our Prophet and upon him—and they all belonged to one religious community. They had neither protected non-Muslim subjects nor slaves, because enslavement was permitted only to the Prophet ﷺ, and he and his community were singled out for this permission among all nations. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“I have been given five things that no one before me was given. War booty has been made lawful for me, whereas it was not lawful for anyone before me. The earth has been made a place of prayer and a means of purification for me. I have been granted victory through fear cast into my enemies at a month’s journey. I have been given words of comprehensive meaning, and I have been sent to all humanity.”

This accords with the words of Allah, mighty and majestic:

“Say, ‘O mankind, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.’” [al-A‘rāf: 158]

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His words in the verse:

“Whoever waives it as an act of charity, it will be an expiation for him.” [al-Mā’idah: 45]

also support what we have stated: that the verse was intended to refer only to free Muslims. A slave cannot waive the claim for his own blood as an act of charity, because that right belongs to his master, while a disbeliever’s charity does not expiate his sins.

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Even if we were those addressed by the verse under our revealed law, its general scope would have to exclude putting a free man to death for killing a male slave, or a free woman for killing a female slave, on account of the words of Allah, mighty and majestic:

“O you who believe, retaliation is prescribed for you concerning those killed: the free for the free, and the slave for the slave.” [al-Baqarah: 178]

Putting a Muslim to death for killing a disbeliever would also have to be excluded, on account of the words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:

“A Muslim is not to be put to death for killing a disbeliever.”

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Among the considerations that invalidate taking His words, “The free for the free, and the slave for the slave,” as evidence that neither