Islam instructs that, when working at the master’s home, a prisoner of war must not be given tasks beyond his capacity. If the task is too onerous for the prisoner to do by himself, the master should help him. In any case, he must not be abused. If he is a freedman, working for wages, he should be paid promptly. If the master happens to physically hit a freedman, he has the right to lodge a petition with qada [Islamic judicial system] and sue his master for compensation. A servant, who has not yet been freed, can also go to a court of law, for physical abuse. If the complaint is justified, the courts are instructed in such cases to determine that the master is not fit to keep the prisoner, and grant him freedom.

A person possessing prisoners is instructed to feed them the same food as he eats and to clothe them in the manner he clothes himself. It is no wonder that many prisoners of war in Muslim hands refused to go back to their own people. They felt that if they went back home, they might not get the same quality of food as they got as prisoners and their quality of life would actually be worse. Thus, when Muslims became rulers, prisoners of war often refused to return home, even though they were offered payment of their ransom to gain their freedom. This was so because they realized that their life was more comfortable as ‘slaves’ than as free men back home. If, under such circumstances, a few men chose to remain slaves, who may object?

Slavery and Economics

Although the subject of my address today is not slavery, economics and slavery are inextricably woven together in human history. The development of Siberia in Russia was dependent on the work of serfs and political prisoners. Similarly, the United States of America developed because of the hard work of millions of Africans brought across from West Africa. America today takes pride in its wealth and economic might, but it owes a debt of gratitude to the slaves. Similarly Greek and Roman history tells us that their commerce and industry was for the most part based on slave labour. It is same for ancient Egypt. The economic development in France and Spain two or three hundred years ago was also mainly due to slave labour. Thus, slavery and world economy are intertwined in history no matter where we look. But Islam put a ban on this institution from its inception and pronounced that the development achieved thereby could not be considered moral or praiseworthy.