Allah, the Exalted, says: "Worship Allah and join
none with Him (in worship); and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans,
Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbor who is near of kin,
the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the
wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hands possess." (4:36)
Al-Ma'rur bin Suwaid (RA) reported: I saw Abu Dharr (RA)
wearing a nice gown, and his slave was also wearing one similar to it. I asked
him about it, and he said that he had exchanged harsh words with a person
during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and put him to shame by
making a reference to his mother. That person came to the Messenger of Allah
(PBUH) and made mention of that to him. Thereupon the Messenger of Allah said, "You
are a person who has remnants of the 'Days of Ignorance' in you. Your slaves
are your brothers. Allah has placed them under your authority. He who has his
brother under him, should feed him from whatever he eats, and dress him with
whatever he wears, and do not burden them (assign burdensome task to them)
beyond their capacity; and if you burden them then help them. [Al-Bukhari and
Muslim]
Islam has laid great emphasis on good treatment of slaves.
The ayat and hadith above contain the illumination about treatment of slaves in Islam.The slaves should be treated fairly in all matters such that they should have
the same food and clothes which the master has, or he should give them such
wages that they can afford to buy the same food and clothes. In Islam all
humans are equal in the eyes of Allah and if someone is superior then it might
be because of his Taqwa neither wealth nor high status. The slaves have the
status of brother and they have the same human needs as the master. Same goes
for the laborers in factories, shops, offices and homes. It is equally
important that the work load on slaves and laborers be considered thoroughly
and they should not be over burdened with work more than there capability.
Pride on one’s lineage and criticism of others on this account is an act of
ignorance and exceedingly unacknowledged by Islam. Being a Muslim we should
keep ourselves away from such conceited views. So a slave should not be treated
badly because of their cast. By issuing the instruction mentioned in the
Hadith, Islam has established equality in the true meanings of the word. Islam
promotes brotherhood between the employers and employed the master and the
slave, the ruler and the ruled. It also urges them to be sensitive and helpful
to each other. By stressing the rights of people, it teaches both classes to
love and respect each other. In another hadith
Abu Hurairah (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
said, "When your servant brings food for you and you do not seat him
with you, you should at least give him a morsel or two out of it because he has
prepared it himself." [Al-Bukhari]
The sense of equality of people is so much emphasized by
Islam that if a servant brings meal to his master, this latter should make him
sit by his side to take the meal with him. If this is not possible for a reason
or another, then he should give some portion of the meal to the servant.
