40th Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Germany Ijtema Ijtema for Majlis Khuddam-ulAhmadiyya Germany held in Frankfurt from 23 to 25 August Page 7
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100 Years Ago... Hazrat Maulana Abdur Rahim Nayyar’s travelogue – Qadian to London
Elements on the economic status of women in Islam
Construction of mosque in a Congo Kinshasa village
A look at the equality given to women economically by Islam
Congo Kinshasa Jamaat constructs a beautiful mosque in the province of Kwilu, Bandundu region
Al Fazl, 23 August 1919 Page 3
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THE WEEKLY
www.alhakam.org AL HAKAM | Friday 30 August 2019 | Issue LXXVI Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre (ARC), 22 Deer Park Road, London, SW19 3TL. UK info@alhakam.org | F: +44(0)208 544 7673
Slavery in Islam: Abolishing the social vice
Hadith-e-Rasul – Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
Expiation for sins Hazrat Aisha, Allah be pleased with her, narrates that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “No calamity befalls a Muslim but that Allah expiates some of their sins because of it, even though it were the prick they receive from a thorn.” (Sunan al-Bukhari)
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, In His Own Words
The Study of modern sciences
T
he Economist (27 August 2019, “Everywhere in Chains”) ran a story on the concept of slavery in Islam, referring specially to a new book by Jonathan Brown titled Slavery and Islam. A whole array of arguments has been included in the analysis, both for and against Islam. Since the issue of slavery has popped up, we thought it is essential that Al Hakam came forward and presented the true Islamic viewpoint on this very important issue, before all guns are pointed towards Islam. What ought not to be forgotten is that slavery is not something introduced by Islam. It is something that existed since pre-historic times and was a by-product of wars and conflicts between clans and tribes, evolving later into an international phenomenon. Of the numerous vices that Islam took upon itself to cleanse the human society of, slavery was one of them. Wars were very common even before Islam and so was taking prisoners of war into slavery. Wars continued to break out during the time of the Prophetsa of Islam and prisoners of war had to be held as part of establishing peace; holding the mischievous from creating unrest and waging wars.
Now, the question here is this: What did Islam do regarding the vicious business of slavery? This discussion can go on forever, but here, we can only suffice by saying that the Prophetsa of Islam turned this lawless business into a system and further worked on how the system could finally be abolished. In a world where a slave was no more than a commodity, much like cattle and other domesticised animals, the Holy Prophetsa of Islam gave laws to ensure that slaves were, to start with, taken as human beings who had feelings, emotions and other humanly desires that needed to be looked after. Surah al-Balad (chapter 90) is one of the chapters of the Holy Quran revealed to the Holy Prophetsa in the early days of being commissioned for prophethood. Verses 11 to 14 of this chapter clearly state that a society cannot progress unless slaves are freed. “And We showed him two ascending paths of nobility. But he did not follow the path of ‘Aqabah’. And what should make you know what the ‘Aqabah’ is? [It is] the freeing of a slave.” One can ask that if he had received this commandment in the early days of his mission, why did the Holy Prophetsa of Islam not free all
slaves immediately? This question will have to be replied with a question. The majority of those who were held slaves were prisoners of wars and they were in great numbers. As prisoners of war, it was essential to see what background they were from; why they had partaken in war; whether they still had in their hearts the want to take up arms and create unrest and whether they had committed – what we call in the so-called modern day by the socalled modern man – crimes against humanity. In a society that literally endorsed the saying, “All is fair in love and war”, the prisoners of war could possibly have practiced the notion in an inhumanely fashion by killing children and raping women. Would it have been a reasonable move to set them free to go back into society? Would society have remained safe with such persons lurking the streets? Of course not! Modern day prisons tend not to set a convicted felon free unless it is clearly established that they do not pose a threat to the safety and security of civilians. This is a very reasonable approach. And it was the same approach that Continued on page 5
I consider those Muslim clerics who oppose the acquisition of knowledge in the modern sciences to be in the wrong. For in doing so, they seek to veil their own error and weakness. Their minds are set on the fact that research in the field of modern science distances people from Islam and misguides them. They assert that reason and science are, as if, completely at odds with Islam. Since they do not possess the ability to demonstrate the flaws in philosophy themselves, in order to hide their own incapability, they have formed the notion that it is unlawful to study the modern sciences at all. Their souls tremble in the face of philosophy and submit helplessly before modern research. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, pp 66 - 67)