And is there any evidence that it was a Sunna to own slaves?
I know Islam didn't forbid slavery, but was it actively encouraged with religious reasons?
Hello, I’m currently studying early Islamic history and I know a thing or two about Shariah so I’ll go ahead and answer this.
Yes, the prophet and his companions did own slaves. I can think of two examples off the top of my head:
The prophet owned a concubine called Mariah. It must be noted, however, that the prophet did not buy Mariah, it was rather gifted to him by al-Muqawqis, the last Byzantine governor of Egypt. Mariah was a Coptic Christian but she converted to Islam later on in her life. She also gave birth to Ibrahim, one of the prophet’s sons.
Another example I can think of is Umar ibn al Khattab’s slave Aslam. Umar is one of the most prominent companions of the prophet and he was the second caliph in Islam after Abu Bakr. Aslam’s origins are disputed amongst historians. According to Ibn Saad, al-Mizzi, and al-Dhahabi’s biographical dictionaries, Aslam was either part of the loot the Muslim army took after the battle of Aim Tamer against the Persians, from Yemen, or from Ethiopia. Aslam also converted to Islam hence the name Aslam, which means “converted to Islam.” It must be noted that Aslam also became one of the most prominent Hadith transmitters in Medina after the death of the prophet.
Regarding owning slaves in general, no, it was not a sunnah to own slaves. In fact Islam, and the prophet, repeatedly emphasized how important it is to treat your slaves well. Under Shariah law, slaves are guaranteed rights like shelter, food, and clothing, as well as protection abuse. A lot of people think that slave ownership laws under Shariah were similar to those in Europe or the Americas, however, that is far from the truth. Moreover, one of the greatest deeds a Muslim could perform was freeing a slave, which is what the prophet did with most of his slaves. He also married most of his concubines. Some Hadiths regarding the treatment of slaves:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
None of you should say: My bondman and my slave-girl, for all of you are the bondmen of Allah, and all your women are the slave-girls of Allah; but say: My servant, my girl, and my young man and my young girl.
Source: Sahih Muslim 2249a. https://sunnah.com/muslim:2249a
Ali ibn Abi Taleb Narrated:
The last words which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) spoke were: Prayer, prayer; fear Allah about those whom your right hands possess. (Hadith Sahih)
In this Hadith, the prophet, in his last words, is emphasizing to his companions the importance of prayer and the kind treatment of their slaves (the Quranic term for saves in Islam is “what your right hand possesses, see verses 70:30 and 23:6 in the Quran).
Source: Sunan Abi Dawud 5156. https://sunnah.com/abudawud:5156
Hadiths regarding treatment of slaves and slavery in general in Islam are too many to list here, if you would like to know more simply reply to this comment and I’ll insert some more.
Regarding ibn Saad, al-Mizzi, and al-Dhahabi’s books, I can only provide you a link to the latter’s biographical work of Aslam, the other two I have in hard copies. Although they’re in Arabic, I would be glad to translate them for you:
Here’s a link to a book (also in Arabic) by Malak Ghulam Mortada, who wrote a book about the wives of the prophet. I’m referring you to this book because like I said the prophet married most of his female slaves.
https://shamela.ws/book/22993/24
Regarding the encouragement of slavery in Islam: most modern day Islamic scholars forbid slavery. They argue that the only reason Islam did not originally forbid slavery was because the prophet lived in a community where slavery was normalized and it formed an integral part of society. Some scholars also argue that Islam did not forbid concubinage out of the fear that some men might fall into premarital intercourse (fornication).