(January 5, 2020 at 1:14 pm)Mystic Wrote: What was to be done with war captives?
An easy way to advocate slavery is to say, there was no other way back then to deal with war captives.
فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَضَرْبَ الرِّقَابِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَثْخَنْتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّوا الْوَثَاقَ فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً حَتَّىٰ تَضَعَ الْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَانْتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَٰكِنْ لِيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ ۗ وَالَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَنْ يُضِلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ {4}
[Shakir 47:4] So when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the necks until when you have overcome them, then make (them) prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom (themselves) until the war terminates. That (shall be so); and if Allah had pleased He would certainly have exacted what is due from them, but that He may try some of you by means of others; and (as for) those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will by no means allow their deeds to be lost.
Two options:
(1)Free as a favor (grace)
(2)let them ransom themselves
As for (2), it's only valid to do this while there is war. So (1) becomes an obligatory command if the war terminates.
This is the true way Islam advocates to have dealt with war captives in the past right there written in that verse.
Therefore, this verse not only does away with the need of holding them as slaves, it shows the proper way to conduct yourself with war captives and not to make them pay the price forever due to having gone to war with the Muslims.
Mystic, what I am about to type really has nothing to do with you, one religion, or one person.
The bottom line for me over the years meeting countless people is the same.
WE ARE ALL THE SAME SPECIES
You can argue words all you want, but it will not change the fact that ride starts and ends for all humans.
That says to me that what really matters, our should matter to our species, isn't our differences, but what we have in common in wanting our collective species to survive.
