Hazrat Umar (ra) expels Christians and Jews from Yemen

“There is a narration in regard to Hazrat Umar (ra) which states that upon the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), when he expelled the Jews and Christians from Yemen, he purchased their land from them.”

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) further states:

“The land owned by the Christians and the Jews was ‘Kharaji’ [land owned by a non-Muslim] and when Hazrat Umar (ra) took their land and expelled them from the Arab lands, he did not just seize their land, but in fact purchased the land from them, even though it was ‘Kharaji’ and in principle belonged to the government. A hadith is mentioned in Fath-ul-Bari, a commentary of Bukhari, and states:

عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيْدٍ أَنَّ عُمَرَ أَجْلٰى أَهْلَ نَجْرَانَ وَالْيَهُوْدَ وَالنَّصَارٰى وَاشْتَرٰى بَيَاضَ أَرْضِهِمْ وَكُرُوْمَهُمْ

“That is, ‘Yahya bin Saeed narrates that Hazrat Umar (ra) expelled the idolaters, Jews and the Christians of Najran and paid for their lands and orchards.’

“It is clear the land which belonged to the Jews was not ‘Ushari’ [land owned by a Muslim] because if it was ‘Ushari’ then it would have had a Muslim owner and there would be no reason to pay the Jews for it. Thus, this land was undoubtedly ‘Kharaji’ just like the land in India is also referred to as ‘Kharaji’. However, Hazrat Umar (ra) did not take possession of the land by considering it to be ‘Kharaji’ and thereby declaring it as the property of the government; in fact, he paid them for the land.

“It is possible that someone may claim that perhaps this land was neither ‘Kharaji’ nor ‘Ushari’ and was classified as something else, but such a notion would be utterly foolish and would reflect one’s lack of knowledge of the Islamic Shariah.

“In Islam, the land is either ‘Kharaji’ or ‘Ushari’ and there is no other form of land, unless it is completely derelict and abandoned with no one to lay claim to its ownership. Thus, the land belonging to the Jews, Christians and idolaters was either ‘Kharaji’ or ‘Ushari’, but in either case, Hazrat Umar (ra) recognised them as its owners and subsequently purchased the land from them.”

(Islam Aur Malkiyyat-e-Zameen, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 21, p. 444, 478-479)

Mentioning the prohibition of making slaves other than prisoners of war in Islam, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:

“Allah the Almighty states:

تُرِيْدُوْنَ‭ ‬عَرَضَ‭ ‬الدُّنْيَا‬‬

“[‘You desire the frail goods of this world’] meaning, ‘O Muslims, do you desire to behave like other nations and enslave their people to augment your power?’

وَاللّٰهُ‭ ‬يُرِيْدُ‭ ‬الْآخِرَةَ‬‬

“Nay, Allah does not want you to follow other nations. He wants to guide you to the course that is better for you in the end and entitles you to win Allah’s pleasure in the next life. And with respect to gaining the nearness of Allah and attaining a good end, God decrees that it is better for you that you do not take any prisoners except when war is imposed on you.” Thus, in Islam, one is not permitted to enslave anyone except as prisoners of war.

“This rule was strictly enforced in the early days of Islam. During the reign of Hazrat Umar (ra), a deputation from Yemen came and complained that before the advent of Islam, they had been made into slaves without any cause by a neighbouring Christian tribe. Otherwise prior to this time, they were free, therefore they ought to be relieved of this bondage. Hazrat Umar (ra) replied that though the event took place before the Muslims were in power, he would look into the case and have them set free if their complaint was borne out by facts.

“In contrast to this” – Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) is now comparing this conduct to the practice of Europe in that this was the Islamic stance taken by Hazrat Umar (ra) or which he reassured them with. In contrast to this, what do we see in Europe – “the Europeans continued to use slavery for advancing their trade and agriculture until the nineteenth century. There is no doubt that some instances of the un-Islamic custom of slavery can be found in Islamic history; but slavery was never practised to promote domestic industry or trade.”

(Islam Ka Iqtasadi Nizam, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 18, pp. 26-27)

There is no concept of this in Islam.