The issue of slavery in Islam.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The topic of concubines.The Shaykh : Abu Malik.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide us to it in practice.
The audience: Amen.
The questioner : Okay, we want to ask about this aspect: is it true that Islam, regarding the issue of slavery, was not in the sense of desiring its abolition over time, and was not in the sense of taking slaves from other parties except as a counter-action to their actions against Muslims? I mean, if there were no slavery in the world today, as is roughly the case now...
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you for saying "roughly" and not "definitely."
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, by Allah, there is nothing at all, except that they might enslave us.
The questioner : So is it permissible to restart this topic again?
The Shaykh : This is an example of what I mentioned earlier regarding the harms of following the rulings of legislation. This is an example; you will find books by modernists, some of whom are still alive, who say that as long as the Security Council or the United Nations Council has decided to abolish slavery, we are with them. Look at this degradation:[Ali 'Imran 3:139] Muslims, is this the verse, or are they not believers? So we have become a burden to the disbelievers. What will be decided? Until now, Saudi Arabia and those with it do not look at what Allah said or what the Messenger of Allah said, or at least what Islam says, even in one of the faces of the schools of thought that differ on the issue, but rather the Security Council! This is the ultimate humiliation and submission of the Muslims, about whom the Lord of the Worlds said: [An-Nisa 4:141] When people questioned or tried to derive a wisdom for slavery, and the first Muslim, who is 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, relatively speaking, is the one who said, "When did you enslave people when their mothers bore them free?" But this is within the system of Islam. We all know that Islam came with slavery. Where do we get from to say that this was a step toward abolishing slavery? Where do we take this from, knowing that we have nothing that indicates this at all? Rather, we have established rulings until the end of time regarding the obligation of freeing a slave to solve a problem in which a Muslim falls.
The questioner : If you find now the verse:[Al-Baqarah 2:196]
The Shaykh : No problem, if it is found, we also say that prayer is standing if standing is found, but that does not mean we abolish standing. So we say, and glory to Allah, I have said this repeatedly and repeatedly, and perhaps in that is a reminder for whoever remembers. The enslavement of disbelievers of Muslims, their goal in themselves, or let us say, of non-Muslims, their goal from this enslavement is arrogance and corruption on earth. As for the goal of Muslims in the enslavement prescribed in their religion, it is the opposite of that. Do you have any doubt about this fact?
The questioner : No, by Allah.
The Shaykh : No, there is no apparent presence of the difference.
The questioner : There is no presence, there is a difference, of course, but there is no presence that the enslavement for Islam, that everything in it is good for the enslaved.
The Shaykh : Everything is what?
The questioner : Everything in it is good for the enslaved because he will be a slave.
The Shaykh : Everything in it is what?
The questioner : Good.
The Shaykh : Everything is good?
The questioner : For the benefit of the enslaver, meaning.
The Shaykh : I am going to stand with you on the word "everything." Is everything good for the Muslim?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is no "everything" that is good for the Muslim. There is nothing where everything is good for the Muslim.
The questioner : In general life.
The Shaykh : Of course, and let it be so. Likewise, regarding the disbeliever who was captured.
Another questioner : He reached the point.
The Shaykh : And therefore, since he reached the point, we do not come to say that he entered Islam or lived in the Muslim society and everything is fine for him. The Muslims did not make this thing fine. Everything is fine? Let me proceed in my speech.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide us to it in practice.
The audience: Amen.
The questioner : Okay, we want to ask about this aspect: is it true that Islam, regarding the issue of slavery, was not in the sense of desiring its abolition over time, and was not in the sense of taking slaves from other parties except as a counter-action to their actions against Muslims? I mean, if there were no slavery in the world today, as is roughly the case now...
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you for saying "roughly" and not "definitely."
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, by Allah, there is nothing at all, except that they might enslave us.
The questioner : So is it permissible to restart this topic again?
The Shaykh : This is an example of what I mentioned earlier regarding the harms of following the rulings of legislation. This is an example; you will find books by modernists, some of whom are still alive, who say that as long as the Security Council or the United Nations Council has decided to abolish slavery, we are with them. Look at this degradation:
and you will be superior if you are
وأنتم الأعلون إن كنتمbelievers
مؤمنينand never will Allah give the disbelievers over the believers a way [to overcome them].
ولن يجعل الله للكافرين على المؤمنين سبيلاThe questioner : If you find now the verse:
And whoever cannot find
فمن لم يجدThe Shaykh : No problem, if it is found, we also say that prayer is standing if standing is found, but that does not mean we abolish standing. So we say, and glory to Allah, I have said this repeatedly and repeatedly, and perhaps in that is a reminder for whoever remembers. The enslavement of disbelievers of Muslims, their goal in themselves, or let us say, of non-Muslims, their goal from this enslavement is arrogance and corruption on earth. As for the goal of Muslims in the enslavement prescribed in their religion, it is the opposite of that. Do you have any doubt about this fact?
The questioner : No, by Allah.
The Shaykh : No, there is no apparent presence of the difference.
The questioner : There is no presence, there is a difference, of course, but there is no presence that the enslavement for Islam, that everything in it is good for the enslaved.
The Shaykh : Everything is what?
The questioner : Everything in it is good for the enslaved because he will be a slave.
The Shaykh : Everything in it is what?
The questioner : Good.
The Shaykh : Everything is good?
The questioner : For the benefit of the enslaver, meaning.
The Shaykh : I am going to stand with you on the word "everything." Is everything good for the Muslim?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is no "everything" that is good for the Muslim. There is nothing where everything is good for the Muslim.
The questioner : In general life.
The Shaykh : Of course, and let it be so. Likewise, regarding the disbeliever who was captured.
Another questioner : He reached the point.
The Shaykh : And therefore, since he reached the point, we do not come to say that he entered Islam or lived in the Muslim society and everything is fine for him. The Muslims did not make this thing fine. Everything is fine? Let me proceed in my speech.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.