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iTunes ChannelSlavery in Islam vs. Slavery in the U.S. (in Light of the 13th Amendment)
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This is post is not what most might have expected from the title. This is not an article about the (somewhat) trite topic of the inhumane forms of slavery which have once existed in Western society. Rather, this post is about the current form of slavery which still exists today in America. Now, I’m sure everyone here is thinking, “What are you talking about? Slavery in the US was officially abolished in 1865 with the 13th Amendment! Right?” Well, hate to burst the bubbles of the patriotically minded, but such is not the case by any means. A closer look at the 13th amendment will show as falsehood the oft-propagated myth of the abolishment of American slavery.The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:
AMENDMENT XIII
Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.
Section 1.
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Section 2.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Note the bold portion in Section 1: except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted!!! (Hats off to Br. Abu Marwah from Boston for pointing out this little loop-hole and sharing with me some very useful points of discussion.)
So, according to the US constitution, slavery, or rather, “involuntary servitude” CAN exist, but only as a punishment for convicts. Anyone here ever heard of prison labor?? Of course we have, and that is EXACTLY the form of slavery that exists in the US today. Essentially, the 1865 amendment changed the rules of the game from enslaving imported African slaves to social outcasts who cannot afford to pay bail or hire a decent lawyer. Not to mention that the concept of the Western prison system in and of itself seems very unjust. Essentially, once a person commits a crime of a certain level of severity, he/she is outcast from normal (and heterosexual!) society and has his very life taken away from him. Alhamdulillah for the beauty of Islam. In Islam, in general, the punishment for a crime is carried out all-at-once (e.g. lashing, cutting off of a hand), and given the crime didn’t deserve capital punishment, the criminal is then free to move on with his or her life (the main exception I can think of is that of exile for an unmarried adulterer… but even this most just punishment keeps one within the fold of general society). I realize there is ikhtilaf amongst the scholars about the necessity/permissibility of prison for certain other crimes, the punishments of which are not explicitly mentioned in the primary texts, but all the same, that is not comparable to the Western prison system
Now, let us compare Western slavery to slavery in Islam; when and how is it allowed to exist. Really, there is nothing for us to be ashamed of as Muslims when it comes to the Islamic concept of slavery. Slavery is essentially Islam’s very humane way of dealing with prisoners of war. To quote Br. Nouman Ali Khan on how different societies deal with prisoners of war, “America has Abu Ghurayb and Islam has slavery.” And, of course, I am sure we are all familiar with the way in which a Muslim is commanded to treat his slave, that we are to “feed our slaves with what we feed ourselves” and “clothe our slaves with what we clothe ourselves”; not to mention all the virtues in Islam associated with freeing a slave. Compare this most excellent system with Western slavery, both past and present. There is no comparison. Compare our humane methodology for dealing with POW’s with the West’s Abu Ghurayb and Guantanamo Bay. There is no comparison whatsoever. Walhamdulillah.
Of course this goes without saying, but regardless of how we perceive any concept in Islam relative to other social norms and customs, we know that Islam is the religion of Allah, and thus any concept endorsed by the Qur’an and Sunnah is true and of the highest level of morality. As Muslims, we are totally comfortable with this concept, so regardless of how we feel about the concept of slavery in Islam and regardless of how others are or are not practicing slavery, we know that the truth lies in our deen. Walhamdulillaahi Rabbi al’aalameen.
Update 4/9/07: See also Islam and Slavery through the Ages: Slave Sultans and Slave Mujahids
© MuslimMatters.org by Ahmad AlFarsi on March 19th, 2007. All rights reserved. Please see legal & other disclaimers here.
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jazakAllahu khayr that was an excellent post. reminds me of something else i heard, regarding those who attack the islamic system of “slavery,” namely that, the islamic system is set up to promote a gradual end to slavery. and of course, even islamic slavery was never as bad as slavery that has existed in other societies. but the other thing is, slavery could not be abolished immediately, it has to be gradual otherwise there is usually some uprising – e.g. the civil war.
Asalaamu alaikum. Thanks for this post on an interesting topic I know little about.
One question – I’m not clear about the difference between slavery and involuntary servitude.
In the US system, prisoners convicted of crimes are sometimes forced by the government to do work but they maintain certain rights. In the Islamic system prisoners of war become slaves – what are those slaves required to do and what rights do they have?
Jazak Allah khair.
Assalaamu alaykum,
That is a very good question, and one could probably write a great deal on the rights that slaves have in the Islamic system (as opposed those which slaves in the Western system have had). As I mentioned in my article, according to Islam, one must “feed his slave with what he feeds himself and clothe his slave with what he clothes himself.” This basically ensures that in Islam slaves generally enjoy the same luxuries as their slave owners. In addition, I remember reading that if a slave is mistreated (and I cannot remember the exact boundaries of what qualifies as mistreatment), he must be freed on the spot. Perhaps some other brothers and sisters can elaborate.
I am aware that prisoners in the US prison system do have certain rights. But for sure, we know they are not clothed with what the government clothes itself! And we know they are not fed with what the government feeds itself! (Surely prison clothing and food is at the very least sub-standard). Again, perhaps someone could elaborate further.
I should also mention that in Islam POW’s do not HAVE to be taken as slaves… they could be set free or ransomed, among other options. I rather meant to say that the only way one could become a slave in Islam is as a POW.
Anyways, I pray someone here can elaborate further on the points above.
Assalaamu alaykum,
I wanted to follow this comment up with the comment that American POWs (such as those in Abu Ghurayb and Guantanamo Bay) have absolutely no rights whatsoever, and indeed are treated like animals instead of humans. Alhamdulillah for the beauty and humanity of Islam.
Salaam Alaikum
Jazak Allah for pointing that out – I had no idea!
Just one point I’d like to add: remember that Islam does not encourage slavery per se, rather it regulated it. If we had a perfect Islamic state applying all the laws of the Sharee’ah, it would not be in need of slaves to exist or retain its ‘perfect’ status.
Sometimes, in our defence of ‘pure’ Islam and as a reaction to ‘progressive’ Islam, we confuse what Islam requires or prohibits (i.e., wajib and haram) versus what it regulates or allows (i.e., mubah). That which is mubah, in general, can be legislated by an Islamic state if there is overall benefit in such legislation.
I’m not targetting this at anyone in particular, just making a general comment
Yasir
Assalaamu alaykum,
JazakAllahu khayran Shaykh Yasir for pointing out that subtlety. I was not trying imply by any means that slavery is wajib or mustahabb. Of course, slavery existed before Islam and Islam only regulated it.
But it is exactly at this point that ‘progressives’ and non-Muslims alike attack Islam’s stance on slavery. It is as though these people are upset that Islam did not make slavery haraam! And then they (progressives) often go out of their way to make something haraam which Allah has not made haraam (i.e. slavery). Yet these people are the very same people who always attack Sunni Muslims for, according to them, “always making the halal haram.” (not that Sunni Muslims ever do that in the first place)
MashaAllah, looks like the progressives are all of a sudden contradicting their own principles!
One thing i have wondered is what makes a slave a slave, in Islam? What liberties and rights to they lack that a “free” person has?
It might seem like a silly question, but i feel that it is valid just because slaves in the past seemed to be capable of attaining different positions in Muslim society. They were not a social underclass as the blacks were in the West.
Is the status of slave in relation to master, the same as child to parent? That is, a child is both under the care of the parent, but must also ‘serve’ the parent, take permission for certain activities, and be obedient in all things halal?
There is also the tricky area of the sexual rights of male masters over their female slaves. I have seen this issue argued a lot in different places.
Lastly, are only the people who took part in the war campaign allowed to be taken as slaves? What about the people who stayed behind, i.e., those people who were not involved in the fighting, but are citizens of the conquered town/city/country? Can they be enslaved once the place has been subdued and they have surrendered, or is it only those who were captured during hostilities?
Wrt this topic, i just found these two sites on the BBC News website:
1) Focus on “Modern Slavery“.
2) In pictures: Sudan’s slave voices.
The second one is quite a disheartening read from a Muslim perspective.
As-salaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu,
Woah, I definitely didn’t know about that!
Awww, man… now I wish I’d paid attention to my father’s series of lectures on slavery… :S
w`aleykum as salaam wa Rahmatullah,
There are a couple of aspects of prison labor which might also be useful to consider:
1) the rate of incarceration of minorities (particularly black and hispanic) is much higher relatively, esp. for lower-level felonies (which is where they recruit the laborers) – combine this with urban neglect (except when gentrifying) and outright racial disparity
2) the crackdown on [illegal] immigration and the direct connection to [menial?] labor cost/supply, and the coincidental build-up of prison-camps in the same time period (last 5-10 years)
Jezakum Allahu Khayr, Br. Yasir for pointing out that slavery is not encouraged in shari`a – quite the opposite, the freeing of slaves is one of the best deeds.
Alhamdulillah, a very nice blog, BTW…
w’Salaamu `aleykum
Are you attempting to place Islaam in competition with the American Constitution?
Two wrongs do not make a right. The fact that Islaam institutionalized slavery, instead of abolishing it, is unacceptable to many Muslims. Are you campaigning to justify and revive the act slavery in the contemporary world? 
AQ: “Are you campaigning to justify and revive the act slavery in the contemporary world”
What an insane question to ask, but just for the record, the answer is an emphatic NO!
And on the topic, some of us need to worry more about accepting to be slaves of Allah, rather than allowing our arrogance to be our ilaah.
AQ wrote:
Your comment shows that you either did not read or did not comprehend the last paragraph of the original post, which, to repeat, says:
Please re-read and re-think.
BTW, I am in full agreement with Br. Amad’s comment above.