Epigraphs (Reading Time: Approximately
10 minutes)
“All
mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor
does a non-Arab have superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over
a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white—except by piety and good
action.” Excerpt
from the Prophet’s Last Sermon
“I have
a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character.”
—Martin Luther King Jr., Washington, 1963
Every year on May 1st, nations around the world
observe Labour Day or May Day commemoration of the long, arduous struggle for
workers’ rights, fair wages, and human dignity in the face of exploitation. The
date finds its origin in the Haymarket Affair of 1886 in Chicago, where workers
rallied for an eight-hour workday and many lost their lives in the face of
violent repression. This moment became a global symbol of the labor movement’s
fight for justice in industrialized societies.
Yet, while
modern legal frameworks began addressing labor exploitation in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, Islam had already established a robust ethical
framework over thirteen centuries earlier. The Qur’anic message and the
Prophetic tradition systematically challenged the legitimacy of slavery,
color-based discrimination, and economic injustice long before they became
points of international consensus.
1926:
When the World Finally Defined Slavery
Following
the devastation of the First World War (1914–1918), the newly formed League of
Nations undertook the monumental task of addressing global injustices,
including slavery. The 1926 Slavery Convention was a pioneering step in
defining and outlawing the practice on legal grounds. It defined slavery as:
“The
status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to
the right of ownership are exercised.”
The treaty
prohibited:
- The buying and selling of
human beings
- Forced labor without consent
- Denial of autonomy and family
life
- Punishment without legal
recourse
- Inheritable enslavement
This was a
landmark in international law, yet strikingly late in moral history, especially
when compared with Qur'anic teachings of the 7th century.
The
Muslim Absence in the League of Nations
Notably,
Muslim countries were absent from the formation and deliberations of the League
of Nations. Although the Ottoman Empire still formally existed, it held no sway
in this new world order. Why?
The Muslim
world had lost its leadership in science, education, and technological
advancement. While Europe surged ahead during the Renaissance—amplified by the
adoption of the printing press, which became central to the dissemination of
knowledge—the Muslim world resisted such change. This historical resistance to
innovation had long-term consequences.
By the
time the League was formed, the Muslim world was fractured, colonized, and
politically irrelevant. Figures like T.E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of
Arabia") were actively involved in dismantling the Ottoman Empire. The
abolition of the Caliphate in 1924 marked a turning point, ending a
political-religious institution that had endured since Abu Bakr (r.a).
In the
post-colonial era, the establishment of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC) in 1969 was an attempt to restore some collective Muslim agency. However,
the OIC has remained largely symbolic—a muted, impotent, and ineffectual body
in global politics with little capacity to influence the international
community meaningfully.
The
Qur’an: A Moral Blueprint for the Abolition of Slavery
Long
before the 1926 Convention, the Qur’an and Sunnah laid down a transformative
ethical code to address the institution of slavery, not through abrupt legal
decrees, but by initiating moral and structural reforms to dissolve it from
within society gradually.
1.
Humanization of Slaves
And all
of you worship God and associate none with Him. Show kindness to
parents, and also be kind to relatives, to orphans, to the
destitute, to neighbours who are your relatives, and to neighbours you do
not know, and to those that keep company with you; similarly, to the traveller
and slave men and women in your possession. God does not like the arrogant
and the conceited,”
(Qur’an 4:36)
The Qur’an
commands believers to treat all individuals as human beings with compassion and
justice, including slaves, placing them within the moral circle of ethical
responsibility. This is the first and foremost step undertaken by God to treat
them as equals.
2.
Emancipation as a Moral Virtue
“…And
what will make you comprehend what the difficult path is? It is the freeing of
a slave.”
(Qur’an 90:12-13)
The act of
freeing a slave is presented as the highest form of righteousness, incentivized
through spiritual reward. This is the second step taken by God in having the
freeing of necks as one of the highest virtue!
3. Legal
Emancipation through Contract (Kitābah)
“And
those who seek a contract [of emancipation]… make a contract with them… and
give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you.”
(Qur’an 24:33)
Islam
legally empowered slaves to earn their freedom through economic
self-determination. The third logical step God undertook was to entertain
slaves or slave-maidens if they wanted to buy their freedom.
4. Humane
Treatment of War Captives
“…either
set them free graciously or ransom them until the war lays down its burden…”
(Qur’an 47:4)
The Qur’an
forbade perpetual bondage for war captives, urging their humane release or
exchange. The sacredness of being bound in the fraternity of humanity.
5. Right
to Marriage and Family Life
“And
those of you who do not have the means wherewith to wed free believing women,
let them wed the believing slave-girls who are in your possession: and
[they should keep this in mind that] God has full knowledge of your faith. You
all are from the same species: So, wed them with the permission of their
masters, and also give them their dowers according to the norms…”
(Qur’an
4:25)
6. Ban on
Sexual Exploitation
“…Do
not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity…”
(Qur’an 24:33)
Islam
firmly prohibited the sexual exploitation of women in bondage, protecting their
bodily integrity.
A
Prophetic Sign: Slavery’s End Foretold
The
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) not only laid down practical ethics
against slavery but also prophesied its eventual demise as a sign of the end
times. One of the most striking Hadiths on this matter is found in Sahih
Muslim:
“One of
the signs of the Hour is that a slave woman will give birth to her mistress (or
master).”
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8; Kitab al-Iman)
The 1926
Slavery Convention took steps towards the abolition of slavery in all its
manifestations. The pregnant slave woman who gave birth then gave birth to a
free child. This vision, foretold 1400 years ago, underscores Islam's foresight
in eradicating slavery not only legally but existentially.
The
Prophet’s Final Sermon: A Universal Declaration of Human Equality
Even the
Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) final sermon—delivered during his
Farewell Pilgrimage in 10 AH (632 CE)—echoed the foundational values of human
equality and anti-racism:
“All
mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor
does a non-Arab have superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over
a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white—except by piety and good
action.”
This
declaration laid the moral groundwork for a global ethic of equality and
fraternity.
Gradualism:
A Moral, Not Political, Strategy
Rather
than imposing an abrupt ban on slavery, which could have harmed vulnerable
slave women and collapsed existing social structures, Islam adopted a
gradualist approach. Through spiritual incentives, economic restructuring, and
legal alternatives, Islam morally suffocated the institution from within.
The
Qur’an’s Vision of Human Equality
The
culmination of Islamic social ethics is captured powerfully in Surah al-Hujurat
(49:13):
“O
mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you
into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily, the most
honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed,
Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
(Qur’an 49:13)
This verse
obliterates all hierarchies based on race, class, or tribe. It is this
universal ethic that makes Islam’s early stance on slavery and human dignity
profoundly ahead of its time.
Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. echoed this very principle in his timeless “I Have a Dream”
speech delivered in 1963:
“I have
a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character.”
This
shared moral vision—across time, place, and faith—binds together the ethical
traditions of Islam and the modern human rights movement
Conclusion:
Reclaiming the Ethical Vanguard
On Labour
Day, as we honor the global struggle for human dignity and economic justice, we
must also recognize the moral legacy of Islamic teachings that pioneered this
vision centuries before it was codified in international law.
Islam not
only challenged slavery, but it also redefined human worth based on moral
excellence, not material power or racial identity. The Muslim world, once a
moral leader in global ethics, must now rediscover this rich tradition—not
through nostalgia, but through reform, scholarship, and a return to the ethical
clarity of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
- Aamir
Yazdani
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