The Economic System of Islam — Page 33
33 ‘bondage’ among Muslims more agreeable than free life among his own people. Careful consideration of these injunctions makes it obvious that Islam leaves no room for anyone to enslave another free person. The first commandment is to free the slaves as a favour, without any ransom. If that is not possible, Islam enjoins freeing the prison- ers with an appropriate ransom. If a prisoner cannot arrange for the ransom from his own resources, or from his relatives, he can execute a bond and would, for all practical purposes, be totally free owing nothing more than the agreed instalment. The slave who stabbed and martyred Hadrat Umar ra was himself set free according to the ransom guidelines given above. One day, the slave approached the Muslim who he lived with, and proposed payment of a fixed instalment of ransom out of his income in ex- change for his freedom. A contract was signed that mandated the slave to earn his freedom by paying the agreed instalments. How- ever, one day he complained to the Khalifah that his instalment was too heavy and that it should be reduced. On investigation, Hadrat Umar ra found that the man’s income was many times greater than the agreed instalment. His application was therefore rejected, which made him furious. He thought that justice had been denied to him on racial grounds, as he was a Persian while his former master was an Arab. So the next day he stabbed Hadrat Umar ra with a dagger, who was martyred because of the wounds. To sum up, Islam gives a right to any prisoner of war to gain his freedom by paying ransom in cash or in agreed instalments. If he is then unable to embark upon an economic activity for lack of capi- tal, the master or the government is enjoined to assist him in pro- curing the needed funds to gain his freedom.