Islam and Slavery — Page 55
55 of individuals, and so on. . But whatever form is adopted, it is essential that it should not be at variance with any basic injunction of Islam. For instance, the term of imprisonment must in all cases terminate with the termination of war. (¹) Similarly, no prisoner shall be put to death merely because he is a member of the enemy force (2) nor shall any prisoner be called upon to perform a work which exceeds his capacity and power, (3) nor shall his convenience and comfort be neglected (4) and so on. . Such is the teaching which Islam gives with regard to the prisoners of war. Now, let the reader judge for himself whether there is any trace of slavery in this teaching. . Call the prisoners of war slaves if you please; but are they slaves in fact? Do not modern governments take prisoners of war? Do not modern governments exact work from them? Do not modern governments lengthen the period of their imprisonment, in case the war is prolonged? If all this is done by every nation and if the international law of all ages has sanctioned that practice, why blame Islam and its Holy Founder for it? Nay, far from being blamed,. Islam deserves the unique credit for conferring a lasting boon on humanity by emphasising the element of leniency and kindness in the code of war and has thus paved the way for international peace and amity. (1) Quran, 47:5: (2) Quran, 47:5; and Kitab Al-Kharoj, p. 121. (3) Bukhari, Kitab Al-Itq. (4) Quran, 76:9, 10, 11; and Bukhari; Kitab Al-Jihad; Tabari.