Islamic views on slavery represent a complex and multifaceted body of Islamic thought,
[1][2] with various Islamic groups or thinkers espousing views on the matter which have been radically different throughout history.
[3] Slavery was a mainstay of life in
pre-Islamic Arabia and surrounding lands.
[1][4] The
Quran and the
hadith (sayings of
Muhammad) address slavery extensively, assuming its existence as part of society but viewing it as an exceptional condition and restricting its scope.
[5][4] Early Islamic dogma forbade enslavement of free members of Islamic society, including non-Muslims (
dhimmis), and set out to regulate and improve the conditions of human bondage. The sharīʿah (divine law) regarded as legal slaves only those non-Muslims who were imprisoned or bought beyond the borders of Islamic rule, or the sons and daughters of slaves already in captivity.
[4] In later
classical Islamic law, the topic of slavery is covered at great length.
[3] Slaves, be they Muslim or those of any other religion, were equal to their fellow practitioners in religious issues.
[6]