Short answer
The Bible allows slavery, and it never makes freeing a slave an expiation for sin or a deed that earns Paradise. The Law lets Israel buy foreigners as slaves "for ever". A master who beats his slave is not punished if the slave lasts a day or two, "for he is his money". A father may sell his daughter. The New Testament tells slaves to obey their masters with fear and trembling. Islam also found slavery everywhere. It shut every road by which a free person could be enslaved, except captivity in a lawful war. It pushed believers to set slaves free. The Prophet (ﷺ) made freedom the expiation for a single slap. He said Allah (﷾) will oppose the man who sells a free person. The Qur'an makes freeing slaves an act of worship, a charity and an expiation for sin. Today Muslim scholars declare slavery forbidden.
Full explanation
Slavery in the Law of Moses
The Law lets Israel buy slaves from the nations around them, and from foreigners living among them. They can hand them down to their children as property for ever. A master whose slave dies under his rod is punished. But not if the slave lives a day or two, because the slave is his money. And a father may sell his own daughter as a servant girl.
“Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.”
“And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.”
“And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.”
Captives in the Bible's wars
In a city that will not make peace, the Law orders every male to be killed, and the women and children taken as spoil. After the war with Midian, Moses orders the boys killed, and every woman who had slept with a man. The girls are to be kept alive "for yourselves".
“And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.”
“And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”
What the New Testament tells slaves
The New Testament tells slaves, again and again, to obey their masters with fear and trembling, even when the master is harsh. The King James Version says "servants". But in Ephesians, Colossians and 1 Timothy the Greek word is doulos, which means a slave. And 1 Peter uses the word for slaves in a household. Modern translations such as the NIV say "slaves".
“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;”
“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:”
“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.”
“Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.”
How Islam told Muslims to treat a slave
The Prophet (ﷺ) called slaves the brothers of their owners: feed them what you eat, dress them as you dress, and do not overwork them. He made a slave's freedom the price for slapping or beating him. The Qur'an forbids forcing slave women into prostitution. It tells owners to give a slave who asks for it a written contract to buy his freedom, if they see good in him, and to help him with money.
Abu Dharr insulted a man and shamed him over his mother. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him he still had some of the ways of the Days of Ignorance. He said that their slaves are their brothers: they must feed them from what they eat, clothe them as they dress, and not load them beyond their strength, or else help them.
Zadhan found Ibn Umar freeing a slave. Ibn Umar said there was no reward in it for him, except that he had heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say that whoever slaps his slave or beats him, the expiation for it is to set him free.
“Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste, until Allah gives them means out of His grace. And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum), give them such a deed if ye know any good in them: yea, give them something yourselves out of the means which Allah has given to you. But force not your maids to prostitution when they desire chastity, in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them, yet, after such compulsion, is Allah, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to them),”
Closing the roads into slavery
Before Islam, a free person could be made a slave for debt, by kidnapping, or by being sold by his own family. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah (﷾) Himself will stand against anyone who sells a free person. No free Muslim could be made a slave. Nor could any free non-Muslim living under Muslim protection. For enemy fighters taken in war, the Qur'an names two ways to end their captivity: setting them free as a kindness, or for a ransom. Capture in a lawful war was the one road left open.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said Allah will be the opponent of three people on the Day of Resurrection, among them the man who sells a free person and consumes the price.
“Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens. Thus (are ye commanded): but if it had been Allah's Will, He could certainly have exacted retribution from them (Himself); but (He lets you fight) in order to test you, some with others. But those who are slain in the Way of Allah,- He will never let their deeds be lost.”
Freeing slaves as worship, charity and expiation
The Qur'an calls freeing a slave the steep path. It makes freeing a slave the way to make up for killing a believer by mistake, for breaking an oath, and for a pagan kind of divorce called zihar. It sets aside part of the zakat, the yearly charity, to free people from slavery, and counts paying to free slaves as true goodness. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that whoever frees a Muslim slave is saved from the Fire. And when he died, he left no slave, man or woman.
“And what will explain to thee the path that is steep?- (It is:) freeing the bondman;”
“Never should a believer kill a believer; but (If it so happens) by mistake, (Compensation is due): If one (so) kills a believer, it is ordained that he should free a believing slave, and pay compensation to the deceased's family, unless they remit it freely. If the deceased belonged to a people at war with you, and he was a believer, the freeing of a believing slave (Is enough). If he belonged to a people with whom ye have treaty of Mutual alliance, compensation should be paid to his family, and a believing slave be freed. For those who find this beyond their means, (is prescribed) a fast for two months running: by way of repentance to Allah: for Allah hath all knowledge and all wisdom.”
“Allah will not call you to account for what is futile in your oaths, but He will call you to account for your deliberate oaths: for expiation, feed ten indigent persons, on a scale of the average for the food of your families; or clothe them; or give a slave his freedom. If that is beyond your means, fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths ye have sworn. But keep to your oaths. Thus doth Allah make clear to you His signs, that ye may be grateful.”
“But those who divorce their wives by Zihar, then wish to go back on the words they uttered,- (It is ordained that such a one) should free a slave before they touch each other: Thus are ye admonished to perform: and Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do.”
“Alms are for the poor and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (thus is it) ordained by Allah, and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.”
“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing.”
Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will save every part of his body from the Fire, as he freed every part of the slave's body.
Amr ibn al-Harith reports that when the Prophet (ﷺ) died he left no money, no slave and nothing else, except his white mule, his weapons and a piece of land he had given in charity.
What the Church did with slavery
In 1455 Pope Nicholas V confirmed the King of Portugal's right to capture Muslims and pagans wherever they lived, and make them slaves for ever. Christian nations then put about 12.5 million Africans on ships bound across the Atlantic. About 10.7 million survived the crossing. In 1995 the largest Protestant church body in the United States admitted that many of its forebears had defended the right to own slaves.
Pope Nicholas V restates the powers he had earlier granted (in the bull Dum Diversas, 1452) to the King of Portugal: to invade, capture and subdue all Saracens and pagans and other enemies of Christ, wherever they are, and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery.
Estimates that about 12.5 million Africans were put on ships to cross the Atlantic between 1501 and 1866, and that about 10.7 million survived to land in the Americas. Most were landed in Brazil and the Caribbean; fewer than 400,000 were landed in mainland North America.
The largest Protestant body in the United States confesses that many of its forebears defended the right to own slaves, and took part in, supported or went along with the inhumane nature of American slavery, and it apologises to African-Americans.
| Subject | The Bible and the Church |
|---|---|
| A beaten slave | The master is punished if the slave dies under his rod, but not if the slave lasts a day or two, “for he is his money” (Exodus 21:20-21). |
| A daughter | A father may sell his own daughter as a maidservant (Exodus 21:7). |
| Captives of war | In a city that will not make peace, every male is killed and the women and children are taken as spoil (Deuteronomy 20:13-14). |
| For how long? | Hebrew slaves go free in the seventh year. Foreigners can be bought and handed down to children as property for ever (Deuteronomy 15:12; Leviticus 25:44-46). |
| What slaves are told | To obey their masters with fear and trembling, even harsh masters (Ephesians 6:5; 1 Peter 2:18). |
| The Church | In 1455 Pope Nicholas V confirmed the King of Portugal's right to reduce Muslims and pagans to perpetual slavery. In 1995 the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant body in the United States, confessed that many of its forebears had defended the right to own slaves. |
Nowhere does the Bible make freeing a slave an expiation for sin, or a deed that earns Paradise.
Slavery today
Muslim scholars today declare slavery forbidden. The group calling itself the Islamic State brought it back in 2014. More than 120 scholars then wrote to its leader. They told him that bringing back slavery is forbidden in Islam, because it had been abolished by universal consensus.
An open letter from Muslim scholars, muftis and imams around the world to the leader of the group calling itself the Islamic State. Its signers include Shawqi Allam, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, and Abdallah bin Bayyah, with scholars and leaders from Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia and North America. Its summary lists what it says is forbidden in Islam, among them: killing the innocent; killing emissaries, and so journalists and aid workers; declaring people non-Muslim unless they openly declare disbelief; harming or mistreating Christians or any People of the Scripture; forcing people to convert; torturing people; and disfiguring the dead. It adds that bringing slavery back is forbidden in Islam, because it was abolished by universal consensus, and it condemns his taking women as concubines as a revival of strife and corruption.
Verse by verse
Exodus 21:26-27 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 21, verses 26-27
“And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.”
Cited for
The Law protected slaves. A master who destroys a slave's eye or tooth must set the slave free.
The response
Freedom comes only for losing an eye or a tooth. A few verses earlier, the same chapter spares a master whose beaten slave lasts a day or two, because the slave is his money. The Prophet (ﷺ) named freedom as the expiation for a single slap.
Where it lands — The Bible frees a slave for a maiming. The Prophet (ﷺ) made freedom the expiation for a slap.
Exodus 21:16 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 21, verse 16
“And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.”
Cited for
The Bible forbids kidnapping people into slavery, on pain of death.
The response
That protects a free man from kidnappers, and Islam agrees. But the same chapter lets a father sell his own daughter, and Leviticus makes foreigners slaves for ever. Islam forbids the sale of any free person at all.
Where it lands — The Bible forbids stealing a man but allows selling a daughter. Islam forbids selling any free person.
Ephesians 6:5 — Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 5
“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;”
Cited for
Paul was teaching slaves how to live faithfully within a system they could not change.
The response
Paul could have told masters to free their slaves, and he never did. He told slaves to obey their masters "with fear and trembling", and Peter told them to submit even to harsh masters. The New Testament never makes freeing a slave an expiation for sin. The Qur'an calls freeing a slave the steep path and makes it the expiation for three wrongs.
Where it lands — The New Testament told slaves to obey. The Qur'an made setting them free worship and expiation.
Deuteronomy 15:12 — Torah, Devarim, chapter 15, verse 12
“And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.”
Cited for
The Law set Hebrew slaves free in the seventh year.
The response
Only Hebrew slaves. The same Law makes foreigners "bondmen for ever", handed down to children as property.
Where it lands — The Bible's release was for Israelites only. Islam made freeing any slave worship and expiation.
Perspectives
Christian
The Law of Moses regulated a slavery that already existed, and it protected slaves from the worst abuse. It punished kidnappers with death and freed a slave whose master maimed him.
The Law puts to death anyone who kidnaps a man and sells him.
A master who destroys his slave's eye or knocks out a tooth must let the slave go free.
The Islamic perspective
Islam did not invent slavery. It found it in every nation. It closed every road by which a free person could be made a slave, except capture in a lawful war. It commanded kindness to slaves, and made freeing them an act of worship, a charity, and a way to make up for sin. The Prophet (ﷺ) made freedom the price of a single slap. The Bible never makes freeing a slave a way to make up for sin, or a deed that earns Paradise.
The Bible makes foreigners slaves for ever, to be handed down as property.
The Law lets off a master whose beaten slave lives a day or two. And it gives the reason: the slave is his money.
The Bible lets a man sell his daughter as a maidservant.
The New Testament tells slaves to obey their masters with fear, even harsh masters.
The Prophet (ﷺ) made the expiation for slapping or beating a slave the slave's freedom.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said Allah (﷾) will be the opponent of anyone who sells a free person.
The Qur'an calls freeing slaves the steep path of good deeds. It gives them a share of the zakat, and makes freeing them the way to make up for three wrongs.
The Qur'an tells owners to grant a slave's request to buy his freedom, if they see good in him. And it forbids forcing slave women into prostitution.
A pope authorised perpetual slavery for non-Christians, and a leading church later confessed its forebears defended slavery.
Muslim scholars today hold that slavery is forbidden and was abolished by consensus.