94
TheIslamicateContext
Although
inferioronthis
earth,his
equal
valueinrelationto
Godfoundfrequentemphasis.
Fewslaveshave
enjoyed
ashigh
a
legal
andsocial
statusasthoseinIslamdom.Thefact
of
being
a
slave
initselfmeantless
among
Muslimsthan among
other
peoples,
for theslave’s
potential
wasgreater
thanelsewhere.
This
dignified
treatmentofslaves
madeitmore
likely
that
they
wouldhold
important
positions.
In
reality,
too,thefirstexperiences
ofslavesinIslamwereex-
tremelygood.
For
a
variety
ofreasons
(to
bediscussedin
chapter
6),they
filled
importantpositions
fromthefirstyears
ofIslam
and
participatedextensively
initsearly
civilization.Whereelse
have"slavesmade
important
contributions
andexerted
strong
influencesinthe
realmsof
politics
and
public
administration,
warfare,religion,
artsandcrafts,music,
poetry,grammar,
and
learning
in
general?
TM
Slaves
pervadedevery
area
of
activity,
andtheirnamesranked
among
themostcelebratedof
early
Is-
lamicate
history
andculture.
- TheShariCadoesnot
clearlypermit
or
prohibit
slavesfrom
fighting.
Al-CAdawi,a
7th/13th-century
authorofamirrorfor
princes,points
touniversal
agreementamong
the
jurists
thata
soldier
mustmeet
four
qualifications(hemust
be
adult,Muslim,
wholeof
body,
and
mentallysound)
and
disagreement
onafifth:
whetherornothemustalsobefree.Al-CAdawi
reports
thatAbfi
.Hanifarequires
himtobefreeandash-Shtficidoesnot.
s5
Ash-
Shfifiimakesslave
participationoptional
in
offensivejihd
war-
farewhile
requiring
itindefensive
warfare,
s6
Ash-Shaybtni
as-
sertsthataslave
may
not
fight
withouthismaster’s
permission
except
inan
emergency;
as-Sarakhsiaddsthatthemaster
may
notJbrce
theslaveto
fightexcept
inan
emergency.
8;
Aconsensus
84.Haas,p.
i.Haas
considersevery
mawlaa
slave,despitehisdisclaimer
(p.
7,
n.
1).
85.al-Adawi,p.
156.
86.Umm,6:85.
87.as-Sarakhsi,pp.
182-83,199-200;Khadduri,
pp.
84-87listsseven
major
qualifications,
oneofwhich--economic
dependence--excludes
slaves;Thfibit,
pp.93-99,
listsfreedomasoneofthefive
prerequisites
forsoldiersbut
recog-
nizesthe
controversy
onthis
point.
The
argument
overthe
validity
ofaslave’s
amen(see
note 52 to
chap.
2)
tacitlyacknowledges
thepresenceofslaves
in
the
Islamicatearmies.