The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 207
V - Conduct of the Holy Prophet sa with Slaves and His Teachings on the Issue of Slavery 207 once. However, irrespective of the fact that due to this universal freedom, the country became engulfed in a dangerous fire of civil war, even today, has the black slave of America truly received emancipation? Rather, we ask that even to this day, is there a single law within the country, which can grant true freedom to the black slave of America? Does the white man of America not practically consider his freed black slave as being more despicable than even the worst slaves in the world? Then, does this freed black man truly consider himself as being free in America? Indeed, relations between the white emancipators of America and the black emancipated are the worst example of international relations found in the world today. This state of affairs is due to the fact that in freeing these slaves, such a method was employed whereby slaves were emancipated by name, no doubt, but they were unable to attain true freedom. No reformation took place in the minds of the emancipators or the emancipated. In comparison to this, those people who were freed according to the Islāmic method, although they were freed gradually, but after their manumission, they were truly free. In other words, their bodies were free, their souls were free, their thoughts were free, their intellects were free, and such relations of love and sincerity had been developed between these freed slaves and their emancipators, as puts the real brotherhood of today to shame. When I cast a glance upon the African-American “Tom” of today, and the Abyssinian-Arab Bilāl ra of fourteen hundred years ago, a strange spectacle is to be witnessed. Both of these individuals were of African descent and both were freed slaves. However, when the Arab slave (i. e. , Bilāl ra ) went to visit the King of that time (i. e. , ‘Umar bin Al-Khaṭṭāb ra ), on that occasion, despite there being very eminent Arab chieftains waiting at the entrance to meet the King, upon receiving news of the arrival of Bilāl ra , the King did not summon those Arab chieftains, who were also Muslims, rather, he immediately invited Bilāl ra instead. When Bilāl ra had finished his meeting, it was only then that these Arab chieftains were given their turn. In the audience of that King, when the name of Bilāl ra was mentioned, the King stated, “Bilāl is our chief. ” 1 However, in comparison to this, what status was given to “Tom,” the freed American slave? The world knows that he would be kicked about by the feet of his 1 * Al-Iṣābatu Fī Tamīziṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 3, p. 178, Suhailubnu ‘Amribni ‘Abdi Shams, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2005) * Usdul-Ghābah Fī Ma‘rifatiṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By ‘Izzuddīn Ibnul-Athīr Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad, Volume 1, p. 285, Bilālubnu Rabāḥ, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon (2003) * Usdul-Ghābah Fī Ma‘rifatiṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By ‘Izzuddīn Ibnul-Athīr Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad, Volume 2, p. 347, Suhailubnu ‘Amrin Al-Quraishī, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon (2003)