Islamic views on slavery was agood articles nominee, but did not meet thegood article criteria at the time. There may be suggestions below for improving the article. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can berenominated. Editors may also seek areassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.
This article is within the scope ofWikiProject Islam, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage ofIslam-related articles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can jointhe discussion and see a list of open tasks.IslamWikipedia:WikiProject IslamTemplate:WikiProject IslamIslam-related
This article is within the scope ofWikiProject Religion, a project to improve Wikipedia's articles onReligion-related subjects. Please participate by editing the article, and help usassess and improve articles togood and1.0 standards, or visit thewikiproject page for more details.ReligionWikipedia:WikiProject ReligionTemplate:WikiProject ReligionReligion
This article is within the scope ofWikiProject Africa, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage ofAfrica on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can jointhe discussion and see a list of open tasks.AfricaWikipedia:WikiProject AfricaTemplate:WikiProject AfricaAfrica
This article is within the scope ofWikiProject Arab world, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of theArab world on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can jointhe discussion and see a list of open tasks.Arab worldWikipedia:WikiProject Arab worldTemplate:WikiProject Arab worldArab world
This article is within the scope ofWikiProject Sociology, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage ofsociology on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can jointhe discussion and see a list of open tasks.SociologyWikipedia:WikiProject SociologyTemplate:WikiProject Sociologysociology
This article is within the scope ofWikiProject Discrimination, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage ofDiscrimination on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can jointhe discussion and see a list of open tasks.DiscriminationWikipedia:WikiProject DiscriminationTemplate:WikiProject DiscriminationDiscrimination
This article is within the scope ofWikiProject Human rights, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage ofHuman rights on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can jointhe discussion and see a list of open tasks.Human rightsWikipedia:WikiProject Human rightsTemplate:WikiProject Human rightsHuman rights
Though referring to newer research is a priority, when it comes to references from corpus of text accumulated over different periods of time, only the Quran dominates. I have tried to create a balance by adding essential references (in English language) from Sira, Sunnah and Fiqh that are taught even today in advanced diploma courses in Islamic Sciences. However, some of my newer and older contributions were altered recently by a single actor for unsubstantiated reasons (containing question marks!). Still, I have taken their comments into account and updated my contributions accordingly. Thanks.
I have revised the paragraph on abolition in the page's first section because it was deeply misleading. It claimed that the bulk of abolition in the Muslim world happened after World War 1, and gave the impression that much of it happened in the 1960s and 70s. But this is simply untrue, and the countries the passage cited (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and Mauritania) were marginal and unrepresentative. The largest Muslim countries, which were also the dominant ones politically and culturally, mostly abolished slavery before WW1, with a few following suit in the 1920s. I have revised the passage accordingly, adding references to the key secondary works on abolition in the Muslim world. (NB: Saudi Arabia may seem like an important Muslim country today, but that's a recent development produced by its oil wealth, before the late 20th century it was not significant either in population size or in political and cultural influence).
I have also re-worded the final sentence, which gave the impression that slavery is still officially condoned in the African countries listed. This is misleading - slavery is illegal in all of those countries, and the people who persist in keeping slaves are breaking the law. The logic of the former wording is never applied to western countries: there are documented examples of slavery in contemporary Britain, but nobody claims that this somehow shows that Britain hasn't really abolished slavery. It is illegal activity.
Lastly, I have corrected the first sentence of the paragraph, which was incorrect and did not reflect the cited source. North Africa was not a *source* of slaves for the Muslim slave trade, it was a destination. In addition, "west Asia" is misleading, because the areas from which slaves were taken extended well into what is normally considered eastern Europe (Ukraine, Russia, etc).— Precedingunsigned comment added byJb212 (talk •contribs)
The following is a closed discussion of arequested move.Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider amove reviewafter discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
Previsiosly the page was named 'Slavery in Islam', but an editor in 2011 moved it without discussion. The user is later banned of sock puppetry , ut his move is not reverted. Also need to keep the page name concise and preciseWP:CONCISEWP:PRECISEเฮ้เพื (talk)04:10, 4 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed.Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
DearFinnashz andAarkkumUpadramAlla it seems to me you are reverting each others edits to this article wholesale and only communicating by edit summaries. May I suggest that you both consider the Bold and Revert stages ofWP:BRD have been satisfied and that time has come to discuss your differences in more detail here on this talkpage? I've poured you both a coffee, but you'll need to opt in to the teleport feature to download it. Thanks in anticipation.ϢereSpielChequers09:14, 7 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Islamic views onslavery represent a complex and multifaceted body of Islamic thought,[1][2] with various Islamic groups or thinkers espousing views on the matter which have been radically different throughout history. Slavery is not banned in Islam and is considered permissible,halal. In Islamic history, instances of slavery arose from military raids in which free people including women and children were captured and enslaved, during offensive campaigns without any provocation. The Quran and Hadith address various guidelines for the treatment of slaves. According to Islamic scripture, sexual relations with female slaves are considered permissible,halal. A specific Quranic verse was revealed when some companions (Sahabah) asked the Muhammad if it was allowed to have sexual relations with captured slave women in front their husbands were present. In response, a verse was revealed byAllah to Muhammad permitting it (Sunan Abi Dawud 2155,Sahih Muslim 1456d).[3][4]
An authentic hadith graded Sahih by Shaykh Al-Albani appears inSunan Abi Dawud 2155, which states:[6]
Abu Sa’id Al Khudri said “The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of Apostle of Allaah (ﷺ) were reluctant to have relations with the female captives because of their pagan husbands. So, Allaah the exalted sent down the Qur’anic verse “And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hand possesses (slaves).” This is to say that they are lawful for them when they complete their waiting period.[7]
عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ صَالِحٍ أَبِي الْخَلِيلِ، عَنْ أَبِي عَلْقَمَةَ الْهَاشِمِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعَثَ يَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ بَعْثًا إِلَى أَوْطَاسٍ فَلَقُوا عَدُوَّهُمْ فَقَاتَلُوهُمْ فَظَهَرُوا عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَصَابُوا لَهُمْ سَبَايَا فَكَأَنَّ أُنَاسًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم تَحَرَّجُوا مِنْ غِشْيَانِهِنَّ مِنْ أَجْلِ أَزْوَاجِهِنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي ذَلِكَ { وَالْمُحْصَنَاتُ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ } أَىْ فَهُنَّ لَهُمْ حَلاَلٌ إِذَا انْقَضَتْ عِدَّتُهُنَّ .
Another authentic hadith, found inSunan Ibn Majah 2272, states that the Muhammad acquired beautifulSafiyyah, a Jewish woman, after the killing of her father and brother in raid of Khaybar, by purchasing her fromDihyah al-Kalbi in exchange for seven slave girls,as part of a slave trade.[8][9]
the Prophet (ﷺ) bought Safiyyah for seven slaves. (Sahih) (One of the narrators) 'Abdur-Rahman said: "From Dihyah Kalbi.[10][11]
حَدَّثَنَا نَصْرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْجَهْضَمِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عُمَرَ، حَفْصُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ اشْتَرَى صَفِيَّةَ بِسَبْعَةِ أَرْؤُسٍ . قَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ مِنْ دِحْيَةَ الْكَلْبِيِّ .
Slavery was a mainstay of life inpre-Islamic Arabia and surrounding lands.[1][12] TheQuran and thehadith (acts ofMuhammad) address slavery extensively, assuming its existence as part of society.[12] TheQuran, regarded byMuslims as the eternal code for humanity, does not ban slavery; instead, it acknowledges its existence as it was. According to islam, One thing stated in theQuran and practiced by theMuhammad is not limited to a particular time period, but is considered applicable for all centuries. The Muhammad accepted a slave woman namedMaria al-Qibtiyya along with her sisterSirin bint Shamun as a gift from the governor of Alexandria in response to a letter conveying Allah’s message. The governor, rather than accepting the call to Islam or fearing military consequences, sent various gifts including slave womenMaria al-Qibtiyya. The Muhammad kept Maria as his slave women but did not attack the governor or force him to convert to Islam.Bilal, a well-known slave in early Islamic history, was not freed by the Muhammad during his lifetime, nor by the Companions (Sahabah) after his death, despite reportedly requesting it multiple times[5][13]
Quran verse 43:32 is often interpreted as supporting the idea thatAllah determines people's roles and statuses in society, including distinctions of rank such as master and slave:
Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord? It is We who have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of this world and have raised some of them above others in degrees [of rank] that they may make use of one another for service. But the mercy of your Lord is better than whatever they accumulate.
There are also accounts in Sahih Hadith where the Muhammad is reported to have purchased a non-black slave by exchanging two black slaves.[14][15] Slaves in Islam were mostly assigned to the service sector, including as concubines, cooks, and porters.[16] There were also those who were trained militarily, converted to Islam, and manumitted to serve as soldiers; this was the case with theMamluks, who later managed to seize power by overthrowing their Muslim masters, theAyyubids.[17][18] In some cases, the harsh treatment of slaves also led to notable uprisings, such as theZanj Rebellion.[19] "The Caliphate in Baghdad at the beginning of the 10th Century had 7,000 black eunuchs and 4,000 white eunuchs in his palace."[20][page needed] The Arab slave trade typically dealt in the sale of castrated male slaves. Black boys at the age of eight to twelve had their penises and scrota completely amputated. Reportedly, about two out of three boys died, but those who survived drew high prices.[21] However, according toIslamic law and Muslim jurists castration of slaves was deemed unlawful this view is also mentioned in theHadith.[22][23]Bernard Lewis opines that in later times, the domestic slaves, although subjected to appalling privations from the time of their capture until their final destination, seemed to be treated reasonably well once they were placed in a family and to some extent accepted as members of the household.[24]AarkkumUpadramAlla (talk)16:32, 7 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
"treated reasonably well once they were placed in a family" That does not seem to be unique to Islam. In other cases of slavery, there were often vast differences in the treatment by various slave catchers or slave traders (who typically did not have a personal interest in the well-being of individual slaves), and by slave owners who had long-term interactions and relationships with a slave (and who may have had depended on their services for decades). Compare for example, the long-term loyalty of the slave and freedmanMarcus Tullius Tiro to his masterCicero, and Cicero's own concerns about Tiro's illnesses.Dimadick (talk)17:41, 8 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
References
^abBrockopp, Jonathan E., "Slaves and Slavery", in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC.
^Brunschvig, R., “ʿAbd”, in:Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs.
^abDror Ze’evi (2009)."Slavery". In John L. Esposito (ed.).The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived fromthe original on 2017-02-23. Retrieved2017-02-23.
.svg)
