Slavery, Abolition, and Islam

Abstract

Does the Qur’an promote the abolition of slavery? If so, why had the slave trade been allowed to operate across the Muslim world for over a millennium? And why had Muslim scholars not sought to eradicate slavery previously? These were the questions that Islamic abolitionist scholars explored as they sought to challenge the slavery throughout the nineteenth century. A mere two centuries ago, the slave trade was considered completely legitimate by scholars, philosophers, and jurists of all colours and creeds. The abolition of slavery remains a relatively new concept in human history. Scholars from all religious traditions have attempted to navigate the religious and ethical questions raised by the historical acceptance of slavery. This book tells the story of how scholars promoting abolition in the name of Islam transformed the debate regarding Islam and slavery. The book explores how abolitionism became the hegemonic position within contemporary Islamic thought and highlights the journey underpinning the current consensus. Abolitionist arguments were not simply accepted, with defenders of the slave trade using the weight of the historical tradition to emphasize the legitimacy of slavery. The strongly contested debates that ensued had huge ramifications for understandings of authority, tradition, and modernity within Islamic thought that are as present as they are past. In doing so, the book also explores broader themes regarding religious traditions, continuity, and transformation.