CHAPTER 3 : SERVANTS AND SLAVES – PART 2
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, inquired about the condition of his servants and asked about their needs:
Ziyaad ibn Abu Ziyaad, the servant of the tribe of Banu Makhzoom, narrated from one of the servants of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (either a man or woman) and that servant said: “Among the things that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to say to his servants was: ‘Do you have any needs (so that I would fulfil them)?’” (Reported by Ahmad (15646).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered his servants to ask him for anything they wished, and would fulfil their wish, no matter how great or hard the request was:
Rabiah ibn Ka`b Al-Aslami (a Companion) said: “I was with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, one night, and I brought him water to perform ablution, and I would bring him whatever he needed. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to me: ‘Ask.’ So I said: ‘I ask for your company in Paradise.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Do you have anything else?’ I said: ‘That is all.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Then help me achieve this for you by praying and prostrating often.’” (Reported by Muslim (489).)
In another narration from Ar-Rabee`ah he said:
“I used to serve the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and take care of his needs throughout the day, until he would pray the night prayer. After he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would pray, and enter his house, I would stay by his door, thinking that perhaps a need would arise for the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. I would continuously hear him repeat: ‘Subhaan Allah, Subhaan Allah, Subhaan Allah wa bi-Hamdihi [Glorified is Allah; Glorified is Allah; Glorified is Allah, and He is praised],’ until I got tired and went back, or I would become overcome with tiredness and sleep.
One day, when he saw how dedicated I was to serving him, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Ask me, O Rabee`ah.’ I said: ‘Allow me to think about it, O Messenger of Allah, then I will let you know.’
I thought about it to myself, and realized that this worldly life will be cut off and will perish, and that I have enough sustenance to suffice me, so I said to myself that I will ask the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, for my Hereafter, because he has a very high status with Allah.’
So I went to him, and he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to me: ‘What have you concluded, O Rabee`ah?’ I said: ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, I ask you to intercede on my behalf before your Lord, so that He saves me from entering Hellfire.’
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Who ordered you to say that?’
I said: “No, by Allah Who has sent you with the truth, no one ordered me to say that. However, when you said: ‘Ask me for anything, and I will give it to you,’ and since you have a special place with Allah, I looked at my affairs, and realised that this worldly life is going to be cut off and will perish, and that I have enough sustenance reaching me in this worldly life, so I thought that I should ask the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, for something for my Hereafter.’
At that, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, remained silent for a long period, then said: ‘I will grant you your wish, however, help me achieve that for you praying and prostrating often.’” (Reported by Ahmad (16143).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered that servants should be given their rights and paid immediately after they finish working:
`Abdullaah ibn `Umar (a Companion) said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Give your employees their wages before their sweat dries.’” (Reported by Ibn Maajah (2443).)
An-Nawawi said: “The term “Give your employees,” means, one must hasten to give the employee his right after he finishes his work. The term “Before his sweat dries,” means, the sweat from the work he did for the employer.” (The explanation of As-Sindi on the book of Ibn Maajah (5/128).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned against being unjust to the worker and not giving the worker their right:
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Allah Says: ‘I will be the opponent of three people on the Day of Resurrection: a man who makes a pact by swearing by My Name, then breaks the pact, a man who sells a free person to slavery, then consumes the price, and a man who employs a worker, receives the work from him, but then does not pay him.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (2227).)
Ibn At-Teen (a scholar) said: “Allah will be against all unjust people, however, He explicitly wanted to be extra harsh on these [three types of] people.”
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned about the standing for judgment between people and their servants and slaves on the Day of Resurrection:
`Aa’ishah reported that a man went and sat before the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have two slaves that lie to me, act treacherously towards me, and disobey me, and in return, I curse them and beat them. So how will I be before Allah The Almighty with regards to them?”
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, responded by saying: “Their treachery towards you, their disobeying you, and their lying to you will be measured, as will your punishment of them. If your punishment is equal to their sins, then it equals out [the scale], and nothing will be for you or against you. If your punishment of them is less, then that will be something good for you, but if your punishment is more than they deserve for their sins, then Allah The Almighty will take the excess punishment from you and give it to them.”
The man moved away and began to cry aloud and the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Have you not read (in) Allah’s Book (what means): «And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We to take account.»” [Quran: 21:47]
The man said: “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I do not find that there is anything better for those men than to part from them. You are my witnesses that you are free, all of you.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi (3165).)
Abu Hurayrah said: “Abu Al-Qaasim (the Prophet), sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Whoever accuses a slave girl of committing adultery will have the penalty carried out on him on the Day of Resurrection, unless he was telling the truth.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (6858) and Muslim (1660).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, recommended forgiving their mistakes, even if they were recurring:
`Abdullaah ibn `Umar ibn Al-Khattaab (a Companion) reported that a man went to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have a servant who acts badly and is unjust, should I hit him?” (In another narration, “How much should we pardon the servant?”)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, remained silent, and the man repeated his question, but the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, remained silent again. The third time he repeated it, the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Forgive them seventy times a day.”(Reported by Abu Dawood (5164), At-Tirmidhi (1949) and Ahmad (5603).)
In this narration, perhaps the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, remained silent while he was waiting for revelation, and it was said that he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was silent because he disliked the question, because it is recommended to pardon the servant at all times, and it is not necessary to specify any number of times that it should be done.
Al-Mubaarakpoori (a scholar) said: “When the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Seventy times a day,” it means to forgive them a lot, it does not necessitate specifying a particular number.” (Tuhfat Al-Ahwathi (6/69).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered people to be gentle when calling them:
The mercy of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, reached the extent that he would prohibit calling a slave and slave girl by using the word ‘slave’ and ‘slave girl,’ and he replaced those two words with two words that are more gentle and kind, and they are ‘lad’ and ‘lass.’
Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Let not one of you say, ‘my slave,’ because all of you are the slaves of Allah. Rather, let him say, ‘My lad.’ And let not the slave say, ‘My Lord,’ but he should say, ‘My master.’”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (2552) and Muslim (2249) and the wording is for Muslim.)
The wording that Al-Bukhari (a scholar) reported reads: “Let not one of you say, ‘Feed your lord,’ or ‘Pour water for your lord,’ or, ‘Give water to your lord,’ but he should say, ‘my master’ or ‘my guardian.’ Also, one of you should not say, ‘my slave,’ or ‘my slave girl,’ but rather should say, ‘my lad,’ ‘my lass,’ and ‘my boy.’”
Therefore, it is disliked for a master to say to his slave: ‘my slave,’ or ‘my slave girl, rather, should say, ‘my boy,’ or ‘my bondmaid, or ‘my lad, or ‘my lass’. This is because Allah is the One Who deserves the reality of servitude, and because it contains a certain glorification that would be unbefitting for a created being to use with regard to themselves.
If the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sent one of his servants for something and the servant was late, he would not be angry at him or censure him:
Anas ibn Maalik said:
“The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had the best manners among people. One day, he sent me on an errand, and I said: ‘By Allah I will not go.’ However, in my mind, I had the idea that I would do whatever the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered me to do.
So I went out until I came across some boys who were playing in the market, and when I was there, The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came behind me and held me from the back of my neck.
I looked at him and found him laughing, and he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘O Unays [i.e. a nickname he gave Anas, meaning little Anas], have you gone where I have ordered you to go?’ so I said to him, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, I am going.’” (Reported by Muslim (2310).)
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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