Review of Religion August 2014

World Muslim Leader
Statement on
Middle East Conflict
10
Philosophy of Revelation
14
The Islamic Concept of
Life After Death
34
Muhammadsa
- The
Liberator of Women
54
VOL. 109 - ISSUE EIGHTAUGUST 2014 WWW.REVIEWOFRELIGIONS.ORG
MUHAMMAD
SA
THE LIBERATOR OF WOMEN

Do you think that you will enter
Heaven while there has not come
to you the like of that which came
to those who passed away before
you? Poverty and afflictions befell
them and they were violently
shaken until the Messenger
and those who believed along
with him said, ‘When will the
help of Allah come?’Yea, surely
the help of Allah is nigh.
ISLAM, THE HOLY QUR’AN,
CH.2:V.215.
Abu Hurairara
narrated: Allah’s
Apostlesa
said, “The example of a
believer is that of a fresh tender
plant; from whatever direction
the wind comes, it bends it, but
when the wind becomes quiet, it
becomes straight again. Similarly,
a believer is afflicted with
calamities (but he remains patient
till Allah removes his difficulties).
And an impious wicked person
is like a pine tree which keeps
hard and straight till Allah cuts
(breaks) it down when He wishes”.
ISLAM, THE HOLY
PROPHETSA
, HADITH OF
BUKHARI.
I know that God Almighty is
with me. Even if I am trampled
underfoot and crushed and
become less than a particle, and
experience persecution and
abuse and curses from every
direction, still I shall ultimately
be victorious. No one knows me,
but He is with me. I cannot be
destroyed. Vain are the efforts
of my enemies and useless are
the designs of the envious ones.
ISLAM, THE PROMISED
MESSIAHAS
, THE ESSENCE
OF ISLAM, VOL. IV, P. 300.
Blessed are you when men revile
you and persecute you and utter
all kinds of evil against you falsely
on My account. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in
heaven, for so men persecuted the
prophets who were before you.
CHRISTIANITY, MATTHEW,
5:11-12.
As the elephant in the battlefield
withstands the arrows shot
from a bow, even so will I
endure abuse; verily most
people are lacking in virtue.
BUDDHISM, DHAMMAPADA,
320.
The right attitude for the seeker
of truth on this lofty Path is, “Let
my people look askance; let my
wife and children forsake me; let
men deride; let kings punish; but
I shall be steadfast, O Supreme
Diety; I shall serve and ever serve
Thee with mind, speech, body, and
act; I shall not leave Thy Law.”
HINDUISM, KULARNAVA
TANTRA, 2.
The Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
prophesied
that the Promised Messiahas
would be raised near a
white minaret, east of
Damascus. This prophecy
was fulfilled with the advent
of the Promised Messiahas
from Qadian, India, a city
directly east of Damascus.
The Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, the Promised Messiah
and Mahdi was born to a noble family in Qadian, India.
From an early age he had a keen interest in religion and
developed a love for the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
. He
was also known for his honesty, friendliness and resolve.
Over time his knowledge and understanding of religion
and its application to society deepened. Being a Muslim
it was his firm belief that all religions were true at their
source but with the passage of time had drifted away
from their original teachings; he upheld the dignity of
religion and demonstrated its relevance to everyone.
His earnest defence of religion was ultimately blessed
when he started to receive direct revelation from Allah
– a blessing that he continued for the rest of his life.
His mission was to revitalise the truth that all religions
held within them and to revive the teachings of Islam. It
was through this that he would bring mankind together
and establish everlasting peace.
In 1889, under Divine Guidance, Hazrat Ahmadas
founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – a
community that has since grown in its stature and
strength and has remained active in conveying the
message of Islam to the ends of the earth.
Hazrat Ahmadas
had established himself as a respected
writer and had written over 80 books. His writings
have been translated into more than 60 languages and
continue to inspire readers to this day. One of his greatest
scholarly works was The Philosophy of the Teachings of
Islam, prepared as a paper and read out at the Conference
of Great Religions in 1896.
He also wrote a fascinating treatise in 1899 entitled Jesus
in India, a book that uncovered remarkable evidence
of Jesus’sas
journey to India. In 1902, the Promised
Messiahas
initiated The Review of Religions which has
covered a vast array of topics on religion, philosophy
and contemporary issues of the day. It is the longest
running English magazine in defence of Islam and the
values it teaches.
From 1889 until the time of his demise in 1908 tens
of thousands of people accepted him. This blessing
has continued and will continue through his Khulafa
(successors).
Currently under the fifth successor, we are seeing that the
tide of acceptance is worldwide and that the message of
Prophet Ahmadas
has really reached the ends of the earth.
©makhzan-e-tasaweer
founder of
the review of religions
Persecution
WORLD FAITHS

14 The Philosophy of Revelation
How revelation is received and
its various forms explained.
HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMADAS
, THE PROMISED
MESSIAH AND IMAM MAHDI
22 The Manumission of Slaves
Continuing our serialisation of
the epic Life and Character of
the Seal of Prophets, Vol II
HAZRAT MIRZA BASHIR AHMADRA
34 The Islamic Perspective of
Life after Death
What happens when we die? The
soul, relationship with the grave,
heaven and hell and whether
communication is possible with
the deceased are all explained.
MALIK JAMIL R. RAFIQ, RABWAH, PAKISTAN
54 Muhammadsa
– The Liberator
of Women
1400 years ago the Prophet
Muhammadsa
revolutionised the rights
of women at a time when they were
treated as mere chattels. Many of
the rights given to women by Islam
then have only conferred in much
of the world, including the West, at
the beginning of the last century
HAZRAT MIRZA BASHIR-UD-DIN MAHMUD AHMADRA
54
Front cover:
Image of a section of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
© Ahmad Faizal Yahya | shutterstock.com
34 22
CONTENTS
AUGUST 2014 VOL.109 ISSUE EIGHT

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T W I T T E R
Hibba Turrauf, Mala Khan, Nudrat Ahmad
NOTE ABOUT REFERENCES
Verse references to the Holy Qur’an
count ‘Bismillah…’ (In the Name
of Allah…) as the first verse of each
Chapter. In some non-standard texts,
this is not counted. Should the reader
refer to such texts, the verse quoted in
The Review of Religions will be found a
verse earlier, i.e. at one verse less than
the number quoted in this journal.
For the ease of non-Muslim readers, ‘sa
’
or ‘(saw)
’ after the words, ‘Holy Prophet’,
or the name ‘Muhammad’, are used
normally in small letters. They stand
for ‘Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam’ meaning
‘peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him’. Likewise, the letters ‘as
’ or ‘(as)
’
after the name of all other prophets
is an abbreviation meaning ‘peace
be upon him’ derived from ‘Alaihis
salatu wassalam’ which are words
that a Muslim utters out of respect
whenever he or she comes across
that name. The abbreviation ‘ra
’ or ‘(ra)
’
stands for ‘Raziallahu Ta’ala anhu and
is used for Companions of a Prophet,
meaning Allah be pleased with him
or her (when followed by the relevant
Arabic pronoun). Finally, ‘rh
’ or ‘(rh)
’ for
Rahemahullahu Ta’ala means the Mercy
of Allah the Exalted be upon him.
In keeping with current universal
practice, local transliterations
of names of places are preferred
to their anglicised versions, e.g.
Makkah instead of Mecca, etc.

The English Rendering of the
5 Volume Commentary of the
Holy Qur’an
One of the most insightful commentaries of the
Holy Qur’an ever written.
Commentary by
Hazrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad(ra)
Read it online at: http://www.alislam.org/quran/
Or Purchase the print version at: http://store.alislam.org/
©AMAGALLERYUK
The world is passing through turbulent times.The global economic
crisis continues to manifest new and grave dangers at every juncture.
The similarities of the current circumstances to the build-up of the Second
World War are stark. Events appear to be moving us rapidly towards aThird
World War.The consequences of a nuclear war are beyond our imagination.
In this book, the historic addresses of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
, Fifth
Khalifah of the Promised Messiah and Supreme Head of the worldwide
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, to prominent dignitaries at Capitol Hill, the
House of Commons, the European Parliament and other notable locations
around the world have been collated.The book also includes the momentous
letters sent by His Holiness to the numerous world leaders. Over and over
again, His Holiness has reminded all that the only means of averting a global
catastrophe is for nations to establish justice as an absolute requirement of
their dealings with others. Even if mutual enmity exists, impartiality must
be observed at all times, because history has taught us that this alone is
the way to eliminate all traces of hatreds and to build everlasting peace.
Read online at: www.alislam.org
Purchase the book here:
http://store.alislam.org/

July 2014, His Holiness gave a detailed
analysis of the ongoing Israel‐Palestine
conflict. The sermon was also broad-
cast live across the world on MTA
International.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
said:
“With great regret it must be said that today
it is the ill fortune of many Muslim countries
that they are no longer united. Members of
the public are fighting amongst themselves;
citizens are also fighting with governments,
whilst governments are inflicting cruelty
upon their public. Therefore, not only has
unity been lost, but great cruelties and injus-
tices are being perpetrated.
The result of the lack of unity is that non‐
Muslim countries now have the confidence to
do whatever they please against the Muslim
and this is the very reason that Israel is cur-
rently engaged in killing scores of innocent
Palestinians in the most cruel manner.
If the Muslims were united and followed
the path of God then the collective strength
of the Muslim nations is so great that this
cruelty could never have taken place.”
continued:
Calls
on the Muslim Nations to Play Their
Roles in Ending the Violence and
Establishing Peace
His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmadaba
, the World Head of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim, Community, the
Fifth Khalifah (Caliph) has condemned
the ongoing violence in Gaza during the
final Friday Sermon of this year’s Islamic
month of Ramadan.
His Holiness also spoke in detail about
Lailatul Qadr, known as the ‘the Night
of Decree’ which, according to Islamic
teachings, occurs in the final days of
Ramadan. His Holiness counselled
Ahmadi Muslims to seek righteousness
and to increase in the worship of the One
God.
Addressing an audience of thousands
of Ahmadi Muslims gathered at the
Baitul Futuh Mosque in London on 25

26 July 2014
PRESS RELEASE

WORLD MUSLIM LEADER PRAYS FOR INNOCENT VICTIMS OF ISRAEL‐
PALESTINE CONFLICT

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad calls on the Muslim nations to play their roles in
ending the violence and establishing peace

His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim, Community, the Fifth Khalifa (Caliph) has condemned the ongoing violence
in Gaza during the final Friday Sermon of this year’s Islamic month of Ramadan.
World Muslim Leader Prays
For Innocent Victims of
Israel-Palestine Conflict
PRESS RELEASE
26 JULY 2014
His Holiness delivering the Friday Sermon from the
Baitul Futuh Mosque in London. Source: File Photo.
10 THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS | AUGUST 2014 AUGUST 2014 | THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS 11

THE
PHILOSOPHY
OF THE
TEACHINGS
OF
ISLAM
MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD
THE PROMISED MESSIAH & MAHDIAS
The Review of Religions
serialised the famous treatise
The Philosophy of the Teachings
of Islam, by the founder of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community. Initially written
for the Conference of Great
Religions on December 26-
29,1896, each speaker at the
conference was asked to present
to the audience the beauties
of their own religion based
upon its scripture, proving that
it was the true religion, based
on the following topics:
• The Physical, Moral,
and Spiritual States of Man;
• What is the State of
Man after Death?
• The Object of Man’s Life and
the Means of its Attainment;
• The Operation of the Practical
Ordinances of the Law in
This Life and the Next;
• Sources of Divine Knowledge
SERIALISED IN
The Review of Religions
Read online:
www.alislam.org/books/
Or purchase here:
store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html
Press Release by Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community
International
Press & Media Office.
For more information visit:
www.PressAhmadiyya.com
“Compared to Israel, the Palestinians
have no power or strength. Certainly
all cruelty is wrong and so if Hamas is
perpetrating cruelty, then the Muslim
countries should also stop them.
However,if you are to compare the rela-
tive strengths and cruelties of the two
sides, it is as if one side is using a stick,
whilst the other side is utilising a fully
equipped army to perpetrate its injustice.”
“Recently,Turkish Muslims held an event of
mourning and in this way Muslim countries
think they have fulfilled their responsibil-
ity. However, they are not fulfilling their
required role and similarly the Western
world is also not fulfilling its responsibil-
ity. They should have actively and firmly
stopped the cruelty.”
“Regardless, we can only pray that Allah
the Almighty protects the persecuted and the
innocent from this cruelty and that peace can
be established.
Furthermore, may Allah the Almighty grant
sense and wisdom to those Muslim coun-
tries that are fighting against one other and
increasing in disorder. May Allah enable
unity to be born amongst them.”
During an hour long Friday Sermon,His
Holiness also spoke in great detail about
Lailatul Qadr,the Holy Night of Decree.
He explained the various significances of
the term ‘Lailatul Qadr’ and how people
can benefit from it. He noted that this
blessing was correlated with national
unity and harmony.
con-
cluded by saying:
“Today marks the final Friday of this year’s
Ramadan – however it should not be that
the blessings of this month now depart but
rather its blessings should come to last a life-
time. May we always fulfil the objectives
for which the Holy Qur’an was revealed.”
world muslim leader prays for
innocent victims of
israel-palestine conflict
12 THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS | AUGUST 2014

THE PHILOSOPHY OF
REVELATION1
(Continued)
How Revelation is Received
The slight slumber that overtakes one at
the time when the word of God descends
upon the heart is completely outside
material causes and all physical causes
are suspended at the time.When a right-
eous person, who has true a relationship
of love and fidelity with God Almighty,
submits a supplication to God in the
upsurge of that relationship, he is sud-
denly overtaken by a slight slumber while
he is still occupied with his supplication
and he seems to wake up and finds the
answer to his supplication, couched in
eloquent words, being conveyed to him
behind the veil of that slumber. Those
words possess majesty and a quality of
delight, and Divine power is felt shin-
ing through them. They penetrate the
heart like an iron nail and often contain
knowledge of the hidden matters. It
often happens that when that righteous
person seeks to submit something more
with regard to his first supplication, or
submits a fresh supplication, he is again
overtaken by a slumber which disappears
within less than a second, and from it
emerge holy words,as the kernel emerges
from the shell, which are delicious and
full of majesty. In this manner God,
Who is Gracious and Merciful and full
of kindness, responds to every question
and does not manifest any contempt or
disgust.If a supplication is made sixty or
seventy or a hundred times a response is
received in the same manner. That is to
say, that at the time of each supplication
a slight slumber overtakes the recipient
of revelation.On occasion,this faintness
or slumber is heavy as if the person had
fallen into a swoon. Such revelation is
vouchsafed on very important matters
and is the highest type of revelation.The
slumber that overtakes a recipient of rev-
elation at the time of his supplication and
When a righteous person,
who has true a relationship
of love and fidelity with
God Almighty, submits a
supplication to God in the
upsurge of that relationship,
he is suddenly overtaken
by a slight slumber while
he is still occupied with his
supplication and he seems
to wake up and finds the
answer to his supplication,
The Philosophy
of Revelation
hazrat mirza ghulam ahmadas
,
the promised messiah and imam mahdi
We present extracts from the writings of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad,
the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdias
, on revelation.These are
re-published from the second volume of The Essence of Islam.
AUGUST 2014 | THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS 15

publication of this book whereupon I
received this type of revelation in hard
words:
‘Not yet.’
When I received this revelation I
informed a number of Hindus and
Muslims of it, who are still alive and
they also witnessed thereafter the lack
of attention of people to this book.
As regards the other type of revelation,
in which phrases flow from the tongue
with gentleness, it would be enough to
state that when some time had passed
after the revelation just mentioned, and
I was beset with difficulties,then one day
I received a revelation from the Gracious
Lord: [3]

How Revelation is Received

َ‫ﻭو‬    
  

      
        
  

From this I understood that this was
an indication that I should invite peo-
ple’s help and that there was a promise
that through such effort I would be able
to collect enough money to defray the
expenses of the publication of that part
of the book. I informed several Hindus
and Muslims of this revelation also and
I also informed Hafiz Hidayat ‘Ali Khan,
Extra Assistant Commissioner,who had
arrived in Qadian the same day or the
following day. I also informed Maulavi
Muhammad Husain of Batala. In short,
after the receipt of this revelation,accord-
ing to the Divine command, I made
some effort towards inviting assistance
and thereafter I received from Lahore,
Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Malirkotla and
a few other places enough assistance to
meet the expenses of the publication of
that part.All praise is due to Allah for this.[4]
The second form of revelation,which on
account of its many wonders I call perfect
revelation, is that when God Almighty
desires to inform a servant of a hidden
matter after his supplication or on His
own, He imposes a faintness upon him,
whereby he becomes completely free
from his self and sinks in that faintness
like a person who dives in deep water and
disappears in it; then when he emerges
from this diving he feels a sort of echo
inside himself,and when that echo ceases
he feels from inside himself words that
are appropriate and fine and delicious.
This diving in the faintness is a wonderful
experience, which cannot be adequately
described in words. In this condition,
prayer behind the veil of which Divine
revelation is received,is above any physi-
cal causes.Whatever the physicists regard
as the law of nature concerning dreams
breaks down in this instance. There are
hundreds of spiritual matters which
refute the thinking of philosophers.Very
often a person sees in a vision objects that
are thousands of miles away and appear
as if they were close to the eye,and often
a person can meet and converse in com-
plete wakefulness with the souls of those
who have passed away.[2]
Various Forms of Revelation
First Form: Out of several forms of rev-
elation which God has disclosed to me,
one is that when God Almighty desires
to disclose some hidden matter to His
servant, He causes to flow from his
tongue some phrases in a slight slumber,
sometimes gently and sometimes harshly.
Those phrases that flow harshly from the
tongue fall upon the tongue as hardly as
hail falls suddenly upon a hard piece of
ground,or as the hooves of a fast running
steed strike the earth. Such a revelation
arrives with speed and is so awe-inspiring
that the whole body is affected thereby
and the tongue runs with it so fast and in
such a majestic voice as if it is not one’s
own tongue. The slight slumber disap-
pears altogether when the revelation is
completed and during the time that it is
received one lies motionless like a corpse.
Such revelation is received when God
Almighty, out of His wisdom, decides
not to accept a supplication or decides to
postpone its acceptance or wishes to con-
vey something which would lie heavy on
the recipient.For instance,when a person
seeks to acquire something quickly and
such acquisition is not in accord with the
Divine will or has to be postponed.I have
been the recipient of such revelations on
occasion, which it would take too long
to describe in detail, but I will set down
one instance.
About three years ago, I prayed that
people might be disposed to help in the
the philosophy
of revelation
Very often a person sees in
a vision objects that are
thousands of miles away and
appear as if they were close to
the eye, and often a person can
meet and converse in complete
wakefulness with the souls of
those who have passed away.

the philosophy
of revelation
might be partially awake or might be
completely awake and one suddenly feels
that new words have entered one’s breast.
Sometimes,immediately on entering the
heart, the words manifest their forceful
light and one becomes aware that these
words are being conveyed by God. The
revelation conveys comfort, satisfaction
and contentment to the heart as the air
that one breathes conveys comfort to the
heart and limbs. A disturbed mind feels
its joy and coolness.This is a mystery of
which the common people are unaware
but men of understanding who have been
bestowed experience of Divine myster-
ies by the Bountiful Lord understand it
well. I have experienced such revelation
on many occasions.
The fourth form of revelation is that
some matter is disclosed by God
Almighty in a true dream, or an angel
assuming human shape discloses a hid-
den matter, or a writing appears on a
piece of paper or on a stone, etc., which
discloses hidden mysteries,or other simi-
lar experiences.[6]
The fifth form of revelation is that which
has nothing to do with man’s heart.One
hears a voice from outside as if someone
were speaking from behind a curtain,but
the voice is very delicious and cheerful
and is conveyed with some speed and
the heart derives pleasure from it. One’s
mind is deep in thought and suddenly
this voice is heard and one is surprised
where it has proceeded from and who is
addressing one. One looks for someone
from whom the voice could have pro-
ceeded and then one realises that it has
come from an angel.It generally conveys
some good news when one is anxious and
sorrowful or is gripped by fear on hear-
ing some bad news which turns out to
have been false.Unlike the second form,
such revelation is not the consequence of
repeated supplications. An angel speaks
suddenly when God Almighty so desires,
contrary to the second type of revelation
when a response is received from God
Almighty to repeated supplications; a
hundred supplications receive a hundred
replies from the Absolute Benefactor as
has been my own experience.[7]
I have several times seen Jesusas
in a vision
and have also met some of the Prophets
in complete wakefulness. I have also
seen and conversed many times with
our lord and master Muhammadsa
, the
chosen one in complete wakefulness,
which was entirely free from slumber
or absent-mindedness. I have also met
other deceased people at their graves or
on other occasions and have talked to
a whole ocean of understanding is
opened for a person. When repeatedly
he has this experience of diving that is
imposed upon him by God Almighty
and he receives a response to every sup-
plication in fine and delicious words,
and in each instance God discloses to
him verities which it is beyond human
power to disclose,he thereby achieves the
fullness of understanding and cognition.
Man’s supplication and God’s response
to it through the manifestation of His
Godhead is an experience as if the sup-
plicant beholds God in this very world
and immediately both worlds appear
equal to him. When at the time of need
a servant makes repeated supplication
to his Lord and receives a response, as
one human being receives from another,
and that response is couched in fine elo-
quent words, sometimes in a language
of which he is completely ignorant,
and comprises hidden matters which
are beyond the power of creatures, and
sometimes conveys the good news of
great bounties or of high ranks or of
nearness to God,and sometimes compre-
hends prophecies with regard to worldly
blessings, then by the hearing of these
fine and eloquent phrases, which are far
above human power,he acquires a degree
of understanding which is appreciated
only by him upon whom this bounty is
bestowed. In truth, such a one recog-
nises God as one recognises a firm and
old friend. Such revelation often relates
to grand affairs. It sometimes contains
words the meanings of which have to be
sought for in a dictionary. Sometimes I
have received such a revelation in an alien
language like English or some other with
which I am totally unacquainted.[5]
The third form of revelation is commu-
nicated to one’s heart in a gentle manner.
A phrase passes through the heart which
does not comprehend all the wonders in
perfection that are a characteristic of the
revelation that we have just described.It is
not necessarily preceded by any faintness
or slumber. It can be received in com-
plete wakefulness.It is felt as if someone
has breathed those words into the heart
or has thrown them at the heart. One
Man’s supplication and
God’s response to it through
the manifestation of His
Godhead is an experience
as if the supplicant beholds
God in this very world and
immediately both worlds
appear equal to him.

the philosophy
of revelation
degrees. This diversity of capacities is
confirmed by observation,for no reason-
able person can deny that human beings
are at different stages of understanding,
of righteousness, of fear of God and of
Divine love. As one is born handsome
and another is born plain, one is born
with good sight and another is born blind
or with weak sight, one is born normal
and another is born defective,in the same
way the diversity of intellectual and spir-
itual faculties is also patent and visible.
It is true that every individual, provided
he is not insane, can make progress in
his reason,his righteousness and his love
of the Divine, but it should be borne in
mind that no one can grow beyond the
limit of his capacity.[10]
endnotes
1. This is a generic title given by The Review of
Religions to describe the collection of quotes we
have selected of Hazrat Ahmad, the Promised
Messiahas
.This title has not been used by the
Promised Messiahas
himself nor is it found in
Essence of Islam.
2. Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol.
23, pp. 111-112 (Eng.Translation, The Essence of
Islam, Vol. 2, pp. 66-67).
3. ‘Take hold of the branch of the palm-tree
and shake it; it will shed
fresh ripe dates upon thee.’
4. Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol.
1, pp. 248-251 sub-footnote 1 (Eng.Translation,
The Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, pp. 67-69).
8. Masih Hindustan Mein, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol.
15, pp. 36-37 (Eng.Translation, The Essence of
Islam, Vol. 2, p. 72).
9. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-An’am, Verse 125.
1, pp. 181-182 footnote 11 (Eng.Translation,
them in complete wakefulness. I there-
fore know well that such a meeting with
deceased people in complete wakeful-
ness, and talking to them and shaking
hands with them,is quite possible.There
is no difference whatsoever between this
wakefulness and normal wakefulness.
One feels that one is in this world with
the same ears and eyes and tongue and
yet one feels as if one were in another
world.People of the world are not aware
of such wakefulness for they are heedless
and this wakefulness is bestowed from
heaven. It is bestowed upon those who
are granted new senses. This is true and
is a fact.[8]
The Ability to Receive Revelation
Capacity and ability are needed for
the receipt of revelation. Not everyone
can become God’s Prophet and be the
recipient of Divine revelation. Allah the
Exalted has given an indication of this in
the Holy Qur’an, as follows: [9]
4

َ‫ﻭو‬    
  

      
        
  

(Part Number 8)
This means that when a sign is shown
in order to demonstrate the truth of the
Holy Qur’an, they say: We will never
believe until we ourselves receive the
Divine Book.God knows best where and
when to confer Prophethood,that is,He
knows who is able and who is not able to
receive revelation. He bestows the grace
of revelation only upon him who pos-
sesses the requisite ability and capacity.
The Wise Creator has created men of dif-
ferent types for various reasons and the
whole body of mankind resembles a line
one end of which is situated at a great
height and the other end is very low. At
the high end are the pure souls whose
capacities are perfect and at the low
end are those who are close to animals
and in the middle are those of various
The Wise Creator has created
men of different types for
various reasons and the whole
body of mankind resembles
a line one end of which is
situated at a great height and
the other end is very low.

volume 11
Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmadra
c h a p t e r v
Conduct of the Holy Prophetsa
with Slaves and His Teachings on
the Issue of Slavery
(Continued)
Masjid Quba,
the first Mosque
built in Islam
Pe r m a n e n t S y s t e m f o r t h e
Manumission of Slaves
These were the various methods of
compulsory manumission, which have
been prescribed by Islam. However, it is
obvious that despite these compulsory
releases, many such slaves still remained,
who were unable to benefit from any
one of these methods. Furthermore, the
acquisition of their freedom was not
definite in the case of mere recommen-
dation.Therefore,it was necessary that a
permanent and solid system be arranged,
by which existing slaves could continue
to secure their own freedom. Hence, in
this respect, Islam proposed the ingen-
ious system known as Mukatabat.Under
this system, the master was obliged to
free his slave on the condition that he
had become capable of manumission
and generated a reasonable amount to
pay for his own freedom. This amount
was to be decided upon according to the
circumstances of the slave,the identifica-
tion of which rested with the government
or judiciary and not in the hands of the
master.As such,Allah the Exalted states:
Life and Character of the Seal
of Prophets

    
     
      

‫اﻟ‬ ‫ﺎ‬ً‫ﺴ‬َ‫ﻧ‬‫أ‬ َ‫ﺳﺄل‬ َ‫ﻦ‬ْ‫ﻳ‬ِْ‫ﲑ‬ِ‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ن‬‫أ‬ُ‫ـﻤ‬َ‫ﺔ‬َ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻜ‬َ‫و‬َ‫ﻛ‬َ‫ﲑ‬ِ‫ﺜ‬َ‫ﻛ‬ َ‫ن‬‫ﺎ‬
‫ا‬َ‫ـﻤ‬‫ﻟ‬ُ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻨ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ َ‫ﻲ‬ِ‫ﺿ‬َ‫ر‬ َ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ﻤ‬ُ‫ﻋ‬ َ‫إﱃ‬ َ‫ﻖ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻄ‬ْ‫ﻧ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ َ‫ﺄﰉ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ِ‫ﺎل‬
َ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ﻀ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ َ‫َﰉ‬‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ُ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬ِ‫ﺎﺗ‬َ‫ﻛ‬:َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ُ‫ﻪ‬َ‫ﺑ‬ُ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ﻤ‬ُ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻠ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﺘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ة‬‫ﱠ‬‫ر‬‫ﱡ‬‫ﺪ‬‫ﺎﻟ‬ِ‫ﺑ‬
ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﻤ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻮﻫ‬ُ‫ﺒ‬ِ‫ﺎﺗ‬َ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ْ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻬ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻓ‬‫ا‬ً‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﺧ‬،
.ُ‫ﻪ‬َ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﻓ‬
Meaning, “O ye Muslims! From among
your slaves, such as desire a deed of man-
umission in writing, it is your obligation
to settle an agreement of Mukatabat with
them and free them, on the condition that
they have become capable of manumission.
Moreover, it is also your obligation to give
Serialisation of the newly translated Volume II of Hazrat Mirza
Bashir Ahmad’sra
outstanding biography, Seerat Khatamun Nabiyyin,
on the life and character of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
.
Translated from the Urdu
by Ayyaz Mahmood Khan
Islam proposed the ingenious
system known as Mukatabat.
Under this system, the
master was obliged to free
his slave on the condition
that he had become capable of
manumission and generated
a reasonable amount to
pay for his own freedom.

Meaning, “Anasra
, who was a Companion
of the Holy Prophetsa
, owned a slave named
Sirin, who desired to settle an agreement of
Mukatabat with Anasra
. However, Anasra
refused thinking that he possessed much
wealth and did not require the wealth of
Mukatabat. Upon this, Sirin filed a com-
plaint against Anasra
with Hazrat ‘Umarra
.
Upon hearing the complaint lodged by
Sirin, Hazrat ‘Umarra
ordered Anasra
to
accept the request for Mukatabat. However,
Anasra
remained adamant upon refusal. At
this, Hazrat ‘Umarra
whipped Anasra
and
recited to him the verse, ‘O ye Muslims! If
your slaves desire a deed of manumission
in writing, it is your obligation to settle
an agreement of Mukatabat with them.’
Upon this, Anasra
settled an agreement of
Mukatabat with Sirin.”[2]
The basis of the obligation of Mukatabat
depended on whether a slave had become
capable of manumission or not. As such,
Yahya bin Kathir relates:
of Prophets

    
     
      


َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫ﻮل‬ُ‫ﺳ‬َ‫ر‬ َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬:
‫ا‬ً‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﺧ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻬ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻓ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﻤ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻮﻫ‬ُ‫ﺒ‬ِ‫ﺎﺗ‬َ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﻓ‬: َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬
ً‫ﺔ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬ِ‫ﺣ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻬ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻓ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﻤ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬،�‫ﻼ‬َ‫ﻛ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻫ‬ْ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻠ‬ِ‫ﺳ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ﺗ‬ َ‫ﻻ‬َ‫و‬
. ِ‫ﱠﺎس‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬ ‫ﻰ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬

َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ َ‫ﻮل‬ُ‫ﺳ‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ن‬‫أ‬ َ‫ة‬َ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﻳ‬َ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ﻫ‬ ِ‫أﰊ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬
Meaning, “The Holy Prophetsa
would say
that where the Holy Qur’an states, ‘It is
your obligation not to refuse a proposal of
Mukatabat, if you find good in your slaves,”
the ‘good’ which has been referred to here is
the ability of a trade skill. In other words,
it becomes obligatory to settle Mukatabat
with such slaves who are knowledgeable in
a trade or skill, or who possess the ability to
quickly learn one, so that they do not become
a burden on society in any way after their
acquisition of freedom.”[3]
As mentioned above, the decision of
whether a slave possesses this capability
or not was in the hands of the govern-
ment and did not depend on the desire
of the master.This Hadith also expounds
that in actuality, the true desire of the
Islamic teaching was to make the cir-
cumstances of existing slaves better and
then instil within them the capability of
An agreement of Mukatabat
refers to the settlement
between a slave and his
master, that if the slave pays a
certain amount to his master,
he shall be deemed free.
them a portion of this wealth, which actu-
ally belongs to God, but He has bestowed it
upon you as a result of Mukatabat.”[1]
This verse serves as the foundation stone
for the compulsory system of manu-
mission. Although the words are very
brief, the meanings contained therein
are immensely vast and outstandingly
forceful.In this verse,Muslims have been
commanded that such slaves as desire to
settle an agreement of Mukatabat with
them in order to secure manumission, it
is their obligation to release them on the
condition that they have become capable
of freedom.An agreement of Mukatabat
refers to the settlement between a slave
and his master, that if the slave pays a
certain amount to his master, he shall
be deemed free.The method of this was
that after an agreement of this nature
had been made the slave would practi-
cally be released. However, in this state
of half-freedom,the slave would take up
work or a profession in commerce,trade
and skill, agriculture or labour etc., and
endeavour to pay the amount settled in
the agreement of Mukatabat.When this
amount was fully paid,that person would
be considered as being free completely.
Furthermore, although this amount of
Mukatabat was considered to be under
the full control of the master, it was still
his obligation to give an appropriate
share to the slave as well. This system
was so blessed and ingenious that such
slaves as were worthy, continued to be
released as a right.Moreover,since slaves
were compelled to take up independent
work in order to pay the amount settled
in Mukatabat,and were made to bear the
responsibility of a civil agreement, they
also developed the ability of living a free
life and becoming beneficial citizens of
the country.
This system of Mukatabat was not
dependent on the desire of the mas-
ter, rather, it was compulsory. In other
words,a master did not possess the right
to refuse a slave’s demand for Mukatabat.
It was the task of the judiciary or govern-
ment to determine whether the slave had
become capable of manumission.As such,
there is a narration:
of Prophets

    
     
      


‫ا‬‫ﺮ‬‫ـ‬‫ﻴ‬‫ﺧ‬ ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻬ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻓ‬ ‫ﻤﺘﻢ‬ِ‫ﻋﻠ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬ ‫ﺒﻮﻫﻢ‬ِ‫ﺎﺗ‬َ‫ﻜ‬‫ﻓ‬: َ‫ﻗﺎل‬
conduct of the holy prophetsa
with slaves &
his teachings on the issue of slavery

funds on the manumission of slaves from
the revenues generated from Zakat.
Doctrine Relevant to Freed Slaves
In this system of the manumission
of slaves it was also ensured that even
after manumission, freed slaves did not
remain completely without support and
assistance.Therefore,the Holy Prophetsa
devised a system whereby a master
and his freed slave always remained
tied together in a kind of brotherhood.
According to the instruction of the Holy
Prophetsa
, a master and his freed slave
were referred to as the ‘Maula’or ‘ friend’
and ‘helper’ of one another. This was so
that both master and slave kept in mind
that they were friends, and in a time of
need, they would help each other. It is
due to this wisdom that a freed slave
and his master were made heirs to one
another. In other words, if a slave died
without heirs,his previous master would
inherit his wealth. Similarly, if a master
died without heirs,his freed slave would
inherit his wealth. As such, it is related
in a Hadith:
2
    
     
    

ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ُ‫ﻮل‬ُ‫ﺳ‬َ‫ر‬ َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬ : ْ‫ﺖ‬َ‫ﻟ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻗ‬ َ‫ﺔ‬َ‫ﺸ‬ِ‫ﺎﺋ‬َ‫ﻋ‬‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬ ‫اﷲ‬
َ‫ﻖ‬َ‫ﻨ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺘ‬ْ‫اﻋ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻤ‬ِ‫ـ‬‫ﻟ‬ َ‫ء‬َ‫ﻻ‬ِ‫ﻮ‬‫اﻟ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ن‬‫أ‬ َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬.ِ‫ﻦ‬ْ‫اﺑ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻋ‬َ‫و‬
ٍ‫ﺎس‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ِ‫ﺪ‬ْ‫ﻬ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﻰ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ َ‫ﺎت‬َ‫ﻣ‬ ً‫ﻼ‬ُ‫ﺟ‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ن‬‫أ‬‫اﷲ‬ ِ‫ل‬ْ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﺳ‬َ‫ر‬
َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َْ‫ﱂ‬َ‫و‬ْ‫ع‬َ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻳ‬‫ا‬ً‫ﺪ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ﻻ‬‫إ‬ ‫ﺎ‬ً‫ﺛ‬ِ‫ر‬‫ا‬َ‫و‬
َ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻫ‬ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬ ‫ﱡ‬ِ‫ﱠﱯ‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬ ُ‫ﺎﻩ‬َ‫ﻄ‬ْ‫ﺄﻋ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ ُ‫ﻪ‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺘ‬ْ‫أﻋ‬
.ُ‫ﻪ‬َ‫ﺛ‬‫ا‬َ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬

ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫ﻮل‬ُ‫ﺳ‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ﻰ‬َ‫ﻬ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻧ‬
.ِ‫ﻪ‬ِ‫ﺘ‬َ‫ﺒ‬ِ‫ﻫ‬ ْ‫ﻋﻦ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ء‬َ‫ﻻ‬ِ‫ﻮ‬ْ‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ ِ‫ﻊ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺑ‬
ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻤ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ِ‫ﻦ‬ْ‫ﺑ‬ ِ‫ﺬ‬ِ‫ﺎﺋ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻋ‬‫و‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﻰ‬َ‫ﺗ‬‫أ‬ َ‫ن‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻔﻴ‬ُ‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ن‬‫أ‬‫ﻰ‬
َ‫ﺳ‬:‫ا‬ْ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻟ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻔ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻧ‬ ِ‫ﰲ‬ ٍ‫ل‬َ‫ﻼ‬ِ‫ﺑ‬َ‫و‬ ٍ‫ﻴﺐ‬َ‫ﻬ‬ُ‫ﺻ‬َ‫و‬ َ‫ن‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻤ‬ْ‫ﻠ‬
َ‫و‬ِ‫اﷲ‬ِ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫ﻮف‬ُ‫ﻴ‬ُ‫ﺳ‬ ْ‫ت‬َ‫ﺬ‬َ‫أﺧ‬ ‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻣ‬‫ﱢ‬‫و‬ُ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ِ‫ﻖ‬ُ‫ﻨ‬ُ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬
ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫أﺑ‬ َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ : َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬ .‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻫ‬َ‫ﺬ‬َ‫ﺧ‬ْ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﻣ‬ ‫اﷲ‬:َ‫أ‬َ‫ن‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻟ‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺗ‬
‫ا‬َ‫ﺬ‬َ‫ﻫ‬‫؟‬ْ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻫ‬ِ‫ﺪ‬‫ﱢ‬‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ٍ‫ﺶ‬ْ‫ﻳ‬َ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ﻗ‬ ِ‫ﺦ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻟﺸ‬‫ﱠ‬ِ‫ﱠﱯ‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬ ‫ﺄﺗﻰ‬َ‫ﻓ‬
‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻳ‬ :َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ .ُ‫ﻩ‬َ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺒ‬ْ‫ﺄﺧ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫أﺑ‬
ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻬ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬‫أ‬ َ‫ﻚ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻌ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﺑ‬،ُ‫ﻬ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬‫أ‬ َ‫ﺖ‬ْ‫ﻨ‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﺌ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ْ‫ﻢ‬
َ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ .َ‫ﻚ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﺑ‬َ‫ر‬ َ‫ﺖ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬‫أ‬ ْ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ﻟ‬: َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫أﺑ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺎﻫ‬َ‫ﺗ‬
‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻳ‬ِ‫إ‬َ‫أ‬ ُ‫ﺎﻩ‬َ‫ﺗ‬َ‫ﻮ‬ْ‫ﺧ‬ُ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫ﺮ‬ِ‫ﻔ‬ْ‫ﻐ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻳ‬ ،‫ﻻ‬ :‫ا‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻟ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻗ‬ ‫ﻢ؟‬ُ‫ﻜ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬
.‫ﻲ‬ِ‫أﺧ‬ ‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻳ‬ َ‫ﻚ‬َ‫ﻟ‬

Meaning, “‘A’ishahra
relates that the Holy
Prophetsa
would state, ‘If a freed slave died
without heirs, his wealth shall be inherited
by his previous master.’[6]
Ibni‘Abbasra
relates
that on one occasion a person died without
heirs.Albeit,a freed slave who once belonged
to him was alive.The Holy Prophetsa
granted
his inheritance to his freed slave.”[7]
The foundation of this right of inher-
itance was not based on monetary or
economic reasons. Rather, the actual
desire was to maintain a relationship
between a master and his freed slave.For
this reason,the Holy Prophetsa
issued the
order that this right of inheritance could
not be put up for sale or given as a gift,
etc., As such, Ibni ‘Umarra
relates:

   
    
     
    


manumission.Hence,as slaves continued
to grow capable, so too, they continued
to acquire their freedom.
Since the method of Mukatabat was the
foundation stone of the manumission
of slaves, it has been highly preferred in
Islam. As such, it has been related in a
Hadith:

    
     
      


‫ا‬ً‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﺧ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻬ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻓ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﻤ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻮﻫ‬ُ‫ﺒ‬ِ‫ﺎﺗ‬َ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﻓ‬: َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬
ً‫ﺔ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬ِ‫ﺣ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻬ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻓ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﻤ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬،�‫ﻼ‬َ‫ﻛ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻫ‬ْ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻠ‬ِ‫ﺳ‬ْ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ﺗ‬ َ‫ﻻ‬َ‫و‬
. ِ‫ﱠﺎس‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬ ‫ﻰ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬

َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ َ‫ﻮل‬ُ‫ﺳ‬َ‫ر‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ن‬‫أ‬ َ‫ة‬َ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﻳ‬َ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ﻫ‬ ِ‫أﰊ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬
ُ‫ـ‬‫ﻧ‬ْ‫ﻮ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﱞ‬‫ﻖ‬َ‫ﺣ‬ ٌ‫ﺔ‬َ‫ﺛ‬َ‫ﻼ‬َ‫ﺛ‬ : َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬ َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻬ‬.
َ‫ﻜ‬ُ‫ـﻤ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬ِ‫اﻟﺬ‬ ُ‫ﺐ‬ِ‫ﺎﺗ‬َ‫اء‬َ‫اﻷد‬ ُ‫ﻳﺪ‬ِ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ﻳ‬ ‫ي‬،‫اﻟﺬي‬ ُ‫ﺢ‬ِ‫ﱠﺎﻛ‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬‫و‬
َ‫ﺎف‬َ‫ﻔ‬َ‫اﻟﻌ‬ ُ‫ﻳﺪ‬ِ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ﻳ‬،ِ‫اﷲ‬ ِ‫ﻴﻞ‬ِ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﺳ‬ ِ‫ﰲ‬ ُ‫ﺪ‬ِ‫ﺎﻫ‬َ‫ﺠ‬ُ‫ـﻤ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ا‬‫و‬.
Meaning, “Abu Hurairahra
relates that the
Holy Prophetsa
would state,‘There are three
kinds of people for whom Allah the Exalted
has declared that He would grant them suc-
cour as their right: firstly, a slave who has
settled an agreement of Mukatabat, and is
worried about paying the sum owed by him;
secondly, a person who married with the
intention of guarding his chastity; thirdly,
a person who strives in the cause of Allah.’”[4]
The liberation movement of slaves was
not only limited to individuals. Rather,
it was also an obligation of the Islamic
state to spend an adequate sum on the
manumission of slaves from the National
Baitul-Mal (House of Wealth). Hence,
Allah the Exalted states in the Holy
Qur’an:

   
    
     
    


‫ﻋﻦ‬ ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬‫وﺳ‬ ِ‫ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬‫ﺻ‬ ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫رﺳﻮل‬ ‫ـﻬﻰ‬‫ﻧ‬
Meaning, “The wealth of Zakat is to be
spent on the poor and needy, and upon those
employed in connection therewith, and upon
weak new Muslims, and for the manumis-
sion of slaves, and for those in debt, and
for the propagation of religion, and for the
comfort of the wayfarer - an ordinance from
Allah the Exalted.”[5]
In light of this verse, an obligation has
been put upon the Islamic State to spend
Ibni ‘Abbasra
relates that on
one occasion a person died
without heirs. Albeit, a freed
slave who once belonged
to him was alive.The
Holy Prophetsa
granted his
inheritance to his freed slave.”
with slaves &

concentration and effort in order to free
slaves themselves, as well as secure the
freedom of others. Most definitely, no
such example can be found in the history
of the world.As such,history establishes
that in this era, not only did Muslims
continue to free slaves in abundance by
their own hands, rather, they would also
purchase slaves with the specific inten-
tion and objective of freeing them.In this
manner,due to the commendable efforts
of the Muslims, countless slaves were
delivered from the misfortune of slav-
ery.Therefore,the following list,which is
definitely not inclusive and only contains
the names of a few Companions by way
of example,is enough to prove our claim.
It is narrated in Subulus-Salam:
1.The Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
freed
63 slaves
2. Hazrat ‘A’ishahra
freed 67 slaves
3. Hazrat ‘Abbasra
freed 70 slaves
4. Hakium bin Hizamra
freed 100 slaves
5.‘Abdullah bin ‘Umarra
freed 1,000 slaves
6.‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Aufra
freed 3,000
slaves
7. Hazrat ‘Uthman bin ‘Affanra
freed
20,000 slaves on one day alone, which
was the day of his martyrdom.The total
number is far greater than this.
8. Dhul-Kila‘ Al-Himyari freed 8,000
slaves on one day alone
TOTAL NUMBER: 32,300[11]
As we have mentioned above, in this
narration only a few Companions have
been mentioned by way of example. If
according to the proportion mentioned
above, we were to approximate the num-
ber of slaves freed by a large number of
other Companions, the Tabi‘in[12]
and
Taba‘ Tabi‘in,[13]
this number definitely
reaches into the millions. However, the
truth is that even the number of freed
slaves mentioned in this narration,which
have been attributed to the above-men-
tioned Companions, is not completely
accurate. Rather, the actual number is
far greater. For example, with regards to
Hazrat ‘A’ishahra
it is proven from a nar-
ration that she freed forty slaves upon
a single instance alone. From another
narration it becomes evident that it was
her practice to free slaves abundantly.
Therefore,to assume that throughout the
course of her entire life she only freed
sixty-seven slaves, would most defi-
nitely be incorrect.Similarly,the number
which has been attributed to the Holy
Prophetsa
, may be correct in relation to
his personal circumstances, because his
financial state at a personal level was not
very good.Moreover,after the institution
of these injunctions, the Holy Prophetsa
only lived for a short period in time
Meaning,‘The Holy Prophetsa
prohibited
the buying and selling,or gifting,etc.,of
the right of inheritance between a freed
slave and his master.’[8]
Then, in order to establish the dignity
and honour of freed slaves, it is men-
tioned in a Hadith:
2
َ

َ‫ﺳ‬:‫ا‬ْ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻟ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻔ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻧ‬ ِ‫ﰲ‬ ٍ‫ل‬َ‫ﻼ‬ِ‫ﺑ‬َ‫و‬ ٍ‫ﻴﺐ‬َ‫ﻬ‬ُ‫ﺻ‬َ‫و‬ َ‫ن‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻤ‬ْ‫ﻠ‬
َ‫و‬ِ‫اﷲ‬ِ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫ﻮف‬ُ‫ﻴ‬ُ‫ﺳ‬ ْ‫ت‬َ‫ﺬ‬َ‫أﺧ‬ ‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻣ‬‫ﱢ‬‫و‬ُ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻋ‬ ِ‫ﻖ‬ُ‫ﻨ‬ُ‫ﻋ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬
ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫أﺑ‬ َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ : َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬ .‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻫ‬َ‫ﺬ‬َ‫ﺧ‬ْ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﻣ‬ ‫اﷲ‬:َ‫أ‬َ‫ن‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻟ‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺗ‬
‫ا‬َ‫ﺬ‬َ‫ﻫ‬‫؟‬ْ‫ﻢ‬ِ‫ﻫ‬ِ‫ﺪ‬‫ﱢ‬‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ٍ‫ﺶ‬ْ‫ﻳ‬َ‫ﺮ‬ُ‫ـ‬‫ﻗ‬ ِ‫ﺦ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻟﺸ‬‫ﱠ‬ِ‫ﱠﱯ‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬ ‫ﺄﺗﻰ‬َ‫ﻓ‬
‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻳ‬ :َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ .ُ‫ﻩ‬َ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺒ‬ْ‫ﺄﺧ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫أﺑ‬
ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﻬ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬‫أ‬ َ‫ﻚ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻌ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﺑ‬،ُ‫ﻬ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬‫أ‬ َ‫ﺖ‬ْ‫ﻨ‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﺌ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ْ‫ﻢ‬
َ‫ﺄ‬َ‫ﻓ‬ .َ‫ﻚ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﺑ‬َ‫ر‬ َ‫ﺖ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬‫أ‬ ْ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ﻟ‬: َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ ٍ‫ﺮ‬ْ‫ﻜ‬َ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﻮ‬ُ‫أﺑ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺎﻫ‬َ‫ﺗ‬
‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻳ‬ِ‫إ‬َ‫أ‬ ُ‫ﺎﻩ‬َ‫ﺗ‬َ‫ﻮ‬ْ‫ﺧ‬ُ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫ﺮ‬ِ‫ﻔ‬ْ‫ﻐ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻳ‬ ،‫ﻻ‬ :‫ا‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻟ‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻗ‬ ‫ﻢ؟‬ُ‫ﻜ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻀ‬ْ‫ﻏ‬
.‫ﻲ‬ِ‫أﺧ‬ ‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻳ‬ َ‫ﻚ‬َ‫ﻟ‬

Meaning, “On one occasion, Salmanra
,
Suhaibra
and Bilalra
, etc., who were freed
slaves,were sitting somewhere.Abu Sufyanra
happened to pass by and they said, ‘This
enemy of God was saved from the sword of
Allah.’ When Hazrat Abu Bakrra
heard this,
he admonished them saying,‘Is this how you
speak of the leader of the Quraish?’ After this,
Abu Bakrra
presented himself before the Holy
Prophetsa
and related the entire incident.The
Holy Prophetsa
said, ‘Abu Bakr! Are you cer-
tain that you have not displeased Bilal, etc.?
For in their displeasure is the displeasure
of God.’ Abu Bakrra
returned to Bilalra
, etc.,
immediately and said, ‘O brothers! I hope
you are not displeased at what I said.’They
responded,‘O brother! We are not displeased.
There is nothing to worry about.’”[9]
How Did the Muslims Act upon the
Teaching of the Manumission of Slaves
Now the only question which remains
is whether the freedom of slaves actu-
ally took place or not,as a result of these
recommendations, expiations, and com-
pulsory manumissions. The answer to
this is that as mentioned above, in this
era, slaves were found in abundance.
This was to such an extent that in cer-
tain countries, the number of slaves was
at times, even greater than the actual
number of residents in the country.[10]
Therefore, to empty this unlimited store
was no easy task, nor did all of these
slaves live under the small Islamic State
and under Muslim owners, whose num-
ber was even smaller.Thus,it was obvious
that this liberation movement could only
move forward gradually. However, his-
tory shows that as far as the efforts of
the Companions and their followers were
concerned, they exerted their utmost
with slaves &

3
ُ ََُْ َ َ َ ْ
َْ‫اﳊ‬ِ‫ث‬ِ‫ر‬‫ﺎ‬ِ‫اﷲ‬ ُ‫ﻮل‬ُ‫ﺳ‬َ‫ر‬ َ‫ك‬َ‫ﺮ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻣ‬ : َ‫ﺎل‬َ‫ﻗ‬‫اﷲ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺻ‬
َ‫ﻻ‬َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ﺎر‬َ‫ﻳﻨ‬ِ‫د‬ َ‫ﻻ‬َ‫و‬ ‫ﺎ‬ًَ‫ﳘ‬ْ‫ر‬ِ‫د‬ ‫ﻪ‬ِ‫ﺗ‬ْ‫ﻮ‬َ‫ﻣ‬ َ‫ﺪ‬ْ‫ﻨ‬ِ‫ﻋ‬ َ‫ﻢ‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﺳ‬َ‫و‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ْ‫ﻴ‬َ‫ﻠ‬َ‫ﻋ‬
َ‫أ‬ َ‫ﻻ‬َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ﺪ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ﻋ‬.ً‫ﺔ‬َ‫ﻣ‬

َ‫ﻌ‬ْ‫ﻄ‬َ‫ﺗ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬ِ‫ﰲ‬ ‫ا‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻨ‬ِ‫إ‬ِ‫ﰲ‬ َ‫ن‬‫ﻮ‬ُ‫ﻨ‬َ‫ﻌ‬ْ‫ﻄ‬َ‫ﺗ‬ ْ‫ﻢ‬ُ‫ﺘ‬ْ‫ﻨ‬ُ‫ﻛ‬ ْ‫ﺪ‬َ‫ﻘ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻓ‬ ِ‫ﻪ‬ِ‫ﺗ‬َ‫ﺎر‬َ‫ﻣ‬
ِ‫إ‬ُ‫ﻞ‬ْ‫ﺒ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﻗ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﻣ‬ ِ‫ﻴﻪ‬ِ‫ﺑ‬‫أ‬ ِ‫ة‬َ‫ﺎر‬َ‫ﻣ‬،َ‫أ‬َ‫و‬ِ‫اﷲ‬ ُْ‫ﱘ‬‫ﺎ‬ً‫ﻘ‬ْ‫ـ‬‫ﻴ‬ِ‫ﻠ‬ََ‫ﳋ‬ َ‫ن‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻛ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬
‫ﻺ‬ِ‫ﻟ‬ِ‫ة‬َ‫ﺎر‬َ‫ﻣ‬،‫ﱢ‬‫ﺐ‬َ‫أﺣ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﻤ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ َ‫ن‬‫ﺎ‬َ‫ﻛ‬ ْ‫ن‬‫إ‬َ‫و‬‫ﱠ‬‫ﱄ‬ِ‫إ‬ ِ‫ﱠﺎس‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬
‫ﱢ‬‫ﺐ‬َ‫أﺣ‬ ْ‫ﻦ‬ِ‫ﻤ‬َ‫ﻟ‬ ‫ا‬َ‫ﺬ‬‫ﻫ‬ ‫ﱠ‬‫ن‬‫إ‬َ‫و‬.ُ‫ﻩ‬َ‫ﺪ‬ْ‫ﻌ‬َ‫ـ‬‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﱠ‬َ‫إﱄ‬ ِ‫ﱠﺎس‬‫ﻨ‬‫اﻟ‬

Meaning, “ You have objected to the
appointment of Usamahra
as a commander
and prior to this you have also objected to
the leadership of his father Zaidra
. By God!
Just as Zaidra
was worthy and capable of
leadership and was among my most beloved,
so too, Usamahra
is worthy of leadership and
among my most beloved.”[15]
Then,what could be greater than the fact
that the Holy Prophetsa
wed the daughter
of his biological paternal aunt, Zainab
bint Jahashra
,to Zaid bin Harithahra
.It is
a strange miracle that in the entire Holy
Qur’an, if any Companion has been
mentioned by name, it is this very Zaid
bin Harithahra
.[16]
Then,there were many
freed slaves who attained a lofty rank in
their knowledge and wisdom. As such,
Salim bin Ma‘qalra
,the freed slave of Abu
Hudhaifahra
,was considered to be one of
the most distinct scholars from among
the Companions. Moreover, Salimra
was
also from among the four Companions
who were appointed by the Holy
Prophetsa
to teach the Holy Qur’an.[17]
Then,as far as honour and respect due to
virtue and purity was concerned,Hazrat
‘Umarra
would often say with regards
to Bilalra
, that he was their chief.[18]
Then, even after the Companions, vari-
ous freed slaves attained a very high
status in Islamic society.As such,‘Ata’bin
Abi Rabah,Mujahid bin Jubair Nafi‘,the
freed slave of Ibni ‘Umarra
,and Musa bin
‘Uqbahra
,are considered to be among the
most revered among the Tabi‘in, before
whom very illustrious people would
humbly sit as pupils.[19]
endnotes
1. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Nur, Verse 34.
2. Sahihul-Bukhari, Kitabul-Mukatab, Babu
Ithmi Man Qadhafa Mamlukahu/Babul-
Mukatibi Wa
Nujumihi Fi Kulli Sanatin Najmun.
3. Tafsirul-Qur’anil-‘Azim (Tafsiru Ibni Kathir),
by ‘Imaduddin Abul-Fida’Isma‘il bin ‘Umar
Ibni
Kathir, Volume 6, p. 49,Tafsiru Suratin-Nur,
Under Verse 33 “Wal-Yasta‘fifilladhina.....
Fakatibuhum In ‘Alimtum.....”, Darul-Kutubil-
‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (1998).
4. Mishkatul-Masabih, Kitabun-Nikah,
Al-Fasluth-Thani, Qadimi Kutub Khanah,
Aram Bagh, Karachi.
5. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Taubah, Verse 60.
thereafter. However, this number defi-
nitely does not include those slaves who
were freed by the Holy Prophetsa
in his
capacity as Head of the Islamic State,the
number of which was very great.Another
thing to remember with respect to the
Holy Prophetsa
is that many narrations
substantiate that not a single slave came
under his possession, who was not set
free. As such, it is this very fact, which
the following narration alludes to:
Meaning, ‘‘Amr bin Al-Harith, who
was the biological brother of Ummul-
Mu’minin, Juwairiyahra
and the
brother-in-law of the Holy Prophetsa
relates that upon the demise of the Holy
Prophetsa
,he did not leave behind a single
Dirham,Dinar,slave or bond-woman.’[14]
Therefore, this teaching which has been
prescribed by Islam in relation to slaves,
was not merely for the embellishment
of paper. Rather, this teaching became
a necessary part of Islamic culture and
civilization,and the Islamic way of living.
Moreover, both individuals and the gov-
ernment keenly acted upon this teaching.
All Doors of Advancement were Open
to Freed Slaves
It has already been mentioned that slaves
were granted freedom after the assurance
that they were capable of manumission
as far as their morals, habits and abil-
ity to earn a living was concerned. Now
we wish to mention that those slaves
who were freed, did in fact become
beneficial citizens and were considered
just as honourable and respectful in the
Islamic society as other people. As a
matter of fact, it was a practice of the
Holy Prophetsa
that for the purpose of
reforming the ancient views of people,
he would be even more mindful of the
dignity and honour of slaves and freed
slaves, than others. Therefore, on many
occasions, the Holy Prophetsa
appointed
his freed slave Zaid bin Harithahra
and
his son Usamahra
,as the commander of
many military campaigns. Many highly
respected and prominant Companions
were appointed under them and when
ignorant people objected to this action of
the Holy Prophetsa
, due to their ancient
views, he responded:
with slaves &

with slaves &
6. Sahihul-Bukhari, Kitabul-Fara’id, Babul-
Wala’i Limani‘taqa....., Hadith No. 6751.
7. * Sunanut-Tirmidhi, Kitabul-Fara’id, Babu Fi
Mirathil-Maulal-Asfal, Hadith No. 2106.
* Sunanu Abi Dawud, Kitabul-Fara’id, Babu Fi
Mirathi Dhawil-Arham, Hadith No. 2905.
* Sunanu Ibni Majah, Kitabul-Fara’id, Babu
Man-La Waritha Lahu, Hadith No. 2741.
8. Sahihul-Bukhari, Kitabul-‘Itq, Babu Bai‘il-
Wala’i Wa Hibatihi, Hadith No. 2535.
9. Sahihu Muslim, Kitabu Fada’ilis-Sahabah,
Babu Min Fada’ili Salman Wa Suhaib wa
Bilal....., Hadith
No. 6412.
10. The Encyclopedia Britannica (11th Edition),
Volume XV, p. 219, Under the word ‘Slavery’,
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc, New York
(1910-1911).
11. Subulus-Salami Al-Musilatu Ila
Bulughil-Marami, by Muhammad bin Isma‘il
Al-Amirus-San‘ani,
Kitabul-‘Itqit-Targhibu Fil-‘Itq, Volume
8, p. 105, Darubnil-Jauziu, Al-Mamlikatul-
‘Arabiyyatus-Sa‘udiyyah (1421 A.H.).
12. The generation of Muslims who were
born after the death of the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
, but who were contemporaries of
the Sahabara
(Companions) of the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
.
13. The generation after the Tabi’in in Islam.
14. Sahihul-Bukhari, Kitabul-Wasayah, Babul-
Wasayah, Hadith No. 2739.
15. Sahihul-Bukhari, Kitabu Fada’ili
Ashabin-Nabiyyisa
, Babu Manaqibi Zaid bin
Harithah....., Hadith No.3730.
16. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 38.
17. Sahihul-Bukhari, Kitabu Fada’ili Ashabin-
Nabiyyisa
, Babu Manaqibi Salimin Maula Abi
Hudhaifah,
Hadith No. 3758.
18. Sahihul-Bukhari, Kitabu Fada’ili Ashabin-
Nabiyyisa
, Babu Manaqibi Bilalubnu Rabah,
Hadith No.3754.
19. Tahzibut-Tahzib, by Al-Imam Shihabuddin
Abul-Fadl Ahmad bin Hajar Al-‘Asqalani.
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32 THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS | AUGUST 2014

Death is usually considered a ghastly con-
cept; still there are some brave people who
embrace it so gallantly that one just mar-
vels.This article considers life after death
from an Islamic perspective.It begins with
the various types of death according to
thanatology [the study of the medical,
psychological, and sociological aspects of
death and the ways in which people deal
with it],then casts a glance at death in dif-
ferent world religions so that a comparison
can be drawn.Then the article moves on
to a study of the Islamic perspective of
what happens when one dies, the status
of the soul, heaven and hell and whether
communication with the dead is possible
according to Islamic teachings.The article
also provides a glimpse into the various
Islamic rituals and practices relating to the
dead body, burial and the grave.
Types of Death According
to Thanatology
According to Thanatology there are vari-
ous types of death which include:
1. Somatic or Clinical Death: The ex-
tinction of personality as a whole due
to the irreversible loss of function and
independence of three vital systems;
i.e. the respiratory system, the CNS
(central nervous system) and the CVS
(cardiovascular system). It involves
organs as a whole. Life ceases in the
body but persists in its component
parts, viz. tissues and cells.[1]
2. Molecular Death: The progressive
disintegration of body tissues, which
signifies death of component parts of
body/organs and is completed within
3 to 4 hours after the Somatic death.
It depends upon time proportionate
to the ability to resist hypoxia (lack of
oxygen), e.g.:
Nervous tissue - only a few seconds
Muscular tissue - 3 hours
Cornea - 6 hours
Skin - 12 hours[2]
3. Brain Death: The irreversible cessa-
tion of all brain functions. In some
instances, special reference is made to
brain-stem death. Brain stem death
The Islamic Concept of
Life After Death
by malik jamil r. rafiq, rabwah, pakistan
© hxdbzxy | Shutterstock.com
‘The Encyclopaedia
Britannica’ (under Death)
has defined death as ‘the
permanent cessation of the
vital functions in the bodies
of animals and plants.’
AUGUST 2014 | THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS 35

Abiram and Dathan rose against Moses
and were destroyed by God.[10]
In ‘Derech Eretz Zuta’, one among fif-
teen tractates which although compiled
later than the rest of the Talmud and
are usually included in printed editions,
we find that some Biblical figures like
Enoch,Elijah and Hiram escaped death
altogether and went directly to reside in
Paradise.[11]
Christianity
Christianity maintains that ‘As by one
man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned’.[12]
In the Urdu book, ‘Qamusul Kitab’, we
read: ‘We should admit that death came
due to Adam’s sin, and its punishment
resulted in both types of death,i.e.physi-
cal and spiritual death’. Again, it says:
‘Physical death is the proper sign of the
spiritual death which is a must due to
sin.’[13]
Buddhism
Regarding death Buddha said, ‘Short, O
monk,is the life of men,’‘Life,indeed,ends
in death’.Death is only the beginning of a
new existence for the punishment of sin:
death and punishment are synonymous.[14]
About transmigration of the soul we thus
read:
“Theoretically Buddhism teaches neither the
existence of the soul nor its transmigration,
but insists on revolution, or ‘stream’ of exist-
ence. In its practical influence on popular
mind, however, this doctrine amounted
to much the same as any other doctrine of
transmigration […] In this vast ocean
of renewed births there are innumerable
streams of existences, conditioned by their
respective deeds and retributions, flowing
uninterruptedly not only in the continuity
of the individual being but also in the soli-
darity of a group of existences.”[15]
Hindusim
In Hinduism, a dead body is considered
a symbol of impurity, hence minimal
physical contact is maintained.The body
is bathed by purified water and then
is where a person no longer has any
activity in their brain stem, and has
permanently lost the potential for
consciousness and the capacity to
breathe but may still have some spi-
nal cord function.[3]
‘The Encyclopaedia Britannica’ (under
Death) has defined death as ‘the perma-
nent cessation of the vital functions in
the bodies of animals and plants.’[4]
According to the ‘Encyclopaedia of
Religion and Ethics’, biological death is
‘The cessation of an organism. There is
no confusion in using the same word for
the end of the individual as such,and for
the apparently irreversible process,which
leads to the end.’[5]
A Glance at the Concept of Death in
World Religions
Judaism
Let us now consider how different reli-
gions perceive death.As for the life in the
hereafter, the Old Testament is not rich
in detail. It states:
‘And many of them that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt.’[6]
Again, in Ezekiel 37:4-6 we have:
“O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones;
Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you
and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon
you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you
and ye shall live, and ye shall know that I
am the Lord.”[7]
About Hell, ‘The Jewish Encyclopaedia’
with reference to the Erobian Talmud
says, ‘The fire of Gehenna (Hell) does
not touch the Jewish sinners because they
confess their sins before the gates of hell
and return to God.’ Referring to Berkat
the Talmud states,‘Heretics and Roman
oppressors go to Gehenna, and the same
fate awaits the Persians, the oppressors
of the Babylonian Jews.’[8]
As for the modern Jews, Sale states:
“It is a received opinion among the Jews
at present, that no person (from among
the Jews) be he ever so wicked, or of what-
ever sect, shall not remain in Hell above
eleven months or at the most a year, except
Dathan, Abiram, and atheists (from among
the Jews) who will be tormented there to all
eternity.”[9]
the islamic concept of
life after death
In the Urdu book,‘Qamusul
Kitab’, we read:‘We should
admit that death came
due to Adam’s sin, and its
punishment resulted in both
types of death, i.e. physical
and spiritual death’.

never used again after having served this
purpose.
A man bearing a vase containing fire,fol-
lowed by the relatives and friends, the
corpse, the priests and additional mem-
bers of the deceased family, leads the
funeral procession en route to the tower,
the place for the disposal of the body.
At the gates of the tower, the bier is set
down, the face is uncovered to allow the
procession to pay their last respects to the
deceased. The body is then carried into
the tower and placed on beds of stone
with the head facing southward. The
clothes of the corpse are removed, leav-
ing it naked.The men then come out to
leave the deceased to be devoured by the
vultures already waiting there. Within
one or two hours, the body is reduced to
a mere skeleton.[17]
Concept of Death in Islam
According to Islam,all creatures are des-
tined to die.Death means the permanent
separation of the soul from the body.The
Holy Qur’an declares thus:
“Allah takes away the souls of men at the
time of their death, and of those also that are
not yet dead, during their sleep. And then
He withholds those against which He has
decreed death, and sends back others till an
appointed term. In that, surely, are signs for
a people who reflect.”[18]
This shows that the soul has its own
entity. A living person has both a body
and a soul.At the time of death,the soul
departs from the body never to re-enter
it.The body becomes obsolete after death
and is buried.
We will later discuss what happens to
the soul after death, let us first establish
wherefrom it comes into the body. It
should be clarified that each and every
thing is the creation of God, and so is
the soul.‘It is an essence which is distilled
from the body in the course of a long
process during the period of gestation.’[19]
God says in the Holy Qur’an: ‘What!
Did you think that We had created you
without purpose,and that you would not
be brought back to Us? Exalted be Allah,
the True King.’[20]
This leaves no ambiguity that man has
been created for a purpose. He is not
simply destroyed after living a few score
years. So it follows that, the soul must
live on after death to achieve a greater
purpose.
dressed in new clothes. Further, a few
drops of the Holy Ganges water may be
put into the mouth of the deceased, so
that the soul may attain liberation. Also,
a few leaves of the herb basil - which is
considered holy, are placed on the right
side of the dead body. Thereafter, the
close relatives of the deceased person
carry the stretcher on their shoulders to
the cremation ground.
There is no permanent Heaven or
Hell in Hinduism. The soul enters
into a rebirth cycle. Reborns can
become an animal, a human or a
divinity. This reincarnation contin-
ues until the final release is gained.[16]
Zoroastrianism
In Zoroastrianism (Parsee), when a per-
son is on his deathbed,two Parsee priests
make the dying person confess his sins.
The dead body is bathed and covered
with a clean white but worn out suit of
cotton, which must be destroyed and
According to Islam, all
creatures are destined
to die. Death means the
permanent separation of
the soul from the body.
According to Islam, all are destined
to die and the soul with permanently
separate from the body.
© blvdone | shutterstock.com

“As for those whose faces shall be black, it
will be said to them: ‘Did you disbelieve
after believing? Taste, then, the punish-
ment because you disbelieved. And as for
those whose faces will be white, they will
be in the mercy of Allah, therein shall they
abide.”[25]
It is clear that a person immediately
begins experiencing his punishment or
reward post-death, from the following:
“Those whom the angels cause to die while
they are wronging their souls, will offer sub-
mission, pleading, ‘We used not to do any
evil’. It will be said to them, ‘Nay, surely,
Allah knows well what you used to do. So
enter the gates of Hell to abide therein. Evil
indeed is the abode of the arrogant.’”[26]
Those whom the angels cause to die while
they are pure,they say to them,‘Peace be
unto you.Enter Heaven because of what
you used to do’.[27]
The Holy Prophetsa
also teaches the same:
‘The grave is one of the gardens of
Paradise or one of the pits of Fire.’[28]
After the state of ‘tomb’, ‘grave’ or
‘Barzakh’, comes the state of resurrec-
tion of the body. This may resemble the
birth of a child, whilst the first stage of
Barzakh resembles that of gestation.
Now, the soul invested with a new body,
is able to perceive full knowledge of the
Lord,and the soul now fully experiences
its recompense, whilst in the state of
Barzakh it only partly experienced this.
In both the states – Barzakh and
Resurrection – all the spiritual conditions
of a person in this life will be manifested
physically.The Holy Qur’an reveals:
‘Whoso is blind in this world shall be
blind in the hereafter, and even more
astray from the way.’[29]
This means that those who are spiritu-
ally blind in this world,will be physically
blind in the next. Having acted like a
blindman, unable to see, for example,
the heavenly truths, so they will become
physically blind in the hereafter. The
reason for this is that the body in the
hereafter will evolve as a reflection of a
person’s actions in this world.As the soul
shares the torments and comforts of the
body,so in the hereafter the punishments
and rewards incurred by man will be felt
both physically and spiritually.
From this it becomes manifest that the
punishment is in fact a direct result of
The Soul After Death – Barzakh – The
Intermediary State
Now, what happens to the soul after a
person’s death? The Holy Qur’an says:
“Woe unto man: How ungrateful he is! Does
he not consider, from what thing did God
create him, then in due course He causes him
to die and assigns a grave to him, then when
he pleases, He will raise him up again.”[21]
This reveals that Allah assigns a grave
to every person who dies.This is not the
grave dug out by men to bury the corpse,
for not every corpse is buried; some are
cremated some are devoured by nature’s
scavengers and some drown in rivers and
seas.The place where the soul dwells after
death is termed as ‘Barzakh’ (barrier) in
the Holy Qur’an:
“Until, when death comes to one of them, he
says entreating repeatedly, ‘My Lord, send
me back that I may do righteous deeds in the
life that I have left behind.’That cannot be!
It is only a word that he utters. And behind
him is Barzakh [a barrier] until the day
they will be raised again.”[22]
Immediately after departing this physi-
cal world, the soul is invested with a
new body. This body is a representation
of the person’s actions, good or bad, in
his earthly life. The Holy Qur’an says:
‘On the day when some faces shall be
white, and some faces shall be black.’[23]
Naturally, the evildoers will be hav-
ing dark bodies and the righteous ones,
bright.
The Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya
Jama‘at,Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
,
says in this context:
“I have often had experience in a complete
state of wakefulness of meeting some persons
who had died, and I saw the bodies of some
evildoers and misguided ones were so dark
as if they had been made of smoke.”[24]
This state of ‘Barzakh’ or ‘grave’ is an
intermediate state representative of the
imminent rewards or punishments of
Heaven and Hell, which await the soul.
The Holy Qur’an teaches:
This state of ‘Barzakh’ or
‘grave’ is an intermediate
state representative of
the imminent rewards or
punishments of Heaven and
Hell, which await the soul.
life after death

will then ask those around him, ‘Will you
have a look and find out about him?’ Then
he will see him in midst of the Fire.”[31]
So the ‘Fire’ by which this sick person
is being treated will not harm at all the
visitor who goes straight into Hell to see
his friend.
It should be borne in mind that all the
‘punishments’mentioned in the scriptures
are but different modes of treatment.For
example,the dwellers of hell will be given
cactus to eat.[32]
We know that cactus is
an effective remedy for several diseases
including syphilis.[33]
Again, ‘They will taste therein neither
coolness nor drink, save boiling water
and a stinking liquid,intensely cold — a
meet requital.’[34]
The Arabic word used
for ‘a stinking liquid’ is Ghassaq which
also means pus (Lisan). It is known
that vaccines are prepared from pus. As
these people used to coldly dismiss the
prophets of God, so as ‘a meet requital’
and as a cure they will be made to drink
extremely cold water. And because they
did not listen to the words of God due
to being hot-tempered, so they will be
treated with hot water.As they were fire-
brands against the prophets, so they will
be treated by ‘Fire’in Hell.We know that
fire is also used for cauterization,a medi-
cal treatment to cure wounds.
It should be apparent now why Hell is
something very important for those sick
persons that require treatment therein to
be cured so that they may live a normal,
healthy,blissful life in Heaven.According
to the Islamic concept of Heaven and
Hell, after being cured they will be ‘dis-
charged’ from this hospital. The Holy
Prophetsa
said, ‘Indeed there will come
upon Hell a time when there will be none
in it,and this will be after they had lived
therein for ages.’[35]
The Holy Qur’an also
teaches that Hell will not be everlasting:
‘Surely, Hell lies in ambush, a resort for
the rebellious, who will tarry therein for
ages.’[36]
As their diseases are deep-rooted, so
a very lengthy period of time will be
needed to completely cure them. Until
this occurs, they would remain unfit to
live in Heaven, just as a chronically sick
person requires confinement to his bed
in hospital until he recovers.
The purpose of man’s creation as declared
by the Holy Qur’an is: ‘I have not cre-
ated the jinn and the men but that they
may worship Me’.[37]
The word used for
‘worship’in the verse is ‘Ya‘budun’,which
the evil deeds of a person, not some-
thing imposed forcibly by God.The Holy
Qur’an is unequivocal about it:‘Read thy
book. Sufficient is thy own soul this day
as reckoner against thee.’[30]
Purpose of Hell
In fact, Hell can be likened to a hospital
wherein the diseased persons shall enter
for treatment,thus any afflictions during
a process of treatment is quite natural.
It is interesting to learn that a person
of normal good health – the inmate of
Paradise - who enters into this hospi-
tal (Hell) to visit a friend, will remain
unharmed therein.The Holy Qur’an elu-
cidates concerning this subject:
“A speaker from among them will say,‘I had
an intimate companion who used to say,‘Art
thou, indeed, among those who believe the
resurrection to be true when we are dead
and have become dust and broken bones,
shall we, indeed, be requited?’ The speaker
Hell can be likened to
a hospital wherein the
diseased persons shall enter
for treatment, thus any
afflictions during a process
of treatment is quite natural.
The Holy Qur’an says the
dwellers of Hell will be
given cactus to eat.This is
figurative terminology to
further depict the ‘treatment’
that the inmates of Hell will
undergo. We know cactus is an
effective remedy for several
diseases including syphilis.
life after death
© Steve Allen | Dreamstime.com

Review of Religion August 2014

Review of Religion August 2014

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Review of Religion August 2014