Slavery Meaning

SLAVERY. Arabic ʿUbūdīyah (عبودية‎), Heb. ‏עֲבוֹדָה‎ ʿabōdāh. A slave, ʿAbd (عبد‎) (Sūrah ii. 220), Heb. ‏עֶבֶד‎ ʿebed; Mamlūk (مملوك‎) (Sūrah xvi. 77); A female slave, amah (امه‎) (Sūrah ii. 220). The term generally used in the Qurʾān for slaves is ما ملكت ايمانكم‎ mā malakat aimānukum, “that which your right hands possess.”

Muḥammad found slavery an existing institution, both amongst the Jews and the idolaters of Arabia, and therefore it is recognised although not established in the Qurʾān.