bliss; indeed, he regarded them as nothing more than animals.
The Pharaohs, for their part, enslaved the Children of Israel in the most appalling fashion, slaughtering their sons and sparing their women. After discovering America, the Europeans treated the native peoples of that continent in the worst possible way.
Such, then, were the causes, the consequences, and the sheer prevalence of slavery outside the realm of Islam—and we have mentioned only a fraction of its atrocities.

Let us now consider slavery as regulated by Islam:

First: Islam drastically restricted the avenue through which slavery could arise. It declared all people free, and bondage may befall a person only for one reason: that he is taken captive while actively fighting as an unbeliever. Even then, the commander must choose—concerning the captured combatants—the option that best serves the public interest: enslavement, ransom, or release without ransom.

This, and no other, is the cause of slavery. It is established by sound transmitted texts and is fully consistent with sound reason: whoever stands in the way of my creed and my call, seeks to curtail my freedom, incites others against me, and wages war on me—his recompense is that I detain him, thereby clearing the path for myself and for my mission. Such is the basis of slavery in Islam, not looting, pillage, the seizure and sale of free men, or their enslavement, as was common among other peoples.

Second: Islam dealt gently with slaves, showed them compassion, and threatened punishment for overburdening them. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The prayer! The prayer! And those whom your right hands possess” (Ahmad 11759). He ﷺ also said: “The slave is entitled to his food and his clothing, and he must not be tasked with work beyond his capacity” (Muslim).

Indeed, Islam elevated the status of slaves to the point of making them brothers to their masters. The Prophet ﷺ declared: “They are your brothers and attendants, whom Allah has placed under your authority; so whoever—”