Islam and Human Rights — Page 87
Article 4 87 Later, the Prophet procured the hand of his first cousin Zainab b. Jahsh, for Zaid, though the marriage did not prove lasting and ended in divorce. Zaid, however, continued to be a devoted follower of the Prophet and suffered martyrdom like so many others in the cause of Islam. After Zaid’s death the Prophet con tinued to bestow deep affection on his son, Usamah. During the time of ‘Umar, the second Khalifah, his son, Abdullah, once asked his father why the latter had rated Usamah higher than Abdullah in a particular case, despite the fact that he had served Islam with greater distinction than had Usamah. “For the reason, son, that Usamah’s father and Usamah were dearer to the Prophet than thy father and thee,” was the reply of ‘Umar! Throughout his life the Prophet never owned any slave, as the institution of slavery and anything savouring of it were repugnant to him. But the conditions of contemporary life (it was the beginning of the seventh century after Christ) did not per mit a total elimination of the exercise of control by one human being over another, though the degree and incidence of such control were so regulated by Islam as to render it very light and easily endurable, if not entirely beneficent in all cases. In view of the deterioration that subsequently set in, it may not be