The Noble Prophet was particularly kind to slaves. He used to say,
"They are your brothers; give them to eat what you eat, and give them
to wear what you wear." Whenever he received any slaves, he always gave
them freedom but they could never free themselves from his kindness and
generosity. They left their parents, relatives and families and
regarded it as an honour to live in bondage to him.
Zaid Ibn
Haritha was a slave. Muuhammad freed him and gave him the choice to go
with his father, who had come, to take him, but he refused to go with
his father and preferred to stay with the Prophet. Muhammad loved
Osama, son of Zaid, so much that he used to say that if he had been a
girl, he would have adorned him with ornaments.
Slaves felt
humiliated at being called slaves. He advised his companions not to say
"my slave" or "my slave-girl" but to say, "my son" or "my daughter." He
also told the slaves not to call their masters "lord" for Allah alone
was the Lord. He was so kind to slaves that his last admonition before
he died was, "Fear Allah in regard to your slaves." Abu Dharr was one
of the converts and Muhammad praised him for his honesty. Once he
abused a non-Arab slave, who complained to the Noble Prophet about this.
He
reprimanded Abu Dhar and said, "You still have some traces of Days of
Ignorance; these slaves are your brothers. Allah has given you
authority over them; if they are not suited to your temperament, sell
them. Don’t harm Allah’s creatures. Give them to eat what you eat; and
wear what you wear. Don't give them that much work which they cannot
do. If you assign a piece of work to them which is beyond their
capacity, then give them a helping hand to finish their work.’
Once
Abu Masud Ansari was beating his slave when he heard a voice behind
him say, "Abu Masud! Allah has more power and control over you than you
have over this slave." Abu Masud turned and saw that it was Allah's
Messenger. He said, "O Allah's Messenger! I free this slave for the
pleasure of Allah." Prophet Muhammad replied, "If you had not done so,
the fire of Hell would have touched you."
People in those days
arranged the marriages of slaves but forcibly separated them whenever
they wished. One man arranged the marriage of his slave to his
slave-girl and then waited to separate them. The slave complained to
Allah's Messenger, who stood up in the Mosque and ad dressed the people
"Why do people marry slaves and then separate them? The right of
marriage and divorce belongs only to the husband and wife."
The
effect of this kindness was that many slaves of polytheists used to run
away and come to him. He used to grant them freedom. When the spoils of
war were distributed, slaves were given their due share. The newly
freed slaves received their shares first for they did not have any
property.
Once a man came to Prophet Muhammad and said, "O
Allah's Messenger! How many times should I forgive the mistakes of
slaves?" The Noble Prophet kept quiet. The man repeated his question
three times, and the Prophet replied at the third time, "Forgive them
seventy times every day." A man had two slaves but was not happy with
them. He used to beat and abuse them but they did not change their
ways. He complained to the Prophet and asked for his advice. Prophet
Muhammad said that if his punishment was in proportion to their wrongs,
well and good; otherwise Allah would punish him for his excesses.
On
hearing this the man was upset and began crying. Prophet Muhammad
recited the verse from the Qur'an, "We shall set up scales of justice
on the Day of Judgement." (1:47) and observed that the man did not read
the Qur'an. After this he said, "O Allah's Messenger, it is better that
I release them from my possession. Be witness that they are now free."
الإثنين أغسطس 25, 2014 10:10 pm من طرف أبو أحمد
اليومية
البلد
