Slave Soldiers and Islam_ The Genesis of a Military System - Daniel Pipes

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.

3. 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.