SLAVERY.
A slave, among Muslims, is either a person taken captive in war, or
carried off by force, and being at the time of capture an infidel; or
the offspring of a female slave by another slave or by any man who is
not her owner, or by her owner if he does not acknowledge himself to be
the father: but the offspring of a male slave by a free woman is free. A
person who embraces the Mohammadan faith after having been made a slave
does not by this act become free, unless he flies from a foreign infidel
master to a Muslim country and there becomes a Mohammadan. A person
cannot have as a slave one whom he acknowledges to be within the
prohibited degrees of marriage. The slaves of the Arabs are mostly from
Abyssinia and the Negro countries: a few, in the houses of very wealthy
individuals, are from Georgia and Circassia.
Slaves have no civil liberty, but are entirely under the authority of
their owners, whatever may be the religion, sex, or age, of the latter;
and can possess no property, unless by the owner's permission. The
owner is entire master, while he pleases, of the person and goods of his
slave, and of the offspring of his female slave, which, if his, or
presumed to be his, he may recognize as his own legitimate child, or
not: the child, if recognized by him, enjoys the same privileges as the
offspring of a free wife; and if not recognized by him, is his slave.
The master may even kill his own slave with impunity for any offence;
and he incurs but a slight punishment (as imprisonment for a period at
the discretion of the judge) if he kills him wantonly. He may give away
or sell his slaves, excepting in some cases which will be mentioned; and
may marry them to whom he will, but not separate them when married. A
slave, however, according to most of the doctors, cannot have more than
two wives at the same time.
Unemancipated slaves, at the death of their master, become the property
of his heirs; and when an emancipated slave dies, leaving no male
descendants or collateral relations, the master is the heir; or, if the
master be dead, his heirs inherit the slave's property. As a slave
enjoys less advantages than a free person, the law in some cases ordains
that his punishment for an offence shall be half of that to which the
free is liable for the same offence, or even less than half: if it be a
fine or pecuniary compensation, it must be paid by the owner to the
amount, if necessary, of the value of the slave, or the slave must be
given in compensation.
When a man, from being the husband, becomes the master, of a slave, the
marriage is dissolved, and he cannot continue to live with her but as
her master, enjoying, however, all a master's privileges, unless he
emancipates her, in which case he may again take her as his wife with
her consent. In like manner, when a woman, from being the wife, becomes
the possessor, of a slave, the marriage is dissolved, and cannot be
renewed unless she emancipates him, and he consents to the re-union.
Complete and immediate emancipation is sometimes granted to a slave
gratuitously, or for a future pecuniary compensation. It is conferred by
means of a written document, or by a verbal declaration (expressed in
the words, "Thou art free," or some similar phrase) in the presence of
two witnesses, or by returning the certificate of sale obtained from the
former owner. Future emancipation is sometimes covenanted to be granted
on the fulfilment of certain conditions, and more frequently to be
conferred on the occasion of the owner's death. In the latter case the
owner cannot sell the slave to whom he has made this promise: and, as he
cannot alienate by will more than one-third of the whole property that
he leaves, the law ordains that if the value of the said slave exceeds
that portion, the slave must obtain and pay the additional sum. When a
female slave has borne a child to her master, and he acknowledges the
child to be his own, he cannot sell this slave, and she becomes free on
his death.
Abyssinian and white female slaves are kept by many men of the middle
and higher classes, and often instead of wives, as requiring less
expense and being more subservient; but they are generally indulged with
the same luxuries as free ladies, their vanity is gratified by costly
dresses and ornaments, and they rank high above free servants; as do
also the male slaves. Those called Abyssinians appear to be a mixed race
between negroes and whites, and are from the territories of the Gallas.
They are mostly kidnapped and sold by their own countrymen. The negro
female slaves, as few of them have considerable personal attractions
(which is not the case with the Abyssinians, many of whom are very
beautiful), are usually employed only in cooking and other menial
offices. The female slaves of the higher classes are often instructed in
plain needlework and embroidery, and sometimes in music and dancing.
Formerly many of them possessed sufficient literary accomplishments to
quote largely from esteemed poems, or even to compose extemporary
verses, which they would often accompany with the lute.
Slaves of either sex are generally treated with kindness; but at first
they are usually importuned, and not unfrequently used with much
harshness, to induce them to embrace the Mohammadan faith; which almost
all of them do. Their services are commonly light: the usual office of
the male white slave, who is called "memlook," is that of a page or a
military guard. Eunuchs are employed as guardians of the women, but only
in the houses of men of high rank or great wealth. On account of the
important and confidential office which they fill, they are generally
treated in public with especial consideration. I used to remark, in
Cairo, that few persons saluted me with a more dignified and
consequential air than these pitiable but self-conceited beings. Most of
them are Abyssinians or Negroes. Indeed, the slaves in general take too
much advantage of the countenance of their masters, especially when they
belong to men in power. The master is bound to afford his slaves proper
food and clothing, or to let them work for their own support, or to
sell, give away, or liberate them. It is, however, considered
disgraceful for him to sell a slave who has been long in his possession;
and it seldom happens that a master emancipates a female slave without
marrying her to some man able to support her, or otherwise providing for
her.
The Prophet strongly enjoined the duty of kindness to slaves. "Feed your
memlooks," said he, "with food of that which ye eat, and clothe them
with such clothing as ye wear; and command them not to do that for which
they are unable."[284] These precepts are generally attended to, either
entirely or in a great degree. Some other sayings of the Prophet on this
subject well deserve to be mentioned--as the following:--"He who beats
his slave without fault, or slaps him on the face, his atonement for
this is freeing him."--"A man who behaves ill to his slave will not
enter into Paradise."--"Whoever is the cause of separation between
mother and child, by selling or giving, God will separate him from his
friends on the day of resurrection."--"When a slave wishes well to his
master, and worships God well, for him are double rewards."[285]
It is related of ´Othmán, "that he twisted the ear of a memlook
belonging to him, on account of disobedience, and afterwards, repenting
of it, ordered him to twist _his_ ear in like manner: but he would not.
´Othmán urged him, and the memlook advanced, and began to wring it by
little and little. He said to him, 'Wring it hard; for I cannot endure
the punishment of the day of judgment [on account of this act].' The
memlook answered, 'O my master, the day that thou fearest, I also
fear.'"--"It is related also of Zeyn el-´Ábideen, that he had a memlook
who seized a sheep, and broke its leg; and he said to him, 'Why didst
thou this?' He answered, 'To provoke thee to anger.' 'And I,' said he,
'will provoke to anger him who taught thee; and he is Iblees: go, and be
free, for the sake of God.'"[286]--Many similar anecdotes might be
added; but the general assertions of travellers in the East are more
satisfactory evidence in favour of the humane conduct of most Muslims to
their slaves.
It sometimes happens, though rarely, that free girls are sold as
slaves.[287] A remarkable instance is related in the Mir-át
ez-Zemán.[288]--Fátimeh, surnamed Ghareeb, a slave of the Khaleefeh
El-Moạtaṣim, the son of Hároon, was a poetess, accomplished in
singing and calligraphy, and extremely beautiful. Her mother was an
orphan; and Jaạfar, the famous Wezeer of Hároon Er-Rasheed, took her
as his wife; but his father, Yaḥyà, reproached him for marrying a
woman whose father and mother were unknown, and he therefore removed her
from his own residence to a neighbouring house, where he frequently
visited her; and she bore him a daughter, the above-mentioned Ghareeb,
and died. Jaạfar committed her infant to the care of a Christian
woman to nurse; and, on the overthrow of his family, this woman sold her
young charge as a slave. El-Emeen, the successor of Er-Rasheed, bought
her of a man named Sumbul, but never paid her price; and when he was
killed, she returned to her former master; but on the arrival of
El-Ma-moon at Baghdád, she was described to him, and he compelled Sumbul
to sell her to him. This Sumbul loved her so passionately that he died
of grief at her loss. On the death of El-Ma-moon, his successor,
El-Moạtaṣim, bought her for a hundred thousand dirhems, and
emancipated her. The historian adds that she composed several well-known
airs and verses.
FOOTNOTES:
[284] Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil, section 9.
[285] Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, ii. 140, 141
[286] Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil, 1.1.
[287] See Modern Egyptians, ch. vi.
[288] Events of the year 227.