The Right of a Master (19th): Commentary on Imam Al-Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right by Mohammad Sobhanie.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وأمَّا حَقُّ سَائِسِكَ بالمِلْكِ فَنَحْوٌ مِنْ سَائِسِكَ بالسُّلْطَانِ إلاّ أَنَّ هذَا يَمْلِكُ مَـــــــــــــــا لا يَمْلِكُهُ ذاكَ، تَلْزِمُكَ طَاعَتُهُ فِيمَــــــــــا دَقَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْكَ إلاّ أَنْ تُخرِجَكَ مِنْ وُجُـــــــــوب حَقِّ الله، ويَحُولَ بَينَكَ وبَيْنَ حَقِّهِ وَحُقُوقِ الخَلْقِ، فَــــــإذَا قَضَيْتَهُ رَجَــــــــــــــــــعْتَ إلَى حَقِّهِ فَتَشَاغَلْتَ بهِ. ولا قُوَّةَ إلاّ باللهِ..

The Right of a Master

The right of the master (lord) over their bondservants is akin to that of a ruler; however, the former holds an additional right. The bondservants are obligated to obey their master in all matters, big or small, except in cases where following their commands would lead to violating God’s rights or neglecting people’s rights. In this case, it is crucial to prioritize fulfilling the rights of God and people and then focus on the rights of the master. It is essential to remember that all power comes from God.

In the version of Makaram-al-Akhlaq, one also reads:

وأما حق سائسكَ بالمِلكِ فأن تُطيعَهُ ولا تَعْصيَهُ إلاّ فيما يَسخَطُ الله عزّ وجلّ فإنّه لا طاعة لمخلوق في معصية الخالقِ

The right of the master is to obey him, except when it leads to God’s displeasure and anger. In general, one should not follow anyone in matters that lead to disobedience to God.

Commentary:

 Imam Sajjad (AS) discusses the responsibilities of bondservants towards their master, which brings up the issue of whether Islam has permitted slavery and the ownership of humans by others. The answer is that Islam has neither established nor approved slavery. Instead, it has devised various methods to end this inhumane practice.

During the emergence of Islam, slavery was deeply ingrained in Arab tribal society. Enslaved people were valued as assets, and tribal leaders staunchly opposed their liberation. Due to these circumstances, an immediate abolition of slavery was not possible. However, Islam introduced measures to restrict and eventually eradicate slavery. The following paragraph provides a few examples to illustrate this point.

Firstly, Islam considers freeing slaves as a virtuous act, and the Quran encourages Muslims to do so for their salvation in the afterlife.[1]

Secondly, Islam considers the freeing of enslaved people as a form of atonement for selected sins. For instance, if one kills a believer unintentionally, he should free a believing enslaved person and compensate financially the family of the deceased.[2]

Thirdly, Islamic Zakat has eight categories of expenditure. One of them is freeing slaves.[3]

Finally, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) asked Muslims to treat enslaved people with the same kindness and respect that they show to their families. The Prophet ordered that enslaved people be provided the same quality of food and clothing as their owners.

Imam Sajjad (AS) and the Freeing of the Slaves: Imam Sajjad (AS) was renowned for purchasing enslaved individuals, providing them with education and training, and then releasing them from bondage. These emancipated individuals would serve as exemplary citizens and impart their knowledge about Islam to others. They would remain in contact with Imam Sajjad (AS) even after their release [4],[5].

Question: Islam is a religion that opposes slavery and has taken steps to eradicate it. So why were infidel captives enslaved in Islamic wars?

Answer: According to Islamic teachings, there are three possible ways of handling prisoners of war[6]. The first option is to release them as a gesture of kindness. The second option is to set them free in exchange for a payment. Lastly, if the individual is considered a potential threat to Muslim society, the ruler may keep them within the Islamic community as slaves for a while. During this period, the person will be placed among Muslim families. This way, they can learn about Muslim customs and rituals, work to earn wages, marry, and start a family.

During the early days of Islam, the concept of prisons to hold prisoners of war was non-existent. The Muslims faced a dilemma, as they could not release all captives due to the possibility of them returning to the enemy camp and posing a threat. Therefore, the only option was to distribute them among families and keep them as slaves. However, in modern times, Islamic countries that are members of the United Nations are obligated to treat prisoners of war by the Geneva Convention. This renders the practice of enslaving prisoners of war unnecessary.

Notes:

[1] Al-Balad, 90:13 (فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ)

[2] An-Nisa, 4:92 (وَمَن قَتَلَ مُؤْمِنًا خَطَأً فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُّؤْمِنَةٍ وَدِيَةٌ مُّسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ)

[3] At-Tawbah, 9:60 (إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ … وَفِي الرِّقَابِ)

[4] https://makarem.ir/main.aspx?typeinfo=23&lid=1&catid=null&mid=323698

[5] https://makarem.ir/main.aspx?typeinfo=25&lid=0&catid=23379&mid=316409

[6] Mohammad, 47:4 (فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً)

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