Islam and Slavery — Page 46
46. Again, Abdullah, son of the Caliph Omar relates that :"The Holy Prophet used to say that God had spoken to him saying that there were three classes of men whose prayers He would not accept and with whom He would make war on the Day of Judgment. Firstly, the man who makes a solemn Promise in His name and then breaks it; secondly, the man who enslaves a person whom God has made free; and thirdly, the man who exacts work from a labourer and then does not pay him his wages. ” (1). The above words of the Holy Prophet need no comment. They contain an injunction about the abolition-of slavery in the clearest and the most forcible of words. . It should also be noted that the traditions quoted above belong to the category of those sayings of the Holy Prophet which are known as Hadith Qudsi, in which both the command and the words are from God Himself, though they are apparently spoken by the Holy Prophet. . In the face of such clear and plain teachings, it would be the height of injustice to say that Islam permits the enslavement of free men and no honest man can be guilty of that impudence. (1) Ahu Daud, as quoted by Fath Al-Baree, vol. IV, p. 346.