Explanation of the report of Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him)

The Shaykh : And conversely, the following report indicates that it is not permissible for a master to beat his slave without right. The author narrated in the following report from Abu Mas'ud, who is Abu Mas'ud and not Ibn Mas'ud. Many readers may assume, and it often appears in print as Ibn Mas'ud due to their ignorance of the biographies of the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him). When one first reads about Abu Mas'ud, one might say this is a printing error and the correct name is Ibn Mas'ud, but no, it is Abu Mas'ud, who is not 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud. This Abu Mas'ud is the one from Badr, and his name is 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir, one of the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and one of those who witnessed the great event of Badr with him. He is the one who narrates to us the following story. He says: . He heard the voice behind him saying: Know, O Abu Mas'ud, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), who is above your head and the heads of everyone, is more capable of punishing you than you are of punishing this slave whom you are beating and causing pain to. It was He who called out to him and warned him of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that He is more capable of punishing Abu Mas'ud than Abu Mas'ud is of punishing his slave. This is the nature of the complete person. The complete person is not the one who does not make mistakes, but the one who makes a mistake and then retracts from it, without delaying or procrastinating. Procrastination opens the door for Shaytan to stand between him and his return and repentance to his Lord. This Abu Mas'ud was a believing man, so he did not realize that he had made a mistake with his Lord when he beat his slave unjustly, causing him harm. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) called out to him and alerted him to this, telling him that Allah is more capable of punishing you than you are of punishing him, alerting him that you are wronging him. So what was his response? He said: He is free for the face of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This is sincere repentance, that a person hastens with it, because a person does not know what may befall him if he procrastinates. And with repentance, he said: So he is free for the face of Allah. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: أما إن لو لم تفعَلْ لمستك النار If you had not done that, the Fire would have touched youAl-Adab Al-Mufrad 171, If you had not hastened to release him from his slavery and make him free for the face of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), Allah would have touched you with a punishment from Himself in exchange for your transgression and aggression against him, أما إن لو لم تفعل لمَسَّتْكَ النار If you had not done that, the Fire would have touched youAl-Adab Al-Mufrad 171 or لَلَفَحَتْك النار The Fire would have scorched you., and the meaning is the same. So in this there are two things: The first thing is that it is not permissible for a master to wrong his slave, and if he falls into such wrongdoing, his absolution is to release him and make him free for the face of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). When a person reads such reports and Prophetic guidance regarding masters and their slaves, he remembers that enslavement in Islam is a blessing for the enslaved, as I explained, but that was in a previous lesson. I took that as a means to point out the error of some Islamic writers today who respond to the United Nations and its councils, which have decided, in their claim, to prohibit enslavement. Many Islamic writers respond to this Western trend by declaring that Islam does not object to the prohibition of enslavement. I said that these writers do not notice the difference between Muslims enslaving their enemies and enemies enslaving Muslims. The enslavement of Muslims by their enemies is a blessing they offer to these enemies, as I mentioned earlier the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him): إن ربَّك لَيعجَبُ من أقوامٍ يُجَرُّون إلى الجنَّةِ بالسَّلاسل Indeed, your Lord is amazed at a group of people who are dragged into Paradise by their chains. These captives who are brought to the abode of Islam look upon Islam closely and from near, and they come to know the truth to which Islam calls, so they believe and submit, and their captivity becomes a blessing that returns to them as a blessing. Those who call today for the prohibition of enslavement mean that they do not distinguish between a Muslim enslaving a disbeliever, and we read these examples in the book al-Adab al-Mufrad by Imam al-Bukhari, and a disbeliever enslaving a Muslim, where this Muslim, with time, or at least his children, become polytheists and disbelievers who associate partners with Allah. Whereas, if that disbelieving captive does not submit himself, as happened in the early days of Islam, at least the offspring that will be born from him will live in an Islamic atmosphere and will produce and emerge as Muslims, without any doubt or ambiguity. These are among the etiquettes of Islam in guiding masters to treat their slaves well.