#历史开讲 #
Mawali develops, evolves, eventually disappears, and fulfills its social function in practice. Any kind of social system and social phenomenon has its own function in the social system, and things without function do not exist. Islamic countries are not all born with the institutions, rules, customs, and philosophies of statecraft.
Inhibiting the formation of a slave society
The general law of the development of human society is from barbaric society, to slave society, feudal society, capitalist society, and then to socialist society.
Throughout history, we find that slave society, feudal society, and capitalist society have all been crossed by different nationalities under different historical conditions.
When the Persian Sassanid and Byzantine dynasties around the Arabian Peninsula had entered a mature feudal society, the Arabian Peninsula was still in a barbaric period, and after the emergence of Islam, the Arabian Peninsula quickly developed from a barbaric society to a feudal society, and did not experience a slave society, which included the role of the Mahwali, especially the role played by the liberation of slaves in the Mavali.
In the 7th century AD, the rise of commerce in Mecca made some merchants rich, the concept of private property developed, and slaves appeared as the private property of wealthy families.
Slaves were mainly derived from war slaves and trade slaves, who did not enjoy freedom, independent personality and means of production, and they were the property of the owners of goods.
During the period of Islamic expansion, large numbers of aliens became slaves to war in areas conquered by force. For hundreds of years that followed, the Arab Empire operated a thriving slave trade.
Basra was the port where African slaves landed, and Samarkand in the 10th century was the place where white slaves traded the most. The average slave generally costs 20-30 dinars, and some even spend 2000 dinars at a time to buy slaves.
After the Abbasid caliph broke away from relying on tribal power, he bought slave soldiers in large quantities in Central Asia, and Mu'atai Sum established the "Slave and Mewali Divan", which was responsible for recording the roster of slaves of various ethnic groups (especially the Turkic people, later the Mamluks) and distributing them to posts throughout the country according to their needs.
Local governments handed over taxes from the central government of the caliphate, including slaves. For example, in 785, the province of Gilan provided 1,000 slaves to the caliph.
In 786, Khorasan paid tribute to Baghdad for 1,000 slaves. The famous thirteenth-century Iraqi painter Yahya bin Wahiti made such a famous picture of the slave market when he illustrated Khalili's Makame. Slaves, slave girls, and children await their trade, as merchants weigh silver taels in their rooms.
Blacks are also known as "Zanji", and the Zanji uprising that broke out during the Abbasid period shows that there were many black slaves in the country.
Despite the existence of the slave trade, Islamic societies did not become slave societies, since slaves were not the main force of productive activities and the slave trade was not the core of the country's economy.
The Prophet Muhammad called on believers to treat slaves well, free slaves, atone for their sins by freeing them after committing certain mistakes, and Umar forbade keeping Arabs as slaves.
Islamic societies have not completely abolished slavery.
Scholars believe that the non-abolition of slavery was determined by the social situation at that time: if slavery was abolished, the social order would inevitably fall into chaos, a large number of slaves would have nowhere to go, agricultural production and commercial trade activities would be put on hold, and drastic changes in social classes would inevitably lead to unbearable and long-term turmoil.
The free-spirited al-mawali alleviated this contradiction and tension to some extent, freeing the slaves and maintaining a relationship with them with the vala and smoothing the transition of a large number of slaves to the al-maywali, who enjoyed human rights, were able to participate in higher categories of social activities, and even achieved good social status.
By acquiring the legal social status of al-Mahvaly, freed slaves continued to provide services to their masters, or independently carried out productive activities while maintaining friendly relations with their masters, and the work they undertook ensured social production order and social stability.
Islam encourages male Muslims to free female slaves and marry them. Although the doctrine stipulates that each Muslim male should take a maximum of four wives, he may have several concubines and an unlimited number of female slaves at the same time. The status of slave girls who raised children for the Lord was raised, and she was called "the mother of the child".
During the Abbasid period, slave girls became a special group of people who integrated beauty, poetry, singing, dance and other talents, and made important contributions to literature and art. The royal aristocracy and the rich vied to keep talented slave girls, and according to the One Thousand and One Nights, Caliph Rashid paid 100,000 dinars for a slave girl with both sex.
The existence of al-Mahwali and Wala to a certain extent curbed the development of Islamic slavery and alleviated the conflicts and contradictions between the slave class and the Arabs, making it impossible for an Islamic slave society to form.
Promote multi-ethnic integration
Mahwali promoted the multi-ethnic integration of the country.
This national integration took place in the context of epoch-making Islam. Islam perpetuates and transforms the original values of the Arabs.
In keeping with Allah's requirements and national interests, the fighting spirit of the tribe was elevated to the highest religious morality and became one of the driving forces of expansion.
Egalitarianism, once limited to members of the tribe, was extended to encompass all people, and the most important social relationship of the clan and tribe, blood ties, was replaced by religious ties, and the members of the Uma commune were bound together by a common religion, not by a common ancestor.
In the process, the tribal Wala custom of the Jahiriya period was continued and given a new meaning – the emergence of the new Muslim as the Islamic type of al-mayvali.
Although at first al-Mavali were Islamized "outsiders" in the caliphate, later they were both citizens of the country, Muslims, and Arabs interacted, studied, cooperated, did business, made friends, intermarried, and became close partners with each other.
The eventual "disappearance" of al-Mavali represents the transcendence of culture as a measure of civic belonging beyond race and ethnicity.
Therefore, we say that the Islamic cultural circle is a cultural community with Islam as the core and Arabic as the carrier, accepting the fine spiritual wealth and historical traditions of many ethnic groups in the territory, and at the same time tolerating the normal activities of other religions in the territory.
All members of the Islamic House have the opportunity to participate in what is called the Arab-Islamic Cultural Sphere. Arabic here refers to language, not ethnicity.
The large-scale conversion led to the contact between the al-Mawali and the Arabs, resulting in cultural assimilation: the al-Mawali spoke Arabic, introduced his own culture into Islamic culture, translated the texts, and at the same time, the Arabs learned music, art, literature, and customs from them, and all chose to use Arabic for literary and artistic creation.
This is not a transformation of one culture to another, it is a two-way flow. It is not so much that Mawali became the new Arab, but that the Arab, non-Arab national label disappeared, and the distinction between people was no longer innate descent, but a cultural definition acquired through acquired cultivation.
The boundary of Huayi is not absolute, Yidi can then become Huaxia, Huaxia can retreat and change Yidi, as long as the gift of Huaxia is respected, it is Chinese.
In the face of foreign cultures, both ancient Eastern wisdoms chose to accommodate submissive others on the basis of adhering to the core of teaching and propriety, thus contributing to a more confident and rich ontology.
The difference is that the Arabs face an agrarian urban culture that is much more advanced than their native desert culture, requiring humility, self-confidence, and control over heterogeneous cultures, which are clearly stronger.
The social order is based on rules, and becoming a mewali is an effective way for foreigners to approach and join the cultural circle of Arabs, while balancing the psychological gap of Arabs.
Prepare for the formation of the empire
"Empire" is derived from the ancient Roman word for "right to rule". The empire we are talking about here is a type of regime or state different from the nation-state, and does not involve imperialism in a postcolonial context.
The empire was vast, diverse and culturally inclusive; At the same time, empires needed vast territory, a sound centralized management system, a dominant ruling ideology, and multi-ethnic and multicultural support.
Islamic regimes since the 7th century are often referred to as the Islamic Empire and the Arab Empire.
The Islamic State first founded by Muhammad was a transitional form between a tribal confederation and a formal state, also known as the Ummah.
The second orthodox caliph, Umar, implemented a number of initiatives (annual salary, provincial system, mining system, etc.) to consolidate the form of the Islamic state.
The great expansion of the boundaries of community life, the disruption and reshaping of internal boundaries, contributed to the emergence of imperial forms. The Umayyad dynasty became an empire with its vast territory and centralized rule, followed by the Abbasid dynasty.
And because their rulers believed in Islam, had Arab ancestry, and spoke Arabic, they were historically called the Islamic Empire and the Arab Empire.
At different historical times, the concept of al-Mavali was adjusted according to the context of the tribe, umma, and country in which he was located, preparing for the emergence of the final imperial form.
During the Jahiliyah period, the people of the Arabian Peninsula used tribes as the basic unit of society, sustained by blood, and had no concept of a nation or a state.
In a simple social order that is neither friend nor foe, Vala clearly divides the internal and external members of the tribe: Mawali is a "quasi" tribal member who is closer than his allies, can share water and genealogy with his tribe, and shares the responsibility of blood revenge.
In the early days of Islam, al-Mahwali was a testimony to the Arabian Peninsula's transition from disorderly governance to theocratic governance.
Muhammad allied with the Medina tribe, fully united the Qianji and auxiliary warriors, fought against the Mecca forces, replaced blood and tribal relations with religious ties, and built a new social system, the Umma Commune.
The allied type of Vala of the Jahiliya period was introduced in a timely manner, with religious and political significance.
Newly converted Ummah members and freed slaves were treated equally and humanely with religious appeals and the guidance of the Prophet.
The al-Mawali demarcated the outer limits of the Ummah and the caliphate, and the rights they enjoyed reflected the egala ideals of the rulers.
The Arab rulers of the Umayyad dynasty, in a posture of superiority over other peoples, imposed Arab sectarianism on the citizens of the empire. In many respects al-Mawali did not enjoy the same status as the Arabs, so non-Arabia became the most visible mark of al-Mawali at this time.
During the Abbasid period, the Islamic Empire lived peacefully with multiple ethnic groups and coexisted peacefully. Against this backdrop, the al-mawali identity gradually disappeared, paving the way for the formation of the Islamic world system.