Islam and the Quran

not taken place and thus slavery was a means for the poor to live in shelter and have regular meals for themselves. It was a social phenomenon and not something introduced by Islam. It was due to the age factor that slavery was not radically abolished, as this would have made people devoid of their means of livelihood. The Prophet had taken several steps to abolish slavery. Islam discourages the taking of a free person into slavery. There are several hadith in this regard, such as: The Prophet said, ‘God said, “I will be an opponent to three types of people on the Day of Resurrection. One of them is the one who sells a free person and eats his price.”’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith no. 2270) The Prophet said: ‘There are three types of people whose prayer is not accepted by God. One of them is a man who takes into slavery a free person.’ (Sunan ibn Majah, hadith no. 970) There was great wisdom in not instantaneously abolishing slavery. Islam made the removal of slavery from society a gradual process, so that on the one hand, the society could be made free of this practice and on the other hand, in the process, the poor and would not suffer. Let me cite an example to put this into perspective. I once met an activist in Delhi who told me how he had freed some youth and allowed them to be set free. He was accompanied by one such youth who later told me that while they had become free, there was nothing for them to earn their livelihood from. It was this social atmosphere that made slavery thrive. When the world changed, people got employment and there was no reason for slavery to continue.