Muhammad Embraced Slavery
Rodney Stark, a sociologist, wrote, “Muhammad bought, sold, captured, and owned slaves.”1 It’s estimated that Muhammad owned between 50-70 slaves.2 According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam,
Zaid, one of Muḥammed’s slaves — the first who embraced Islamism, — came from the noble tribe of the Banū Kalb. One day his mother, wishing to pay a visit to her tribe, took Zaid, who was still an infant, with her. Some horsemen surprised them and Zaid fell into their hands. They put him up for sale at ʿUkāz, where he was bought by Ḵh̲adīd̲j̲a, who presented him to her husband after her marriage with Muḥammed. Zaid’s father appeared inconsolable when he knew of the loss of his son. After some time, some Kalbites saw Zaid at Mecca, and told his father they had discovered him, and he at once hurried to Mecca. “Give him his liberty for the ransom we will pay“, said he to the Prophet; but Zaid declared that he preferred to remain with Muḥammed.3
Concubines are female slaves who enter into a sexual relationship with their male master. Centuries after Jesus and His followers had ended this practice, Muhammad4, the Qur’an, and Muhammad’s followers continued it.5
The Qur’an and Slavery
The Qur’an commands masters to be kind to slaves (Quran 4:36) and sources have mentioned that this admonition was generally followed by Muslim slave owners,
These precepts are generally attended to, either entirely, or in a great degree. The owner may cohabit with any of his female slaves… if he has not married her to another man. The condition of many concubine slaves is happy… These and all other slaves of either sex are generally treated with kindness… Their services are commonly light… The general assertions of travellers in the East are satisfactory evidence in favor of the humane conduct of most Muslims to their slaves”6
The Abolition of Slavery
The abolition of slavery in Islamic nations came from the West,
Although Islam, in teaching and in actuality, has favoured the emancipation of slaves, it was only under an overwhelming foreign influence that it began, about a hundred years ago, an evolution in doctrine and in practice towards the total suppression of slavery, its abolition in law and custom. This evolution, which has continued, is in some regions still incomplete. Here we have one of the most typical examples of the transformation that the Muslim world has undergone, through European pressure or example, from the mid-19th century down to our own day.7
The deep roots of slavery in Islam are often forgotten, evidenced by the famous American boxer and convert to Islam, Muhammad Ali.
Cassius Marcellus Clay’s Reversion to Slave Owner Names
Muhammad Ali was named after an abolitionist (Cassius Clay) but chose after his reversion to the Nation of Islam to be named after two slave owners, Muhammad and Ali.
Watch, David Wood’s “How Muhammad Ali Was Deceived by Islam (and Why Cassius Clay Was His Greatest Name).” Below is the transcript.
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Transcript of “How Muhammad Ali Was Deceived by Islam (and Why Cassius Clay Was His Greatest Name)”
00:00
Muhammad Ali was the greatest . . . name . . . for a slave master . . . ever. In 1964, a young boxer named Cassius Clay won an upset victory over Sonny Liston and became heavyweight champion of the world.
00:17
Later that year, Clay changed his name, first to Cassius X, then to Muhammad Ali. Why did he change his name? Let’s let him answer.
00:28
Why don’t you like to be called “Clay” anymore?
Oh, Clay was not my name.
Once we follow the belief, hear the . . . understand the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and come into a knowledge of ourselves that we want to be called after names of our people, which are names to fit us black people.
And Clay was a white man’s name. It was a slave name. And I’m no longer Clay. I’m no longer a slave. So now I’m Muhammad Ali.
00:58
So, Clay was a white man’s name, but “Muhammad” and “Ali” were names for his people.
We want to be called after names of our people.
What people would that be?
Arab slave masters? Because that’s who Muhammad and his son-in-law Ali were, according to Muslim sources. And let’s not forget that Arabs can exhibit a variety of shades and tones.
01:28
Here’s an example of an Arab.
Looking at this picture, you may be wondering, “Did Opie Taylor grow up and convert to Islam?”
No.
This is Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, the 34th grandson of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
This guy’s so white, he tried to buy Go-Gurts at Whole Foods.
And this is exactly what we would expect, based on descriptions of Muhammad in Islam’s most trusted sources.
01:57
Sahih al-Bukhari, Number 63:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: While we were sitting with the Prophet in the mosque, a man came riding on a camel. He made his camel kneel down in the mosque, tied its foreleg and then said:
“Who amongst you is Muhammad?”
At that time the Prophet was sitting amongst us leaning on his arm.
We replied, “This white man reclining on his arm.”
02:25
Why did Muhammad’s followers refer to him as “this white man”? Because he was so white, he took off his shirt at night, and got a third-degree moon-burn.
Clay was a white man’s name.
02:37
Sahih Muslim, Number 6081:
It was narrated that Abu Juhaifah said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah with a white complexion and some white hairs.”
What do you call a million Muhammads jumping out of an airplane?
Snow.
Clay was a white man’s name.
02:59
Sahih Muslim 6071:
It was narrated from Al-Jurairi from Abu At-Tufail: “I said to him: ‘Did you see the Messenger of Allah?’
He said: ‘Yes, he was white with an elegant face.’”
Muhammad’s so white, he jumped in a hot tub, and the water turned into creamer.
Clay was a white man’s name.
03:23
The Muslim sources go on and on about Muhammad’s epic whiteness, telling us about the “whiteness of his shins,” and the “whiteness of his thigh,” and the “whiteness of his leg,” and the “whiteness of his stomach,” and the “whiteness of his forearms,” and the “whiteness of his armpits,” and the “whiteness of his cheeks.”
I hope everyone brought soup, because I just found the world’s biggest cracker.
We want to be called after names of our people.
White people?
Clay was a white man’s name.
03:52
“Muhammad” was a white man’s name. He was the whitest prophet in history.
Now, how many Muhammads would it take to screw in a light bulb?
None.
He would just tell one of his more than three-dozen slaves to do it.
04:08
Let’s read about some of these slaves.
Sahih al-Bukhari Number 7263:
Narrated Umar: I went to (the house of the Prophet) and behold, Allah’s Messenger was staying in a Mashruba and a black slave of Allah’s Messenger was at the top of its stairs.
I said to him, “Tell (the Prophet) that here is Umar bin al-Khattab.” Then he admitted me.
04:37
Sahih al-Bukhari 6161:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Messenger was on a journey and he had a black slave called Anjasha, and he was driving the camels (very fast, and there were women riding on those camels).
Allah’s Messenger said, “Waihaka, O Anjasha! Drive slowly the camels with the glass vessels (i.e., the women)!”
Muhammad was so white, when his black slave Anjasha needed to beep at him, the horn on
Anjasha’s camel was like, “Honky! Honky!”
05:17
Sunan an-Nasa’i, Number 4625:
It was narrated that Jabir said: “A slave came and gave his pledge 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, then he did not accept the pledge of anyone after that until he had asked: ‘Is he a slave?’”
So an Arab man walked up to Muhammad and said, “I’d like to join you.
Do you accept my pledge?”
Muhammad replied, “Yes.”
But the man turned out to be a slave.
So Muhammad had to buy the slave from his master, and what did he buy him with?
He bought him with two of his numerous black slaves.
Apparently, black slaves were only half as valuable as Arab slaves.
Of course, Muhammad didn’t want to keep giving up his black slaves, so he decided to be more careful about taking the pledge. Notice, by the way, how black slaves are described in Islam’s most trusted sources. Trading slaves is equivalent to trading animals.
06:33
Here’s one about a black slave who was shot to death while unloading Muhammad’s luggage.
Sunan an-Nasai 3858:
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah in the year of Khaibar, and we did not get any spoils of war except for wealth, goods, and clothes.
Then a man from Banu Ad-Dubaib, who was called Rifa’ah bin Zaid, gave the Messenger of Allah a black slave who was called Mid’am.
The Messenger of Allah set out for Wadi al-Qura.
When we were in Wadi al-Qura, while Mid’am was unloading the luggage of the Messenger of Allah, an arrow came and killed him.
The people said: ‘Congratulations!
You will go to Paradise,’ but the Messenger of Allah said: ‘No, by the One in Whose hand is my soul! The cloak that he took from the spoils of war on the day of Khaibar is burning him with fire.’”
So, Mid’am, one of Muhammad’s many black slaves, grabbed a cloak before the spoils were divided after the Battle of Khaybar, and that earned him a one-way trip to hell.
Hence, according to Muhammad, if you take something from the spoils of war before the spoils have been divided, you’re going to hell, right?
Not so fast.
07:58
Let’s read about what happened when Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali—the “Ali” in Muhammad Ali’s name—took a slave-girl from the spoils of war without permission.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4350:
Narrated Buraida: The Prophet sent Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (of the booty) [The “Khumus” was the portion of the war booty that was taken directly to Muhammad; Muhammad would get one-fifth of everything taken as spoils of war, including sex-slaves], and I hated Ali, and Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus).
I said to Khalid, “Don’t you see this (i.e., Ali)?”
When we reached the Prophet, I mentioned that to him.
He said, “O Buraida!
Do you hate Ali?”
I said, “Yes.”
He said, “Don’t hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumus.”
08:57
So Ali had sex with a slave-girl from the spoils designated for Muhammad himself, before Muhammad decided what to do with his portion of the spoils, and Muhammad had no problem with it.
Thus, if you’re a black slave and you take something from the spoils, you’re going to hell. If you’re Muhammad’s son-in-law and you take something from the spoils, no one’s allowed to question you.
And it’s not like Ali had to steal a sex-slave from the Khumus, since Muhammad was happy to give sex-slaves to his favorite companions.
09:36
As we read in the History of at-Tabari, Volume 9, page 29:
“From the captives of Hunayn, the Messenger of God gave Ali ibn Abi Talib a slave girl called Raytah bint Hilal.”
Like Muhammad, Ali was a slave owner and a slave trader. He had both black and Arab slaves.
This means, of course, that when Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali, he was taking the names of two men who bought, owned, sold, and traded black African slaves.
“We want to be called after names of our people.”
10:13
Interestingly, when he was growing up, Muhammad Ali didn’t know much about the name Cassius Clay.
Tell me how you came to get such a Roman name as that.
Well, as I understand, I’m Cassius Marcellus Clay VI, and my great-great-grandfather was a Kentucky slave, and he was named after some great Kentuckian. Well, “Cassius Marcellus Clay” is a great name in Kentucky. And really, where he was from, or where it was all originated, I couldn’t tell you, but . . .
10:41
He thought it came from some famous Kentuckian. And he was right about that. Muhammad Ali was named Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. His father was Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who was named by his father, Herman Heaton Clay.
11:02
Why did Herman name his son “Cassius Marcellus Clay”?
He gave his son that name in honor of the nineteenth-century Kentucky abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay, who freed the slaves he inherited from his father and donated the land that was used to build Berea College, a college that accepted students of all races from its founding in 1855.
Clay was the target of repeated assassination attempts for his calls to end slavery. A paid assassin named Samuel Brown shot Clay in the chest at a public debate. Clay responded by pulling out his Bowie knife and cutting out Brown’s eyes.
He was later ambushed by six brothers with knives and a gun; Clay fought all of them off and killed one of the brothers with his Bowie knife.
Clay published an anti-slavery newspaper, called “True American.” When he began receiving death-threats for his paper, he bought two canons, pointed them towards the entrance of the printing office, and said, “Come and get me.”
12:10
After the Civil War started, Abraham Lincoln sent Clay as the U.S. ambassador to Russia. Clay convinced the Tsar, Alexander II, to threaten Great Britain and France into not recognizing or supporting the Confederate States.
When Clay returned to America, Lincoln offered him the position of Major General in the army. Clay told Lincoln that he would only accept the post if Lincoln publicly proclaimed the emancipation of all slaves in the Confederate States, so that a Northern victory would ensure their freedom.
Lincoln investigated the proposition and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
12:53
That’s who Muhammad Ali was originally named after. He was named after the Kentucky abolitionist who helped convince Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
But Ali didn’t want that name. So he was given the name “Muhammad” by Elijah Muhammad.
13:12
Now it would be one thing for Ali to say, “Well, I just don’t want a name that was ever associated with any white person or that was ever associated with any slave owner,” in which case it would make sense to reject the name Cassius Clay.
But if that’s his reasoning, what sense did it make to change his name to Muhammad, in honor of the white prophet with black slaves?
13:38
And there’s a lesson here for all of us. When we don’t know history, when we become ignorant of history, there will always be someone waiting to step in and take advantage of our ignorance.
Muhammad Ali was sick to death of white people using black people. Muslim preachers took that resentment, and the resentment of an entire community, and used it to spread the teachings of a man whose followers institutionalized black African slavery more than a thousand years before the United States even existed.
14:10
Now think about this. How long did the transatlantic slave trade last? About three centuries.
The first shipment of slaves from Africa to Brazil was in 1526. The last country in the Americas to outlaw the transatlantic slave trade was Brazil in 1831.
14:32
So it was illegal to ship slaves to the Americas after 1831. People could still own slaves, but the transatlantic trade was abolished.
14:41
Slavery didn’t last a century in the United States, once the United States had formed as a nation. We remember the horrors of slavery very clearly, because it wasn’t that long ago.
We have photographs. People wrote about it. A war was fought over it.
15:00
Now if just about everything most of us know about slavery comes from a fairly brief period of history (a few centuries), how much do you think there is to learn about slavery in the Muslim world, where the slave trade has lasted nearly fourteen centuries—from the time of Muhammad right down to the present? It’s still going on in Africa.
15:23
So Islam continues to take advantage of black men and black women by enslaving them, in areas where slavery continues to this day. But even in areas where slavery has been abolished, Islam still takes advantage of black men and black women, by lying to them and convincing them to spread the message of Islam, because, as we all know, Islam is against slavery and racial injustice.
15:47
That’s why Muhammad called Ethiopians “raisin heads” and said that Satan looks like a black man.
15:54
Notice, as far as Islam is concerned, if you’re black, you’re either going to serve Islam by being a slave, or you’re going to serve Islam by converting to Islam and spreading Islam. Either way, you’re serving Islam.
16:10
Why is that? Well, the Qur’an says that Muhammad is the pattern of conduct for Muslims.
And as far as Muhammad was concerned, if you were black, you were either going to serve Islam by being a slave, or you were going to serve Islam by converting to Islam and spreading Islam. Either way, you were serving Islam.
16:36
Virtually everyone who was anywhere near Africa has used black men, women, and children to serve their own agendas. But no ideology has ever taken advantage of black men and black women more than Islam— so much so that, even today, if a world-class black athlete happens to be named after a white abolitionist and decides to change his name to Muhammad, the whitest prophet in history, whose followers continue buying, selling, trading, and using black men, women, and children, the world will praise him for having the courage to change his name and for setting such a wonderful example for others.
17:18
Muhammad Ali was the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. As a boxer, he was brilliant. As a historian, not so much.
Jesus and Slavery
Jesus, unlike Muhammad, never owned slaves. Jesus, unlike Muhammad, did not sleep with concubines. Jesus came to serve and set others free. Jesus taught,
Mark 10:42–45
“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Learn More
The Slave name of Muhammad Ali and Islam’s Forgotten Slave Trade
Muhammad embraced slavery and He rejected Jesus’ servanthood
Footnotes
- Rodney Stark (2004). For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery. Princeton University Press, p.338.
- The Islamic scholar Ibn al-Qayyim lists names of Muhammad’s slaves in his book, Zad al-Ma’ad. He list the names of Muhammad’s slaves as,
- Yakan Abu Sharh, Aflah, ‘Ubayd, Dhakwan, Tahman, Mirwan, Hunayn, Sanad, Fadala Yamamin, Anjasha al-Hadi, Mad’am, Karkara, Abu Rafi’, Thawban, Ab Kabsha, Salih, Rabah, Yara Nubyan, Fadila, Waqid, Mabur, Abu Waqid, Kasam, Abu ‘Ayb, Abu Muwayhiba, Zayd Ibn Haritha, and also a black slave called Mahran, who was re-named (by Muhammad) Safina (`ship’)
The names of his female slaves,
- Salma Um Rafi’, Maymuna daughter of Abu Asib, Maymuna daughter of Sa’d, Khadra, Radwa, Razina, Um Damira, Rayhana, Mary the Coptic, in addition to two other maid-slaves, one of them given to him as a present by his cousin, Zaynab, and the other one captured in a war.
- Citation: Juynboll, Th. W., “ʿAbd”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition (1913-1936), Edited by M. Th. Houtsma, T.W. Arnold, R. Basset, R. Hartmann. Consulted online on 21 July 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_COM_0006
- Māriya was one of Muhammad’s concubines
- To learn more about concubinage in Islam see, Katz, Marion H., “Concubinage, in Islamic law”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson
- Edward William Lane, One Thousand and One Nights; quoted in Juynboll, “ʿAbd”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition.
- Citation: Brunschvig, R., “ʿAbd”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 21 July 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0003
Very good work David. I love doing this type of ministry. I find these details to be solid when ministering to Muslims. And giving them facts on why and how Jesus is the Christ.
I consider this type of data to be hammers. That can be used by The Spirit Of God to reach Muslims and non-believers alike for Christ.
I was asked to do a podcast by someone that heard me speak apologetically on Islam just last week. I would love to connect more with you. It would be my pleasure to do so.