude laws and you Part 3 - (17-06-09); Dhimmitude laws for you (30-05-09); Dhimmitude - What is it? - (28-05-09)
Jihad laws (‘warfare to establish the religion’ Law o9.0 p 599 Reliance of the Traveller –Shafi law) specify the enslavement or death if they resist, of women and children ( law o9.10 p 603). Captured women and children become slaves and the woman’s previous marriage is immediately annulled (law o9.13 p 604). When an adult male is captured he can be killed, enslaved, freed, ransomed..but if he becomes a Muslim he cannot be killed. (o9.14 p 604)
Vassal states were forced to supply possibly thousands of their people annually as ‘tribute’ and these people became slaves.
Another source of slaves was the constant Muslim raids into infidel areas. Whole areas were depopulated. Islam’s slavery was genocidal as males were generally killed (in later centuries they were slaughtered or sold to Europeans for a brief period) while females and children were taken. The females were ‘enjoyed’ and bred from removing the ‘breeding stock’ of the original population and the children (including the slave’s later offspring) were slaves brought up as Muslim. The children were forcibly converted, removed from their family and culture and often used as soldiers---no-one cared if they were killed ‘fighting for allah!!’ Hence entire populations were destroyed. In areas under attack, others ‘converted’ in the hope of avoiding similar treatment—some even became slave traders of their own racial group! (note in Africa tribal wars are often between ‘Muslim’ slave-trading tribes and those enslaved).
Slaves and their offspring were owned by the master and passed on as part of his property to inherit.
Under Islam slaves have no legal rights at all - they are the property of their master. Slaves cannot be guardians or testamentary executors; what they earn belongs to their owner. A slave cannot give evidence in a court of law as legal testimony can only come from a witness (Muslim) who is free (Reliance of the Traveller: law o24.2 p 635). Conversion to Islam does not free a slave though they may be able to appeal against brutal treatment and have a higher status than infidels by virtue of being Muslim.
Reliance of the Traveller tries to hide the Sharia’s endorsement of slavery by failing to translate several laws, leaving them in ‘classical’ Arabic but some translations have been attempted and incorporated into the text in Part B. It claims it did this because the ‘issue was nolonger current’. This is absurd as Islam’s slavery continues, sharia is being rapidly reinstated across the Islamic world and in the west eg Britain, and Islam cannot exist without sharia (‘the way’ for a Muslim to live). These laws and other text will be included in Islam’s genocidal slavery: religiously ordained, some text and laws Part B. Part A deals particularly with Mohammad’s example.
1) Slave-trading Mohammad’s perfect example in the sira
Remember, what is morally correct in Islam is simply everything Mohammad said, did, allowed to be done or didn’t forbid. Koranic text tells us Mohammad is moral eg sura 68.4 “sublime morals", sura 33.21 “good example to follow," sura 81.19 “honorable Messenger”.
Mohammad owned many slaves including black slaves. He enslaved people, sold them, raped them, handed them to friends and family, tortured and punished them. Mohammad’s cruelty to a black slave will be discussed in an article on Islam’s black slave trade (2).
A brief perusal of Mohammad’s first biography shows us Mohammad’s slave trading and cruelty to slaves. Sirat Rasulallah (first biography of Mohammad by Ibn Ishaq 8th-century though only 9th century rendition by Ibn Hisham is available - p. 464-466).
Mohammad attacked the Quraiza tribe at the supposed instigation of the angel Gabriel, after they had remained neutral during a siege, neither joining the attackers, nor aiding the Medinans. Then they surrendered and the apostle confined them in Medina …Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina ...and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. ... There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka’b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, “Will you never understand? Don’t you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death! This went on until the apostle made an end of them. …
A’isha said: ‘Only one of their women was killed. She was actually with me and laughing immoderately as the apostle was killing her men in the market when suddenly an unseen voice called her name. “Good heavens,” I cried, “what is the matter?” “I am to be killed,” she replied. “What for?” I asked. “Because of something I did,” she answered. She was taken away and beheaded. …
The apostle had ordered that every adult [male] of theirs should be killed. …
Then the apostle divided the property, wives and children of B. Qurayza among the Muslims, and he made known on that day the shares of horse and men, and took out the FIFTH [for himself]. .....
Then the apostle sent Sa’d …with some of the captive women of B. Qurayza to Najd and he sold them for horses and weapons.
The Apostle had chosen one of their women for himself, Rayhana …and she remained with him until she died in his power (ie slave) The Apostle had promised to marry her and put the veil on her, (as he had for Safiya and Juwairiyah) but she said 'Nay, leave me in your power , for it will be easier for me and for you'.. She had shown repugnance towards Islam when she was captured and had clung to Judaism. (Sirat Rasulallah pp.464-466).
Hence in this short piece we see Islam’s jihad and its accompanying slavery. Mohammad kills the men (all those with pubic hair), enslaves the women and children and takes the infidels possessions. He takes females to enjoy and shares them out to his men. Some women and children he sends to a slave market to sell for horses and weapons. Mohammad was a slave trader.
Muslim slavers driving their merchandise "home"(19th Century drawing)
Similar stories occur repeatedly. On p 511 we read that Mohammad attacked Khaybar when the people were going to their fields and ‘The women of Khaybar were distributed amongst the Muslims.’
In this attack, (long story) Mohammad obtained for himself the very beautiful teenage girl Safiya who appealed to Mohammad for her freedom. Mohammad (about 60) didn’t give Safiya her ‘freedom,’ instead he claimed her (she initially fell to the lot of someone else), manumitted her to himself, married her and had sex with her despite her attempts to delay it and without waiting the prescribed iddat (no iddat if you’re a slave, even a supposedly freed one). Many hadith describe the horror (*Bukhari Vol 1 book 8 No. 367 also vol 4.52.143; vol 7.62.89; vol 7.62.98, vol 5.59.522-524, vol 5. 59. 512; *Muslim book 8 No. 3326; *Abu Dawud vol 2 Book 11 No. 2118..). Disgustingly some sites eg wikipaedia, claim this as a sign of Mohammad’s ‘humanity’ yet Mohammad had just killed and tortured her father and husband and slaughtered and enslaved her tribe, handing women and children out to be enjoyed by the Muslim men!
The same horror occurred for beautiful Juwairiya after her tribe was attacked. Aisha knew Mohammad would desire lovely Juwairiya (p 493 and *Abu Dawud book 29 No. 3920). Hadith tell us her unsuspecting tribe was attacked as they watered their cattle; the men were killed and the women and children enslaved and shared amongst the Muslim men (*Bukhari vol 3 book 46 No. 717; *Muslim book 19 No 4292, 4293..). This was a raid on disbelievers (*Muslim book 19 chapter 1). These young women became veiled wives, rather than concubines. They were booty with no choice about their lives as their tribes had been decimated. Juwairiya in particular sacrificed herself to save the remnants of her tribe.
On p. 593, we read that Mohammad gave GIRLS to two of his sons-in-law and to a friend to enjoy!!! (also volume 8 “The History of al-Tabari” Page 29-30).
Mohammad tortured slaves: the Jewish leader at Khaybar.
“So the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayrb. Al-‘awwan, “torture him until you extract what he has,” so he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head..” (Sirat Rasul’allah p. 515)
A female slave is beaten in front of Mohammad (the time Aisha was accused of immoral behaviour):
As for Ali he said “Women are plentiful, and you can easily change one for another. Ask the slave girl; she will tell you the truth.” So the Apostle called Burayra to ask her and Ali got up and gave her a violent beating, saying, ‘Tell the Apostle the truth.’” (Sirat Rasul’allah p. 496)
Convert and you might get your wives back but not all the ‘booty.’
And on p. 592-593, we read that Mohammad enslaved 6000 women and children plus innumerable sheep and camels. The remaining men of the tribe came to Mohammad and stated they had become MUSLIM so they begged Mohammad to return their families and animals. Mohammad made them choose between their wives/children and their animals so they only got their families back! After all, this was war booty! (also reported in ***Bukhari Vol 3, Book 46, No. 716)
In p. 326-27, Mohammad states ‘booty was made lawful for me as to no prophet before me’ (HOW CONVENIENT). ...God said, “It is not for any prophet ie before thee to take prisoners from his enemies until he has made slaughter in the earth... you desire the lure of this world ie its goods, the ransom of the captives. ‘but god desires the next world’ ie their killing them to manifest the religion ...then he (allah) made it lawful to him and to them as a mercy from him (allah) and a gift from the compassionate and mercifgul. He (allah) said’ So enjoy what you have captured as lawful and good” (see Koran 8.67-70) (Good old compassionate and merciful allah!)
2) All the above and more is sanctified in the Koran, hadith and laws which say smite, capture and ransom people (sura 47.4) , gives booty to the Muslims and tells Muslim men they can enslave and have sex with as many ‘women on their right hand’ as they can possibly gather.
a) Booty:
***Koran 33.26-27 'And he caused to descend from their strongholds the Jews that assisted them. And he struck terror into their hearts. Some you slaughtered and some you took prisoner. And He made you heirs of their lands, their houses, and their goods, and of a land which ye had not frequented (before). And Allah has power over all things.
The Koran eg sura 8, the booty sura, threatens those who don’t fight for allah and rewards those that do.
b) Sex with slaves – captured in battle or bought or given as gifts even if they are married!
Mohammad had sex immediately with his booty Safiya and Juwairiya (see above).
In Sura 33.50 (long), allah gives Mohammad and all Muslim men the right to take slaves and have sex with female slaves. These are allah given religious rights. Also in suras 23.1-7, 70.29-30, 4.24...
***Koran 70.29-30 And those who guard their chastity, Except with their wives and the (captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (then) they are not to be blamed,
***Koran 4.24 Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess:
‘what your right hand possesses’ refers to slaves and is found in many suras eg 4:3,24,25,36; 16:71; 23:6; 24:31,33,58; 30:28; 33:50,52,55; 70:30.
Mohammad had sex with his Coptic maid Mary who bore him a son. She was a slave given to Mohammad by an Egyptian and Mohammad gave another Coptic slave (Sirin) to someone else (Sirat Rasul’allah p. 653, note 129 on p. 711, also p. 499).
The hadith eg Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Maliks Muwatta,... etc. are full of many hundreds of descriptions of Muslim men raping the women captured in battle or having sex with their household slaves. This is their right ordained by allah. Mohammad participated and never told his men to stop raping their slaves –captured, bought or given as gifts.
Eg *** Muslim Chapter 29 (Book 8): It is permissible to have sexual intercourse with a captive woman after she is purified (of menses or delivery) in case she has a husband, her marriage is abrogated after she becomes captive (Commentary on Koran 4.24)
Many descriptions of sex with slaves is also found in hadiths dealing with azl – or withdrawing the penis before ejaculation. Eg Muslim ch.22 in book 8 and....
***Bukhari Volume 8, Book 77, Number 600:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: That while he was sitting with the Prophet a man from the Ansar came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We get slave girls from the war captives and we love property; what do you think about coitus interruptus?" Allah's Apostle said, "Do you do that? It is better for you not to do it, for there is no soul which Allah has ordained to come into existence but will be created."
***Abu-Dawud Book 11, Number 2166:
Narrated AbuSa'id al-Khudri: A man said: Apostle of Allah, I have a slave-girl and I withdraw the penis from her (while having intercourse), and I dislike that she becomes pregnant. I intend (by intercourse) what the men intend by it.
The Jews say that withdrawing the penis (azl) is burying the living girls on a small scale. He (the Prophet) said: The Jews told a lie. If Allah intends to create it, you cannot turn it away.
c) Mohammad owned slaves, sold slaves and gave them to others (see section ‘sirat Rasul’allah above)
***Abu Dawud Book 32, Number 4094: Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) brought Fatimah a slave which he donated to her. ..
Mohammad sold slaves directly as well as sending them to slave markets:
***Tirmidhi 864 Narrated Al-Adda' ibn Khalid ibn Haudhah Al-Adda' brought out a document to this effect: this is what al-Adda' ibn Khalid ibn Haudhah brought from Muhammad, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). He bought from him a slave, or a slave-woman, with no disease or wickedness, or anything unlawful, a transaction between two Muslims. (ALIM CD Rom)
d) Mohammad and others had slaves flogged and beaten yet we are sold the line that Muslims should do ‘good’ to slaves (Koran 4.36) and Mohammad/Islam’s slavery is ‘humane!!’ What does good to a slave really mean? Is this the same good/kindness as that shown to women where Mohammad said treat women kindly and in the same speech, beat women who disobey?
***Tirmidhi 104 Narrated Amr ibn al-Ahwas al-Jushami:
Amr heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say in his farewell address on the eve of his Last Pilgrimage, after he had glorified and praised Allah, he cautioned his followers: 'Listen! Treat women kindly; they are like prisoners in your hands. Beyond this you do not owe anything from them. Should they be guilty of flagrant misbehaviour, you may remove them from your beds, and BEAT them.... (he says re women’s rights..)... Their right is that you should treat them well in the matter of food and clothing. (ALIM CDRom)***Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 466: ... Narrated Abdullah bin Zama: That he heard the Prophet delivering a sermon, .... “.. The Prophet then mentioned about the women (in his sermon). "It is not wise for anyone of you to lash his wife like a slave, for he might sleep with her the same evening."......
While Mohammad was happily having sex with his slaves/servants (with the full support of Allah!), he flogged any slave who committed adultery (presumably not with Mohammad):
***Abu-Dawud Book 38, Number 4458: (Basically repeated in ***Muslim hadiths Book 17, Number 4224:)
Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib:
A slave-girl belonging to the house of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) committed fornication. He (the Prophet) said: Rush up, Ali, and inflict the prescribed punishment on her. I then hurried up, and saw that blood was flowing from her, and did not stop. So I came to him and he said: Have you finished inflicting (punishment on her)? I said: I went to her while her blood was flowing. He said: Leave her alone till her bleeding stops; then inflict the prescribed punishment onher. And inflict the prescribed punishment on those whom your right hands possess (i.e. slaves).
***Bukhari Volume 3, Book 46, Number 731:
Narrated Abu Huraira and Zaid bin Khalid: The Prophet said, "If a slave-girl (Ama) commits illegal sexual intercourse, scourge her; if she does it again, scourge her again; if she repeats it, scourge her again." The narrator added that on the third or the fourth offence, the Prophet said, "Sell her even for a hair rope."
***Malik's Muwatta Book 41, Number 41.3.16:
Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said that Sulayman ibn Yasar informed him that Abdullah ibn Abbas ibn Abi Rabia al-Makhzumi said, "Umar ibn al-Khattab gave me orders about the slaves of Quraysh and we flogged some of the slave-girls of the Muslim lands fifty times each for fornication."
*A man cannot be killed for killing his slave (or a woman), including beating his slave to death, nor the freeman for a slave according to Muslim legists. (2)
e) If a man marries a woman and finds her pregnant, the child is his slave according to Mohammad:
***Abu-Dawud Book 11, Number 2126: Narrated Basrah:
A man from the Ansar called Basrah said: I married a virgin woman in her veil. When I entered upon her, I found her pregnant. (I mentioned this to the Prophet). The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: She will get the dower, for you made her vagina lawful for you. The child will be your slave. When she has begotten (a child), flog her (according to the version of al-Hasan). The version of Ibn AbusSari has: You people, flog her, or said: inflict hard punishment ..
Hence we see from this small example of the supposedly perfect slave-trading Mohammad, that slavery is very much part of Islam. It is religiously ordained and contains the most horrific inhumanity to others including children and severe sexual and physical abuse and torture. The powerful Mohammad did not attempt to stop slavery, the source of his income, and sexual thrills. On the contrary, the children were used as fighting fodder and the females used to satisfy the lusts of Muslim males and other aspects of ‘servitude.’ Enslavement was used to install fear and control, to decimate the societies of others and to reward with humans and goods (booty), those who killed for Mohammad and allah. Violence, sadism, control, cruelty, greed, lust and genocide are the result Mohammad’s fine example and allah’s religiously ordained slavery and jihad.
Part B provides some translated laws re slavery and manumission that were left in classical Arabic, and further text on Islam’s slavery, religiously ordained.
It should be noted that illiteracy rates are high in the Arab Islamic world and of those who can read Arabic very, very few are able to read classical Arabic.
Part II
It has been proven above that prophet Mohammad was a slave-trader, who killed the men and took the women and children of conquered tribes into slavery. Mohammad and his men enjoyed the females taken or given as slaves. Mohammad displayed sadism and gross inhumanity to captured people, including the females raped on some occasions in front of their families or husbands and on others, raped after their tribe had been destroyed and prior to selling them in slave markets.
No-one dares mention Mohammad’s substantial slave trading. Instead much is made of the fact that he released Zaid (Zayd), slave of his wealthy, powerful 1st wife Khadija, whom he married well before he became allah’s prophet. Zaid was released BEFORE Mohammad became allah’s prophet because releasing slaves was common in the pre-Islamic era (Sirat Rasul’allah P 714, note 151). Much is also made of Mohammad's ‘manumission’ of the two beautiful young females Safiya and Juwayria in place of a mahr or dowry. Instead of the freedom they requested, they were married to Mohammad who had enslaved them and destroyed their tribes in the first place! They were only released as sex-slaves/wives for him!
Islam’s Jihad to force the world to follow or be subjugated under Islam encompasses the ‘institutions’ of dhimmitude and slavery. Islamic Law carefully regulates any release of slaves so it benefits the Muslim owner.
From the records of Muslim themselves and those affected (many left no record) we see that Islam has taken massive numbers of slaves, dwarfing all others. Slaves were taken as payment of the jizya imposed on dhimmis or conquered people, they were taken in vast numbers as annual tributes from vassal states, and they were obtained by the constant raids on infidels as the horror of Islam spread across the world. Islam continues to enslave today.
Further text: 4 Laws re manumission, from Reliance of the Traveller, a Safi’i Law book certified by al-Azar were left in classical Arabic but translations from people trained in classical Arabic, including an exMuslim, have been included –3 in part 1 and 1 in part 5. The statement above these laws says that other references to slaves have also been left untranslated and provides propaganda excuses. The book, Introduction vii, notes the great similarity in the 4 schools of law and the renowned specialists of hadith who were Shafi’is eg Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasai, ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, Ibn Kathir, Dhahabi, and Nawawi plus koranic experts etc. Hence the laws adhere to Islam’s text.
1) Freeing a (Muslim) slave: This was NOT obligatory (though ancient Jewish text requires the freeing of Hebrew slaves after 6 years eg Exodus 21.2). Muslim (and non-Muslim) slaves and their children can remain enslaved for life and be ‘inherited.’
Freeing slaves wasn’t new. The Romans freed slaves, many became very powerful. Christians freed thousands from the earliest times of Christianity (see Islamic Slavery part C: Christianity versus Islam). Islamic text tells us people released slaves in the pre-Islamic time. Remember, Mohammad freed Zaid (whom he adopted) BEFORE Mohammad became allah’s prophet (Sirat Rasul’allah p. 714, note 151) and as allah’s prophet he abolished adoption to have sex with Zaid’s (ex)wife considered incest by the Arabs!
In Islam, slaves were freed under various conditions resulting in financial rewards on earth, protection from hellfire or to pay debts. Remember, although there are some advantages in liberating slaves, Mohammad, his wives and companions enslaved and kept many slaves (Why didn’t they free them all??)!
***Bukhari Vol 8, Book 80, No. 745:
"Narrated 'Abdullah: The Muslims did not free slaves as Sa'iba, but the People of the Pre-lslamic Period of Ignorance used to do so.
***Bukhari Vol 3, Book 46, No. 715:
Narrated Hisham: My father told me that Hakim bin Hizam manumitted one-hundred slaves in the pre-lslamic period of ignorance and slaughtered one-hundred camels (and distributed them in charity). ....
This is repeated with keeping good relations with kith and kin, manumitting slaves and giving alms in the pre-Islamic period (*Bukhari Vol 3, Book 34, No. 423: Vol 2, Book 24, No. 517: Vol 8, Book 73, No. 21:)
a) Freedom requires the owner’s full agreement and can earn the owner money. Note, even if a formal agreement is made the owner can escape by selling the slave to a mate then buying him back, nullifying any agreement with the slave!
***Reliance of the Traveller: Shafi’i Law k32.1, p. 459 "Law left in classical Arabic" — Possible translation/explanation:
It is only allowed from the person who has absolute authority (master). It is acceptable to say it openly without intention or in writing with intention. Openly by saying free, I released your neck, I do not own you, I have no authority on you or you are in control of your lead, or something similar.
It is allowed to attach it to a condition like ‘you are free if Zayd comes’. If attached to a condition, it cannot be undone by words. But he can change his mind if he sells him (slave), and buys him back, the condition becomes invalid. This is allowed in all or part of the slaves; if the slave is freed partly, he is freed completely. If it was a slave of two people and one of them frees his share then the slave is free. If that owner is rich he pays the other co-owner who should repay the money. If he was not rich he pays for his share only. If he frees the pregnant woman she becomes free with the baby, if he frees the baby only, she is NOT free.
If he says I free you for a thousand, or sell you for a thousand and he (slave) accepts then he becomes free and has to pay the thousand. (Translated by Mumin Salih)
Muslim slaves may be able to purchase their freedom and some zakat (Muslims only) may help but the chance to work for their freedom is given only if the owner agrees ie freedom is NOT a right (Koran 24:33).
Over thirteen centuries of Islamic slavery
This law states you cannot free slaves in shared ownership unless the rest of the ownership is free. One can only wonder how long ‘freed’ slaves had to work to pay for their freedom?
***Reliance of the Traveller: Law K32.3 P459 (writing) – Law left in classical Arabic, Possible translation/explanation. (the slave is considered part of the capital of the person, and part of the third --- see [g] below.):
It is only acceptable from one with absolute authority and with a slave who is mature and can understand and with good conduct in two or more stars (periods?). “I write that much which you pay in two stars (periods?) in each star you pay that much, if you do it you become free, agreed”. It is forbidden to write this for a slave if he was in shared ownership unless the rest of the ownership is free. It is preferred for slaves with known income and honesty. The slave may cancel this any time he wishes, but the master is not allowed to cancel unless the slave cannot pay the money. If the slave dies the contract is cancelled but if the master dies the contract is still binding. The master should pay some of the money, even if small, or pay it to him in the last star (period?) which is better. It is suggested one fourth. If not done and the slave paid all the money, he gives back some. The slave is still owned until he pays all the money. The slave is not allowed to marry or other things without his master’s permission, it is not allowed to sell him or (in) any of his stars (periods?). (The child of the female slave becomes free if she becomes free.? -- this is not so in other text, laws) (Translated by Mumin Salih)
b) The ‘liberator’ gets the ‘wala’ (inheritance) of the slave.
Aisha who owned slaves, wants to buy a slave (Buraira) and ‘manumit’ her but the previous owners want the slave’s ‘wala’ (inheritance). Mohammad assures her that it belongs to the one who frees the slave! (endlessly repeated eg *Bukhari Vol 3, book 34 Nos 365, 377; Vol 3 book 46 Nos 735-739; also Vol 1 book 8 No. 446 , vol 7 book 63 No. 202 and elsewhere eg *Maliks Muwatta Book 38, Number 38.10.20 (usc site) or *Maliks Muwatta 38.19 (ALIMCDRom):
c) When a slave was freed his/her children were ‘inherited’ by the person freeing the slave.
***Maliks Muwatta Book 38, Number 38.11.21:
Malik related to me from Rabia ibn
Malik spoke about a slave-girl who was set free while she was pregnant and her husband was a slave and then her husband became free before she gave birth, or after she gave birth. He said, "The wala' of what is in her womb goes to the person who set the mother free because slavery touched the child before the mother was set free. .....
d) Slaves are a form of currency used to pay penalties eg If a Muslim commits manslaughter of another Muslim, he may be asked to release a MUSLIM slave and pay compensation ---- OR he could fast rather than release the believing slave! (Koran 4.92)
e) Likewise if you wish to be released from an oath (Koran 5.89; 58.1-4) you can release a MUSLIM slave OR fast OR feed/clothe a few people. Reliance of the Traveller, Shafi’i Law o20.2 p 623 states you must fast for 3 days, OR feed 0.51 litres of grain to 10 people OR give clothing of any kind to 10 people, OR free a sound Muslim slave.
f) Freeing a slave may save you from hellfire (but you don’t need to free all your slaves!)
***Bukhari vol. 3, book 46, No. 693:
The Prophet said “whoever frees a MUSLIM slave, allah will save all the parts of his body from the hellfire, as he has freed the bodyparts of the slave.”
Remember, this only applies to MUSLIM slaves. Muhammad enslaved Arabs but post Mohammad, enslavement of Arabs and sometimes Muslims became restricted. Today in Sudan, black Muslims are enslaved.
g) Some ‘masters’ promised slaves their freedom BUT a man can only dispose of 1/3 of his property;
***Maliks Muwatta Book 38, Number 38.3.3:
Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said and somebody else from al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri and from Muhammad ibn Sirin that a man in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, freed six of his slaves while he was dying. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew lots between them and freed a third of those slaves.
I.e., Mohammad made 2/3 remain as slaves! Remember, slaves are property to be inherited.
Shamefully Mohammad helped people who had promised to release their slaves to break their oath to their slave and sell them instead!! (Repeated in Muslim book 15 Nos. 4115, 4116, 4117, 4118)
***Bukhari Volume 3, Book 46, Number 711:
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: A man amongst us declared that his slave would be freed after his death. The Prophet called for that slave and sold him. The slave died the same year.
***Reliance of the Traveller: law K32.2, p. 459; Law left in classical Arabic, (management) possible explanation/translation.
If he (master) says: If I die you are free, or I managed you or you are managed, and is considered one of the third. It is accepted from one with absolute authority or a spender but not a child. It is allowed to attach it to a condition; if the condition is fulfilled before the master dies then the slave becomes free after the master’s death. If he (master) manages some, or all, of his shared slaves it doesn’t apply to all of the slaves. This can be changed by action, not by words. If a woman slave was managed her baby doesn’t follow her management. (Translated by:Mumin Salih)
2) Slaves are inferior: Allah made them that way. They are likened to disbelievers and false deities, inferior to their masters.
***Koran 16.75 Allah sets forth a parable: (consider) a slave, the property of another, (who) has no power over anything, and one whom we have granted from Ourselves a goodly sustenance so he spends from it secretly and openly; are the two alike? (All) praise is due to Allah!
**Koran sura 16.71: ..and allah has preferred some of you to others in wealth and properties. Then those who are preferred will by no means hand over their wealth and properties to those (slaves) whom their right hand possesses, so that they may be equal with them in respect thereof. Do they deny the favour of allah?
(i.e. all aren’t equal; allah makes some better than others and, you don’t share your wealth with slaves so why share deities with allah—they aren’t equal)
Treatment of European slaves by Barbary Pirates (17th Century woodblock print)
3) Muslim men can rape and marry Muslim slaves (as a last resort) but they can only rape Jewish and Christian slaves;
***Malik's Muwatta Book 28, Number 28.16.38a:
Malik said, "It is not halal to marry a Christian or Jewish slave-girl ...Malik said, "In our opinion, Allah made marriage to believing slave-girls halal, and He did not make halal marriage to Christian and Jewish slave-girls from the People of the Book."
Malik said, "The Christian and Jewish slave-girl are halal for their master by right of possession,..
*Koran sura 4.25 says if you don’t have the means to marry free women, you can marry believing slaves!
The children of slave females are also slaves and the owner can have sex with them (2).
4) Slaves can be bought and sold like animals.
*Maliks Muwatta, book 31, Business Transactions, details buying and selling slaves like animals. Hadith 31.4.4 notes that if you return a defective female slave, "The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us is that if a man returns a slave girl in whom he has found a defect and he has already had intercourse with her, he must pay what he has reduced of her price if she was a virgin. If she was not a virgin, there is nothing against his having had intercourse with her because he had charge of her."
5) child bearing slaves are enslaved for the life of their master:
***Maliks Muwatta Book 38, Number 38.5.6 Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that Umar ibn al-Khattab said:
"If a slave-girl gives birth to a child by her master, he must not sell her, give her away, or bequeath her. He enjoys her and when he dies she is free."
Apparently dad has full access to his son’s slaves and lending and using the slave isn’t a problem.
***Reliance of the Traveller; Shafi’i law k 32.4, p. 459; again, left in classical Arabic – a possible translation and explanation -
(separation) If he gets a baby (son) from a female slave that he owns or partly owns, or from his son’s female slave, the baby SON becomes free and the slave becomes mother of his child and becomes free if the master dies. It is not allowed to sell her or give her as a gift but her use, hiring, lending and giving her in wedlock is allowed. Her earnings/gains goes to her master. This applies even if she gives birth to a dead baby, but if it doesn’t look to have a human form she does not become a mother of a son.
If he gets a child from another man’s female slave, by marriage or illegally, the child becomes owned by the slave’s master. If he wasn’t sure then child becomes free, but the female slave doesn’t become a mother of a son should he own her later. (thanks Mumin, N. A.)
6) Some further points according to Islamic text and law makers:
* Muslim women cannot marry slaves and suffer stoning or scourging if they dare to (2)
* The Muslim master shouldn’t force his slave-girls into prostitution BUT, there’s NO punishment if you do (including no punishment listed for the forcer)! (*Koran 24: 32, 33)
* If a slave damages property or assaults someone, the owner can pay the fine (the slave has no money) or deliver the slave to be killed (2)
* Slaves who run away are punished. But those who are faithful to their master and allah fearing will be rewarded (*Bukhari Vol 3 Book 46, Numbers 722, 725, 726, 727 )
* A Slave’s possessions belong to their master (2.) *Maliks Muwatta book 31, No. 31.2.2 notes that the slaves wealth belongs to the seller unless the buyer stipulates the inclusion of the slave’s property when buying the slave.
Black eunuchs guarding a harem of Arab Muslim master (Egypt, early 20th Century)
* In battle, the ‘spoils of battle’ go to free, Muslim males who have reached puberty (Reliance of the Traveller: Law o10.1 p 606). According to renowned Muslim commentator, Ibn Kathir, “The slave does not get anything from the bounty whether the bounty is money or women.” (2)
No wonder ‘slave’ armies were popular as the slaves get killed but the ‘free’ Muslims keep the booty!!
* Koran 2.178 where the ‘law of equality’ in punishment demands a slave be killed for a slave --- so if a Muslim kills the slave of family A, they can kill a slave of family B...great! Though, a MUSLIM slave cannot be killed for killing an infidel (as Muslims cannot be killed for killing non-Muslims ---Sharia)
* Their owners can force slaves to marry. Slaves cannot marry without the permission of owners. Those who do commit a crime and are whipped. (2)
Conclusion
Let’s be honest, Islam’s slavery is evil and religiously ordained. We are told that poor Islam just inherited slavery and couldn’t abolish it -EVER. How strange then that Mohammad could stop adoption so he could have sex with his adopted son Zaid’s (ex)wife Zainab, considered incest by the Arabs!
Mohammad was in complete political, military and religious control, forcing others to his will and demanding tribute from widespread tribes. He could do anything he liked! Once Mohammad’s sugar mommy Khadija died, Mohammad earned his living as a slave-trader and thief who abused, tortured and raped slaves , fully endorsing slavery by his own perfect example. Mohammad made no effort to stop such a lucrative and sexually exciting activity. Allah promised slaves and ‘enjoyment’ of 
slaves as booty! Thanks to allah and Mohammad, Islam has an institution of religiously ordained slavery legitimated by allah’s laws.
Islam’s slavery is indeed ‘different’ because only in Islam do we find such total, unchangeable religious endorsement of such cruelty to others clearly displayed by the prophet Mohammad and endorsed by allah and sharia. It continues today.
Islam’s slavery is a fitting punishment for non-Muslims (or Muslims deemed insufficiently Islamic!)—This is Islam’s, ‘justice’, ‘equality’ and ‘humanity!’
To justify the enslavement of non-Muslims, the Sudanese writer Mahmud Muhammad Taha wrote:
“The higher wisdom [hikma]of enslavement lies in the law of reciprocity [mu’awada]. When a person was invited to be God’s slave and he refused, this refusal demonstrated his ignorance and his need for a period of training during which he would prepare himself to be a willing slave of God. During this [preparatory] period, this person would be a slave of another human being to acquire the training appropriate for a slave of God. This is a situation of reciprocity because when this person, while still free, refused to be God’s slave, he was made a slave of another slave of God when he was captured in defeat, ‘for a suitable recompense’ [jaza’an wifaqan].” (From The Second Message of Islam (Arabic version p. 124) cited in Mohamed A. Mahmoud Quest for Divinity A critical examination of the Thought of Mahmud Muhammad Taha (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2007), p. 153)
So, being a raped, owned, brutalized, subhuman slave of a Muslim prepares you to be a mindless, brainwashed, repressed, brutalized and brutal slave of allah — lovely! No self-respect, no independent critical thought, no individuality, no daring to be different, no freedom, equality or humanity…
In Islam, slavery is a just, fit punishment for not believing in allah.
Islam is jihad, with dhimmitude and slavery for others and the parts cannot be separated. Its text and laws on slavery are worse than those of ancient Jewish text 2000 years pre-Islam and nolonger in practice! Islam is a return to the barbarity of ancient times!
The Christian Jesus didn’t enslave, rape, steal, slaughter or tell followers to do so yet Christianity which is responsible for stopping slavery in the west, and has a history from the beginning of certain followers speaking against this ‘taken-for-granted’ practice and freeing slaves, bares the blame for slavery while the massive slave trade of later, powerful, Islam, fully endorsed by allah, Mohammad and Islam’s laws is either completely ignored or sold to us as some sick sort of ‘nice,’ slavery! While in no way diminishing the tragedy of the black slave trade into Europe and America, it is important to look at the role of religious text and the example of Mohammad versus Jesus to help redress the gross imbalance in the discussion of slavery. Part C will consider Christian text and efforts to abolish slavery (Islam’s Genocidal Slavery Part C: Christianity versus Islam.)
Following articles will examine Mohammad’s treatment of black people and Islam’s (and the west’s) black slave trade and associated racism and then Islam’s white /European/Asian slave trade.
References:
1) Al-Misri, Ahmad ibn Naqib; Reliance of the Traveller: A classic manual of Islamic sacred law. In Arabic with facing English Text, commentary and appendices edited and translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller amana publications Maryland USA 1994
2) answering-Islam; Chapter 5, Slavery in Islam:
3) Spencer, Robert, Slavery, Christianity, and Islam
4) Sirat Rusulallah by Ibn Ishaq, Translated by A. Guillaume. Fifteenth Impression, 2001 Published by Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan.
5) Trifkovic, Serge. The Sword of the prophet: Islam: history, theology, impact on the world. Serge Trifkovic Regina Orthodox Press, Inc., Boston, 2002
6) Trifkovic, Serge, Islam’s wretched record on slavery. FrontPageMagazine.com | 11/20/2002
ALIMCDRom – containing translations and transliteration of the Koran. Hadith sets, commentaries etc. Available via the internet. Note hadith numbers can vary with different sources.
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written by Anti Clot , August 25, 2009
written by Li , August 25, 2009
How come muslims grin and claim Islam is a religion and they mean peace?
Muhammed worked on human weakness on sex, laziness and living on easy money by looting.
Stop giving any aid to muslims, let them suffer and dream of 72 houris and sex with children and lying lazily and getting served by slave boys.
Shit on islam.
written by Saladin , August 25, 2009
Some folks hypocrisy is never ended
written by Cassandra , August 25, 2009
Muslims were and are more than glad to continue this practice because they were--and still are--too lazy, too incompetenmt, and too low on the scale of human development to occupy themselves with doing anything that might be construed as constructive, and as a positive contribution to humanity--like real bathrooms, for instance, instead of putrid holes in the ground which are sinkholes of disease and stench.
The same is still true today. They are cockroaches and rats drawn to and quite happy with rotting plagues and filth.
Slavery is so convenient. The males have every opportunity to please Satan with their perverted obsessions.
As a matter of fact, Islam itself is Satanic. How else to explain their incredible abiility to bring evil into everything they touch and the 100% consistency of this characteristic?
Muhammad was not inspired by Gabriel. he was possessed by a demon from Hell who passed on the evel of the ages to a willing recipient of same as long as it enabled him to force people to do his will, to get rich, to have lots of women, and to kill people whenever he wanted to--and I have not mentioned his personal filthy habis of "hygience" which are still aped blindly today by "good Muslims".
Muhammad was perverted and so was the god he retooled to his specifications for self-aggrandisement.
Prove me wrong. I dare you. You can't.
You know your "religion" is phony and a joke and that your prophet was a psychotic pedophile who should have been dropped into the Empty Quarter there to die.
Have a nice day.
written by Just a tought , August 26, 2009
Five people, including a former Houston police officer, were arrested in the largest sex trafficking case in Texas' southern district, MyFOXHouston.com reported. A sixth remains on the run.
John Butler, 47, William Hornbeak, 34, Jamine Lake, 27, Andre McDaniels, 39, and Kristen Land, 28, all of Houston, as well as Tulsa, Okla., resident Ronnie Presley, 35, are named as suspects in the case.
All are charged with conspiracy to traffic women and children for the purposes of commercialized sex; sex trafficking of children; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; and other offenses, according to the station.
The five Houston residents were arrested Monday and Tuesday; Presley is still at large, MyFOXHouston.com reported.
Butler was a Houston police officer for a brief period in the 1980s, sources told the station.
The sting was the result of a joint investigation by local and federal authorities.
“It is a horrible reflection on our society when adults prey on the vulnerabilities of children and reduce them to indentured sex slaves,” U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson said in a prepared statement.
written by Saladin , August 26, 2009
Ramadan karim
written by Cassandra , August 26, 2009
Is that all the better you can do? Pretty weak-willed of you, little piiglet.
Histories of your "glorious civilization" prove me correct.
Read Serge Trifkovic, Ibn Warraq, Andrew Bosom, Walid Shoebat, Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Birigitte Gabriel, Walid Phares, Anis Shorrosh, Kamal Saleem, M.A. Khan, Bat Yeor, Joseph Farrah, Mark Gabriel (a former imam), Al-Araby. . .Read those and come back to me with more than attempts to play the anti-Muslim game and "Muslims are so misjudged" whining.
Prove me wrong. Or shut up.
Cassandra
written by Someone , August 26, 2009
But who are we right? If God says we can take slaves and have sex with them, it must be right? Dumb ass Europeans abolishing slavery and fighting illegals forms of it until this very day!
But seriously now. Bad things happy everywhere, no one denies this. HOWEVER, in the West these bad things are looked down upon and people who get caught doing them get persecuted and punished.
Quran allows and supports slavery, Western democracy fights and prohibits all forms of slavery. Western Civilization 1 - Arabian Backwardness 0.
Maybe if you start using your brain you'll be able to enjoy the 21st century before you die, otherwise you'll have to be happy with the 7th century.
written by balam to cassandra , August 27, 2009
written by Cassandra , August 27, 2009
I believe it was there that i saw an exhaustive exigesis on the nature of the Islamic "Paradsie" and the shabby realities for women in relation to reaching that Islamikc bordello in the sky.
Thank you for your very kind comments.
I rather expect that Saladin, as he spells it, will sink again to the depths of humanity in his responses to those he cannot intimate. I have seen his extremely insulitjng reply to David some comments back.
It is mentalities like these that make Genghis Khan almost seem like a choir boy by comparison.
I have commented to more than one of these articles. One was to "Muslimah" because she was so pie-in-the-sky about Islam. A couple more were addressed to Ashraf, and then, of course to this idiot who imagines himself a Salah-ud-din.
Blessings on you, Balam. Please respond again when you are so inclined.
Cassandra
written by Saladin , August 27, 2009
Why would any objective reasonable person read the filth written by the likes Pipe et al.
That would be like a jew/socialist reading mein kampf,in order to find the "true" judaism"
Your list of "authors", originate from a well known rougues gallery of appostates,christian fundamentalists,militarists and zionists.Most in the pay of neocon stinktanks to propagandize the gullable yankee population.
If anybody wants wants to read/study the glory of islamic civillization they can do that at any mainstream college(Islamic dept),or local library.
written by Saladin , August 27, 2009
A tip for you...if ya can`t stand the heat......hahah!
Run along now,leave the serious stuff to ya menfolk.
written by Cassandra , August 27, 2009
I know 6th graders very well and they are a waste of my time, as are you.
Possibly, if you are lucky, you might find someone with an intellect that matches your own. If I were you, I would look among the cockroaches and the vermin to find your soul mates.
Cassandra
written by Saladin , August 27, 2009
It doesn`t bare thinking about,that a person such as you,would have access to the minds of young people.To polute and infect their innocence,to turn their minds toward hate and prejudice.It would be like a neo nazi teaching at a jewish kindergarten,or a KKK member teaching in a detroit high school.
What if some of the children are muslim?Just thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine.
Cassey, you are without doubt ,the most fiendish,loathsome,disgusting and sickening villain operating on this god forsaken propaganda site.
written by Saladin , August 27, 2009
Just the thought of someone as malicious,racist and contemptable as you,with access to children,doesn`t bare thinking about.
It would be like a neo nazi looking after a jewish kindergarten,or a KKK member teaching at an inner city Newyork high school.What if any of the children are muslim, Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.
You are without doubt the most malicious,loathsome,repellent and sickening operator on this godforsaken propaganda site.
written by John , August 28, 2009
It seems Jesus did not have moral foresight, and was merely a man of his times so far as his moral compass went... as was Mohammed.... who, it seems, also did not have moral foresight.
Today, Christians happily condemn slavery despite the Biblical tolerance of it.
Theory one says your average Muslim on the street will condemn slavery as being immoral.
Theory two says a Muslim would be opposing Allah if he condemned slavery as being inherently immoral.... and if a Christian said that slavery was inherently immoral would be risking saying Jesus was imperfect.
I do see folks on both sides slamming each other.. but there IS something we could discuss... Not asking slavery is scriptural... not asking if Mohammed was a slave owner... not asking anything about any religion, really.
I just wonder if folks here, Christian and Muslim alike would come out and explicitly say that slavery is inherently wrong.
Christians...? Any takers?
Muslims....? Would you be kind enough to be explicit about your feelings on slavery? Is it wrong within itself?
written by kmgy , August 29, 2009
Jesus came to free those who are in BONDAGE.
Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,"
Compare Isaiah 61:1, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;"
written by saladin , August 29, 2009
written by David , August 29, 2009
When we hear the words slave or servant, we usually view it with a negative connotation. In
the Greek, it did have that same meaning also, but the writers of the Bible put a positive angle on the
word. The Greek word that is translated as slave or servant is dou÷lo¿. The word dou÷lo¿, and
several others that belong to that word group, appears 178 times in the New Testament. Of these 178
times it is used in the Synoptic Gospels 73 times (37 in Matt., 5 in Mark, 31 in Luke); in John 12 times;
in Acts 7 times; in PaulÖs Epistles 62 times; in the Catholic Epistles (including Hebrews) 7 times; and in
Revelation it is used 17 times (Aland, 78-79, 264- 265).
Other words belong to that grouping with similar meanings. For this study, we will not only look
at that word, but other words that belong to the same group. These words are douleuvw be a slave,
serve; doulagwgevw bring into slavery; douleiva, hJ, slavery; douvlh, hJ, female slave,
maidservant; dou÷lo¿, h, on, subservient, subject; dou÷lo¿, oJ, slave, servant; doulovw enslave,
subjugate; suvndoulo¿, oJ fellow slave. There are several areas to consider as we study words from
the Greek text-how it was used in (1) Classical Greek; (2) Jewish Literature; (3) the New Testament;
(4) by the Early Church.
Word Study
Classical Greek
In the Classical Greek, the meaning has essentially the same negative connotation. One of the
few times they view being a dou÷lo¿ as positive is when it is associated with being a slave to, or serving,
one of their many gods. In the non-religious world, the dou÷lo¿ has no possibility of avoiding the tasks
he has been ordered to do (Kittel, 2:261). Plato also held to the belief of the negative impact on those
whose life was described as a slave.
______________________________
1 Software used was Corel Word Perfect 8. Greek fonts are the Symbol Greek P fonts from
Linguist’s Software. The Hebrew fronts are SHebrew. 2
If all rules have an exception, Plato found one to this rule as well -- that is when somebody was
a slave to the law. This was the determining mark of a true citizen, and only when the citizens recognized
their masters in the law could a city be solid. This also distinguishes the free man from the slave, since he
is slave to the law of the city it guarantees the solidity of the city (Kittel, 2:262).
Aristotle shares this derogatory view. In his Politics, Aristotle makes a statement that clarifies his
belief that slaves have no part in the city or its service (Kittel, 2:263). This seems to contradict what
Plato believes, but the difference is being an ordinary slave or a slave to the law. The Stoics have a
broader or more of a universal conception of service (Ibid). Zeus is the one who issues the call to
service. Even though the Cynic may be free in relation to all, he is also unconditionally bound to all and
responsible for all they leave undone. Once they have committed themselves, they have become the
servant (diavkono¿) of Zeus.
Philo also takes this same view. In his mind, everything that is beautiful and earnest is free, while
everything that is evil, is in a state of servanthood. A Stoic view is also shared by Philo, in the thought
that no one is a dou÷lo¿ originally, but a man becomes that way via someone else’s gain, punishment,
revenge, or some other way. It is also speculated that there may have been a Jewish influence on Philo
because he uses the phrase dou÷lo¿ tou÷ qeou÷ (Kittel, 2:264). There is little evidence that the usage of
this word has any connection with the religious sphere in the Greek world. Euripides uses this word in
only three passages (Kittel, 2:264). Each time there is no religious reference made to God. It is used in
the same manner as Plato, Aristotle, and Philo used it in their writings.
There is no place within the Greek thought and belief in God for the dou÷lo¿ word group as an
expression of service. It was used to describe the attitude that gods and men are bound to serve in their
family relationships. Since the Greeks at this time did not recognize God, they did not use the word in
relation to serving Him. They did, however, have a plethora of gods, that described their service as pro;¿
qeou;¿ oJmiliva or in company with the gods (Kittel, 2:265).
Jewish Literature
In Jewish literature, we find a different use of the dou÷lo¿ word group. Here we see they use it
3
in a religious sphere. It was also used in the same derogatory manner the Greeks used. The Jewish
writers, some of them anyway, recognized God and attributed service to Him. We see in Josephus’
writings the use of several words that are within this word group. The words that he uses are dou÷lo¿,
douleiva, douleuvw, douvlh, and doulovw (BAG, 204). Sometimes he uses these words in attributing
some sort of service to God, others he denotes somebody being subservient to someone else.
When we look at how the word group was used in the Septuagint, also known as LXX, we see
the same features. The translators used the word, or one belonging from this group, in almost every
instance the Hebrew word rbc appears. They mainly used the word douleuvw except in Isaiah 56:6
and Daniel 7:14, 27 where in the original context there is no verb that means “to serveÀ (Kittel, 2:265).
Since the Hebrew did not have a word from the main root for female slaves, the translators used douvlh
in the place of the Hebrew words hm) or hxp$. The only exceptions to this are found in Exodus 2:17
and Nehemiah 5:5b (Kittel, 2:266).
When used in the LXX to refer to those born into slavery or those who have no other station in
life they used the word pai÷¿ instead of dou÷lo¿. When translated this way it usually means a natural
relationship that is incontestable, but when dou÷lo¿ is used it is used to represent the illegality of the
service rendered. A good example of this is found in Genesis as it describes Jacob’s service for Rachel.
The word also carried with it meaning of service that could have been forced or voluntary, but was
always felt restrictive. A good example of this would be the relationship between a king and his
subjects.
The word group was also used in relating a person’s relationship of service to God. When we
look at the LXX we see that when they refer to service of God, in a totally committed way, the most
common word they used was douleuvein (Kittel, 2:267). This is also the reason why only a few men in
Israel’s history have been given the title dou÷loi. These men were Moses (Jos. 14:7a; Jos. Ant., 5. 39),
Joshua (Jos. 24:29; Ju. 2:
, Abraham (Psalms 104:42), David (Psalms 88:3 and others), Isaac (??. 3:35), the prophets (4 ???. 17:23 and others), and Jacob equaling Israel as the people of God
(Is.48:20). This is understood to mean that any attitude towards God other than douleuvein is
considered a betrayal to His cause (Kittel, 2:26
. 4
New Testament
In most of the cases where one of these words are used, except where it has a religious
connotation to it, it is used improperly, mainly in figures of speech and comparisons especially in Jesus’
parables (Kittel, 2:270). When Jesus wanted to emphasize the unconditional nature of the responsibility
humans have to God, He used the word dou÷loi. He also wanted to make it clear that God is not
constrained in His relationship to man by any preordained notions that He must keep. In relating to God
as master and humans as dou÷lo¿, there is no room for one’s own will or initiative (Ibid). In relating this
to us, in the New Testament the dou÷lo¿ is the picture of bondage and limitation. With this thought in
mind though, the slave is never thought of in the derogatory way that he was in the Greek world. The
dou÷lo¿ is never looked down upon just because he has that station in life.
Being on a lower level of humanity, the slave had no rights in the law or could not own property.
Even the slave’s family was not his own, they were property of his master. This was not good. Since he
had no laws protecting him, the slave was at his master’s will. If the master wanted to beat or abuse
him, that was fine. A master could even mutilate him if he wanted to, as long as it complied with the
Law, the only one there was, in Exodus 21:26, and then only if he had witnesses (Kittel, 2:271). There
is even evidence of this in Rabbinic tales. It can be read where a slave had a full cup thrown at him by
his master, or where he had his head slapped for not following his master’s teaching precisely. To the
Rabbis the greatest insult that could fall upon someone is to be called a slave (Kittel, 2:271).
If the Christian chose not to reject slavery, every effort was made to end it. If given the chance,
a slave was encouraged to joyfully accept his chance for freedom. This followed the rule of love. The
rule was understood as everybody was equal within the community in relationship with Christ. This is
founded in the fact that we are all redeemed in Jesus and it was given universally to all men regardless of
their status or ancestry (Kittel, 2:272). The New Testament as a whole applies this concept to all, even
the non-Christians, since Christ came for all.
Used very little in the New Testament are the phrases dou÷lo¿ qeou÷ and tw/÷[ qew/÷ douleuvein
(Kittel, 2:273). Most references speak of the relationship Christians have with Christ. In most of the
5
occurrences of dou÷lo¿ qeou÷, there is a connection with the men referred to earlier and their relationship
with God or from a quotation. In Rev. 15:3, Moses is given the title dou÷lo¿ tou÷ qeou÷ and in Rev. 10:7
and Acts 4:29, the prophets are referred to as dou÷loi tou÷ qeou÷. We can also assume that the meaning
is the same in 1 Pet. 2:16 when the people of Israel are called dou÷loi of God.
In the normal Jewish usage, the phrase was reserved for just a few selected outstanding men or
the people of Israel collectively. We find two exceptions to this. Paul, in his epistles would normally refer
to himself as dou÷lo¿ jIhsou÷ Cristou÷ but, in Titus 1:1, he refers to himself as dou÷lo¿ qeou÷. The other
place is in Jas. 1:1 where the author refers to himself as qeou÷...dou÷lo¿ (Kittel, 2:273). The prominent
theological use of these words in the New Testament is that Christians are dou÷lo¿ of Christ.
Jesus said of himself that He was also just a dou÷lo¿ when He washed the disciples feet at the
last supper. To better understand this, only the slaves were supposed to wash the feet of the guests. This
is what Christ wants in us; a spirit so willing to serve and be a servant that we do it without thinking
about it or realizing we are doing it. Jesus expected this out of His disciples and He expects it out of you
and me.
There is one other word in the New Testament that can be translated as servant. It is the word
that we understand to mean deacon, diavkono¿. The difference between the two is that dou÷lo¿
stresses the Christian’s complete devotion and service to God, and diavkono¿ reflects more of the
service one provides to the church fellowship and others (Brown, 546).
The Early Church
The dou÷lo¿ word group was started to be used more and more by Christians in applying the
meaning to themselves. There are two factors that account for this: the first one is that the people started
accepting the idea of Christianity as the true Israel, and the second is that the people started viewing
Jesus as the Son of God and not the dou÷lo¿ of God. This totally eliminated the feeling of competing
with or a rivalry with Him (Kittel, 2:274).
One thing also inherent to these words is the strong implications behind them. If one is to truly
call himself a dou÷lo¿ of God, he needs to be ready and willing to make a full commitment to God. If this
6
is the case, then Christians need to be prepared to accept this responsibility (Ibid.).
Conclusion
In this study, we find a variety of uses stemming from the word dou÷lo¿. It means more than just
being a slave or a servant. In the Greek thought, they had no religious connection to them, it is mainly
used in a derogatory manner. In Jewish literature, there is the same usage except when referring to a few
outstanding people in the LXX. When the writers of the New Testament used it, there was nothing
negative about it. Everyone was equal, the slave as well as the freeman. The major difference being the
theological twist they add to it.
The major shift from the New Testament to the early church reinforced the meaning that the
New Testament writers were trying to establish. Only through a fully committed life, one dedicated to
serving Christ with all their heart, soul, and strength, could one call himself a dou÷lo¿ of God. This is a
real challenge. Are you up to it?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Balz, Horst and Gerhard Schneider eds. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. S.v.,
diavkono¿. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1990.
written by David , August 29, 2009
Saladin, you are in our prayers. regardless of what you do, you are being prayed for in a cmpassionate way, that your life may be full of happiness and peace.
written by vbv , August 30, 2009
It is a mafia cult which finds growing and harvesting opium 'halal' , smugling and trading in guns and weaponry a 'holy' duty, slavery and flesh trade is halal, murdering innocents ,murdering ,looting kaffirs and raping their women a sacred islamic duty and very halal, threatening and murdering for apostasy,etc. Infact this is the only criminal cult hiding behind the facade of "religion". The world would certainly be far better off without the scourge of this dirty ,filthy and immoral cult called "islam".
written by Saladin , August 30, 2009
Unperturbed we carry out our religious obligations.Standing tall and steadfast in the face of Western aggression
written by Cassandra , August 30, 2009
The poor souls who would like so much to escape the wholesale wlaughter of their families by the Taliban and associated terrorists. The last thing the terrorists want for anyone is kindness and real help with their families by Americans and other Westerners because it blasts their "hate America" brain washing to smithereens.
The fulminating hate so prevalent among the insects who pollute this blog is normal for them. Can you imagine how possessed Muhammad must have been? It is for sure that he was one of the denizens of hell and a direct emissary of destruction.
Go to my website, or have your wife so so, would you? I would love to hear from her if she so wishes.
Blessings,
Dassandra
written by Ashraf , August 31, 2009
written by Saladin , August 31, 2009
We must be steadfast and sure footed,the treacherous and diabolical plans of the unbelievers will come to naught,insha`allah brother.
Ramadan Karim to the world!
written by F R Ahsan , August 31, 2009
written by F R Ahsan , August 31, 2009
written by Ashraf , September 01, 2009
yesterday i've posted my long comment on the topic with well furnished Qur'anic and hadeeths references, and today i wonder! i cant really see my comment which was literally getting the Kafirs pissed off...The comment was so clear, argument whith kafirs, the cowards mit have deleted it as their prime goal and intension is to defame Islam, why do they do lik this if they cant face the ruth and answer our questions? whts the point publishin fabricated stories and mislead people, instead of finding truth and embracing Islam or their future(hereafter)? they cant defend themselves, they are unclean, stinky, looters, rapist, filthy cunning people, they don deserv 2 b trusted, they cant be trusted, they are the fossils of their ancestors and doing the same plotings Islam faced earlier by their fathers, creating fabricated stories to defame us, ironically they know the truth, but they don want to accept it, thas why they deleted my comment fearing to argue... what a shame? they did not even answer for my many questions, o you pagans get preapared for great punishment of Almighty Allah hereafter... Allah has prepared fire for you people... do you know the duration of the judgement day? its 50,000 years... I cant even imagine your screamings, postion there! May Allah save us, and keep away from people lik u...
Ashan and saladin pls keep me in yours Duaa...
salams,,,
written by Saladin , September 01, 2009
At it`s core is a message of eternal war(proposed by Bush/neocons),resource wars and pipeline routes is their ultimate goal.
The western nations,with their capitalist systems,are in terminal decline.They cannot even reproduce themselves.Islam,with it`s egalitarian message is very attractive to westerners,that is why the best of them, are turning to Islam everyday.
written by Mohammed , September 04, 2009
written by Mohammad Exposed , November 26, 2009
written by zohaib , January 27, 2010
you will realize that neither religion is bad.
its just a bunch of assholes (on both sides) who give their religion a bad name.
they will not change, for them is a Fire waiting.
fear god, and do not make fun of Him or any of His messengers.
you know you can not deny His existence.
Like a lot of liberal educated people, I'd like to think that humanity has progressed from the dark ages into an age of reason and light.
I would expect small pockets of primitive behavior might endure in the backwaters and isolated pockets of the world, but Islam is not an isolated pocket.
What seems to be an "isolated pocket" would be modern thinking Muslims in Western countries who might think "slavery is wrong".
Allowing a god to decide what is moral and immoral is a good way to circumvent morality all together. Abraham certainly acted amorally in preparing to kill his son.
Systems that preclude morality by divine right are incompatible with modern life. The problem is, "no, Allah actually does not know what is best"
May superstition ultimately pass away.