Muslim Slave System in Medieval India c17.2

c17.2

We began by quoting Thomas Patrick Hughes to say that slavery of Islam is interwoven with the Law of marriage, the Law of sale, and the Law of inheritance and its abolition would strike at the very foundation of the code of Muhammadanism.¹ The statement holds as good today as in the early years of Islam. The rules of Islam remain the same for all time, for Islam is changeless and unchangeable. As I.H. Qureshi puts it: The Muslim jurists and theologians believe in the supremacy of the *shar* and hold that it is eternal and immutable in its essence. It is based on the Quran which is believed by every Muslim to be the Word of God revealed to His prophet Muhammad. Not even the Prophet could change the revelation² Muhammad could not change the revelation; he could only explain and interpret it. So do the Muslims do today. There are liberal Muslims and conservative Muslims, there are Muslims learned in theology and Muslims devoid of learning. They discuss, they interpret, they rationalize, but all by going round and round within the closed circle of Islam. There is no possibility of getting out of the fundamentals of Islam; there is no provision of introducing any innovation. So, Muslim slave system could not remain confined to the Middle Ages. Muhammad legitimized slavery in the Quran and therefore it is recognized to be in complete conformity with Islam. Slavery is considered an integral part of Islam.