Slavery and the Claim of Prophethood:
A Critical Theological and Ethical Examination of Muhammad’s Engagement with Slavery
By Dr. Maxwell Shimba
Shimba Theological Institute
Abstract
The moral authority of a prophet is traditionally measured not only by doctrinal proclamations but also by ethical embodiment. This article critically examines the institution of slavery as practiced and sanctioned by Muhammad, with particular focus on authenticated hadith literature. Using Sunan an-Nasa’i 4621 as a primary case study, the article interrogates whether slave ownership and trade can be reconciled with genuine prophethood. A comparative analysis with biblical prophets is undertaken, revealing a significant theological discontinuity. The study concludes that Muhammad’s participation in slavery reflects cultural accommodation rather than transcendent moral reform, raising serious questions about the nature and scope of his prophetic claim.
1. Introduction: Prophethood and Moral Authority
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, prophets are understood as moral revolutionaries—divinely commissioned figures who confront injustice, liberate the oppressed, and elevate ethical standards beyond cultural norms. From Moses confronting Pharaoh to Jesus identifying himself with the poor and enslaved, prophetic identity is inseparable from moral transcendence.
Islamic theology similarly asserts that Muhammad is al-insān al-kāmil (the perfect man) and uswatun ḥasanah (the best example for humanity). Consequently, his personal conduct is not merely historical but normative and imitable. This raises a crucial question:
Can participation in slavery—buying, owning, and exchanging human beings—be harmonized with the moral expectations of prophethood?
2. Primary Source Evidence: Sunan an-Nasa’i 4621
One of the clearest and most troubling accounts is found in Sunan an-Nasa’i, graded Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic):
“A slave came and pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah to emigrate, and the Prophet did not realize that he was a slave. Then his master came looking for him. The Prophet said: ‘Sell him to me.’ So he bought him for two black slaves…”
— Sunan an-Nasa’i 4621
This narration establishes several uncontested facts:
Muhammad approved the return of an escaped slave to his master.
He purchased the slave, legitimizing the transaction.
The purchase involved exchanging two slaves for one, treating human beings as economic units.
The transaction occurred during Muhammad’s prophetic ministry, not before it.
This was not an isolated incident but part of a broader, well-documented pattern.
3. Slavery as a Normalized Institution in Islam
Islamic primary sources consistently assume the legitimacy of slavery:
Qur’an 4:24; 23:5–6; 33:50 explicitly permit sexual access to “those whom your right hand possesses.”
Hadith literature records Muhammad owning slaves such as Zayd ibn Harithah, Maria al-Qibtiyya, and others.
Slavery is regulated but never abolished in the Qur’an.
The argument that Islam “encouraged manumission” does not negate the fact that:
What God truly condemns, He abolishes—not merely regulates.
Alcohol, idolatry, and pork were eliminated decisively. Slavery was not.
4. Was This Part of Prophethood—or Cultural Accommodation?
Muslim apologists often argue that Muhammad worked within the socio-economic realities of 7th-century Arabia. However, this defense creates a theological dilemma:
If Muhammad merely reflected his culture, then his moral authority is historically contingent, not divinely absolute.
If his actions are divinely sanctioned, then slavery becomes theologically legitimized.
Either conclusion undermines the claim of universal moral prophethood.
True prophets do not merely manage injustice; they confront it.
5. Comparative Prophetic Analysis: Where Are the Other Slave-Holding Prophets?
A comparative examination is revealing:
Moses
Raised in a slave empire.
Led the largest emancipation event in biblical history (Exodus).
Never portrayed as owning slaves.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos
Condemned exploitation, oppression, and dehumanization.
Identified injustice as sin against God.
Jesus Christ
Identified with slaves and the oppressed (Luke 4:18).
Declared radical human equality (Matthew 23:8).
Never owned, bought, sold, or exchanged slaves.
The biblical prophetic tradition moves away from slavery, not toward its regulation.
Muhammad stands alone among major prophetic claimants in personally participating in slave transactions during his ministry.
6. Ethical Tension: Human Dignity vs. Property Status
Slavery reduces a person from imago Dei (image of God) to commercial property. The hadith in Sunan an-Nasa’i 4621 explicitly demonstrates this reduction:
A man seeking spiritual allegiance is overridden by property rights.
His spiritual commitment is subordinated to ownership claims.
His value is measured in exchange units (“two black slaves”).
This raises an unavoidable ethical question:
Can a prophet who embodies divine justice treat a human soul as transferable property?
7. The Problem of Imitability (Uswah)
Islamic theology insists that Muhammad is the model for all believers, for all time (Qur’an 33:21). This creates a lasting moral problem:
If Muhammad owned slaves, then slavery cannot be intrinsically immoral in Islam.
If slavery is immoral today, then Muhammad’s actions cannot be universally exemplary.
This tension has no coherent theological resolution within orthodox Islam.
8. The Silence of Allah on Abolition
One of the most striking features of Islamic revelation is what it does not say:
No verse abolishes slavery.
No verse declares slave ownership sinful.
No verse commands universal emancipation.
After Muhammad’s death, Allah issues no further moral correction. Slavery continued for over 1,300 years in Islamic societies, often justified directly by Muhammad’s example.
9. Scholarly and Theological Implications
This analysis does not rest on polemics but on Islam’s own authenticated sources. The issue is not whether slavery existed historically—it did everywhere—but whether a true prophet:
Participates in it,
Sanctifies it,
Leaves it intact for future generations.
From a Judeo-Christian theological perspective, the answer is decisively no.
10. Conclusion
The hadith of Sunan an-Nasa’i 4621 presents an unavoidable historical and ethical reality: Muhammad engaged in the ownership and exchange of slaves during his prophetic ministry. This conduct stands in stark contrast to the moral trajectory of biblical prophethood, which consistently moves toward liberation, dignity, and justice.
Historical context may explain Muhammad’s actions, but it cannot sanctify them. Prophethood, by definition, transcends culture rather than conforming to it.
The question therefore remains open—and pressing:
Is slavery compatible with divine prophethood, or does it reveal the limits of Muhammad’s moral authority?
Selected References
al-Nasa’i, Aḥmad ibn Shuʿayb. Sunan an-Nasa’i, Book 44, Hadith 4621.
Crone, Patricia. Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam. Princeton University Press.
Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press.
Watt, W. Montgomery. Muhammad at Medina. Oxford University Press.
Holy Bible, NIV & ESV editions.
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