Islamic views on slavery

Before Islam started, there was slavery. Muhammad and his successors used slaves. They also used slaves as concubines.

The work that slaves did, and the trading of slaves was important in Islamic society. In the 19th century, under the influence of colonialism, slavery was gradually abolished. Despite this, there are some conditions resembling slavery which continue to exist in some predominantly Muslim countries.

With the abolition of slavery, all Muslim countries have signed documents abolishing it. Some jihadist organizations continue to practice it, though.

Quran

Ma malakat aymanuhum

The most common term in the Qur'an to refer to slaves is the expression ma malakat aymanuhum or milk al-yamin[1] in short, meaning "those whom your right hands possess".[n 1] This term is found in 15 Quranic passages,[2] making it the most common term for slaves. The Qur'an refers to slaves very differently than classical Arabic: whereas the most common Arabic term for slave is ‘abd, the Qur'an instead uses that term in sense of "servant of God", and raqiq (another Arabic term for slave) is not found in the Qur'an.[2] Thus, this term is a Qur'anic innovation.[3] The term can be seen as an honorific, as to be held by "the right hands" means to be held in honor in Arabic and Islamic culture, a fact that can be seen in Quranic verses that refer to those who will enter Paradise as "companions of the right hand."[3] The term also implies that slaves are "possessions".[4] In four places, the Qur'an addresses slaves in the same terms as the free; for example, Q39:29 refers to both the master and the slave using the same word (rajul).[4]

Female slaves do not have the right to grant or deny sexual access to their master.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Aqeel (2021-05-28). "What is the meaning of "those whom your right hand possesses" (milk al-yamin)?". www.alhakam.org. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
  2. 1 2 Jonathan E. Brockopp (2006). "Slaves and slavery". In Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol. 5. Brill. pp. 57–58.
  3. 1 2 Bernard Freamon (2019). Possessed by the Right Hand: The Problem of Slavery in Islamic Law and Muslim Cultures. pp. 129–30. OCLC 1104492002.
  4. 1 2 Jonathan E. Brockopp (2000). Early Mālikī Law: Ibn ʻAbd Al-Ḥakam and His Major Compendium of Jurisprudence. Brill. p. 131. ISBN 978-9004116283.
  5. ↑ "The Feminist Sexual Ethics Project". Brandeis University. Retrieved 2026-06-19.

Notes

  1. ↑ The term's translations has many variations:
    • Abdullah Yusuf Ali: "those whom your right hands possess".
    • M. H. Shakir: "those whom your right hands possess".Shakir, M. H. (Ed.). (n.d.). The Quran. Medford, MA: Perseus Digital Library. Surah 4:24
    • Thomas Patrick Hughes: "that which your right hand possesses". Hughes, T. P. (1885). In A Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopædia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, together with the Technical and Theological Terms, of the Muhammadan Religion. London: W. H. Allen & Co.
    • N. J. Dawood: "those whom you own as slaves." N. J. Dawood, "The Koran," Penguin Classics, Penguin Books, 1999 edition.
    • Kamal Omar: "as except those whom your right hands held in trust'" Archived 2021-03-22 at the Wayback Machine


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