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Status of slaves in the major religions
By Magdy Abdalshafy While Christianity and Judaism favour slavery, Islam has restricted it drying up its sources. Islam, contrary to what the Christian missionaries claim, didn't invent slavery, it was rampant in the whole of the world and in the Arab Peninsula. When Islam budded into life, it didn't abolish slavery at once because this would cause many social and political troubles, so Islam gradually began to dry its sources. Anyway, contrary to the status of the slave in the holy book, the status of a slave in the religion of Islam is the same as the status of free noble men. The following lines is a comparison between the status of a slave in Islam and the Holy Book: (1)In the Holy Book, beating slaves is allowed on condition that beating him would not disable him for two days. Exodus 21:20-21"And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money [property]."
(2)In Islam punishing a slave severely is atoned by freeing him.
(3) The Holy Book condones killing a slave 20-21 "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property. (4)In Islam, the killer of a slave must be killed In Islam, whoever kills a slave, even if he is his master, should be killed, the prophet says: whoever kills his slave, we will kill him. (5)A slave is not ordinary people in the Bible · In the Old Testament, there is no difference between the slaves and animals. Exodus 23:12 "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed." · Bulls are to be put to death if they gore normal people but they are just stoned if they gore a slave. Exodus 21:32
(6)In Islam slaves are ordinary people and even brothers and sisters, slaves in Islam were given high posts in Islam such as army leader and leaders in prayer. The Mouzin of the prophet was once a negro slave. The prophet says
The prophet prohibited the Moslems to use the word salve, he, instead, ordered the Moslems to say
(7) In the Bible a father can sell his daughter In the Bible, the FATHER HAS THE RIGHT TO SELL HIS DAUGHTER TO BE FORCED TO SLEEP WITH OTHER MEN according to Exodus 21:7-8, and if she tries to be redeemed (to be set free), then her punishment is to be STUCK WITH HER MASTER! In Islam bringing up a female and educating her will give you a high rank in the Paradise. The prophet says
(8)In the Holy Book, slaves are property Exodus 21:20-21
In Islam they are our brothers and sisters, they even can lead masters in prayers and hold high offices. A slave led As'isha, the the Prophets waif in prayer. Zeid ibn Harith was a slave who became the Islamic Army leader. By Magdy Abdalshafy Bilal Ibn Rabah, a negro slave, who would have been lived and buried without being noticed but for Islam. He was a slave whom Islam freed to be a master. It is the religion which could be hailed as the religion of freedom.
It happened that he heard his master talking to his friend about the new prophet and how he put the slave and his master on equal footing. Bilal never thought of his emancipation, it was only the freedom of the soul that always he aspired for. Manumitting the body never occupied the man though the burdens over his shoulders were too heavy, it was only manumitting his soul that was long handcuffed by the heathen traditions that occupied his mind. Bilal embraced Islam in secret and began to learn the new religion but it was not long time before his master discovered. The moment this man discovered the conversion of his slave was like opening the door of hell. The masters of that time considered the conversion of their slaves a dint in their pride. Enslaving people to them was just like owing them, the slaves were considered a kind of property that you can destroy or break once you don't like. The man began to inflict all kind of tortures on his slave. He used to take him thirsty, hungry and with his hands and legs both handcuffed to the burning desert half naked and knock him down on the burning sand and flog him violently. Bilal knew well that this torture would never stop till he died or denounce Islam. All painful kinds of torture were inflicted on the man all the day. Under the heavy torture our hero would keep sighing till he was out of breath; his tongue like his heart, like his thin body wouldn't be able to move. Just one word that his tongue would keep saying: " ( God is) ONE. A liturgy that he kept saying when the blunt of torture increased. When his persecutors power ran out, they used to fix him to the ground, bring a heavy burning rock and put it on his body and yet the slave is persistent. No…he didn't implore to them to remove the stone…he just said :
This was the most suitable answer to their attempts to break his insistence to be a Muslim. They used to tie a rope around his neck and give him to their children to play with him but our hero is still persistent. Days passed and our slave and heavy loads of tortures were poured on him….His sight began to soften the callous petrified heart of his persecutors, so , he said to him" Ok…be as you wish…but say something good about our idolaters." "My tongue doesn't like to say this.", He replied. So torture increased It happened that Abu-Bakr was passing by him and saw the torture the black slave was suffering from. Moved by compassion, he said to his persecutor" How dare you torture a man just only because he said
Abu-Bakr offered to buy him and Bilal master accepted saying Bilal, later, became one the most important person in the Islamic history and the prophet lavished on him so much love, he became the prophet's Mou'zan( the prayer caller). Omer used to say
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