Dr. Umar Khan
Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.
5-10-26
The
Wisdom Behind Islam Not Outright Banning Slavery
A Personal Journey Through Faith and Reason
As a child growing up in a devout Muslim home, I was
captivated by the wisdom embedded in every word of Islamic teachings. During
the long break between my FSc examinations and start of medical school, I
immersed myself in the studying Islamic literature including Quran, seerahs,
thafheem and Ahadith. The beautiful concepts of Human Rights, the emphasis on education
character building and the importance of moderation among others left profound
impressions on my young mind. I just fell in love with it and that still continues.
After studying medicine what struck me the most was
discovering that certain ahadith carried more medical wisdom than entire
libraries of medical textbooks. The Prophet's declaration that cleanliness is
half of faith and his encouragement to eat less than one's fill represented the
crux of transformative knowledge that could revolutionize human health and
wellbeing exponentially bringing down mortality rates.
Yet amidst this admiration, one question haunted me: Why
did Islam allow slavery rather than banning it outright?
The Question That Wouldn't Fade
Slavery—the possession of one human being by
another—arguably represents one of the greatest crimes against humanity. If
divine guidance existed, why hadn't it destroyed this institution completely?
I sought answers from every scholar I could access, but
their responses left me unsatisfied. They spoke of Islam's encouragement of
humane treatment toward enslaved people, its promotion of manumission, and the
nobility of freeing slaves. But none could address my fundamental question: Why
wasn't this inhumane practice banned?
After my persistent questioning and inability of be
satisfied with the answers most scholars advised me to stop thinking. One
respected elder frankly told me that my mind was my enemy and that I must
embrace unquestioned obedience, something bordering on impossible for my
curious mind. These responses only deepened my concern. I considered slavery
the cruelest institution human society had ever created—even the most vicious
animals didn't indulge in such brutality.
Life continued, and I became absorbed in its struggles
and charms. Yet the question persisted.
Developing Understanding Through Time
Fully convinced that every teaching of Islam represents
absolute wisdom, even when not easily comprehensible, I developed my own
understanding over the next half-century—an honest opinion open to criticism.
When Islam entered a world where slavery was widespread
and deeply entrenched, it did several things simultaneously: it restricted the
institution without abolishing it outright, improved treatment of enslaved
people, created routes to freedom, rewarded emancipation, required manumission
for certain offenses, and morally elevated freedom as an ideal. Over time,
these principles contributed to a movement away from slavery, although the
practice continued in Muslim societies for centuries.
The Quran's overall direction can be interpreted as clearly
moving towards emancipation rather than expansion. Its verses and the Prophetic
traditions contain a trajectory that reasonably points toward abolition.
The Crucial Distinction
An important distinction exists between Islamic ethical
and legal teachings and the historical behavior of Muslim societies. The
continued practice of slavery for centuries reflects human failure to fully understanding
and implementing Islamic principles, not a deficiency in the teachings
themselves.
Carrying eternal wisdom for all humanity in its words,
Quran gives us policies and directions that can transform whole societies and
must be read and understood with the depth of its messages and not
superficially.
Due to these superficial interpretations of Islamic
scriptures ignoring the crux of Islamic teachings, slavery continued in the
Islamic world while the rest of the world had banned it long time ago. Ultimately,
under tremendous international pressure and lots of embarrassments, slavery was
finally abolished in Saudi Arabia in 1962 and Mauritania in 1981. In both
places, local religious scholars still resisted on account of their interpretations
of Islamic scriptures.
Islam and the Holy Quran encompass eternal wisdom for all
mankind within their pages. The Quran provides guidelines and policies that are
eternal and shouldn't be interpreted as a simple penal code. In its infinite
wisdom, by not banning slavery outright, it teaches us to appreciate the times
and attitudes of people, giving time for hearts and minds to change—a process
that must be gradual.
The Alcohol Analogy
A useful analogy is the prohibition of alcohol. The Quran
did not begin with immediate absolute prohibition. It first changed people's
attitudes, gradually preparing them for eventual prohibition. This graduated
approach demonstrates divine wisdom in addressing deeply embedded social
practices.
Similarly, with slavery, the Quran established principles
that would inevitably lead to its dissolution when properly understood and
applied. The clear trajectory toward emancipation means that scholars who
resisted abolition on Islamic arguments were misguided, to say the least.
Lessons for Our Time
Comprehending the immense eternal wisdom in divine words
requires a trained and wise mind to decipher effectively. By discouraging
rather than outright banning slavery, Islam taught us valuable lessons: to be
gentle, gradual, and focused while respecting prevalent realities; to change
hearts and minds before toughening up.
This approach carries profound implications for our
fast-paced world. Building a life of purpose relies on consistent, incremental
progress rather than overnight shifts. The wisdom of gradualism applies to
personal development, social reform, and spiritual growth.
In the
modern, highly competitive business world, Toyota implemented a policy of
gradual and continuous improvement and called it Kaizen, transforming itself
from a source of ridicule into a company to be followed and admired within a
generation.
When we seek to transform ourselves or our communities,
we must recognize that lasting change emerges from patient cultivation rather
than sudden upheaval. The Quranic method of addressing slavery demonstrates
that even the most entrenched injustices can be dismantled through systematic
reform that respects human psychology and social realities.
Gratitude and Reflection
I am grateful to Allah for all His blessings, especially
iman and the Quran. The journey from confusion to understanding has taught me
that divine wisdom often operates on timescales beyond human impatience. What
appears as divine silence on an issue may actually represent profound strategic
patience.
As the saying goes, "Nature does not hurry, yet
everything is accomplished." This principle reflects divine methodology in
addressing humanity's deepest flaws. The gradual approach to slavery's
dissolution exemplifies how eternal wisdom works through historical processes,
guiding humanity toward higher moral ground without destroying societies in the
process.
The question that tormented my youthful mind has become a
source of deeper faith. What seemed like a moral oversight reveals itself as
profound wisdom—a lesson in patience, strategy, and trust in the ultimate
goodness of divine guidance.
For those who
still struggle with this question, I offer my understanding as one traveler's
perspective: the trajectory matters more than the starting point, and divine
wisdom sees the destination while we can only glimpse the path ahead.
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