The Treatment of Prisoners of War According to Islaam

Under the supervision of Shaykh Salman bin Fahd al-Oadah

Islamic Law and Prisoners of War

http://www.islamtoday.net/english/d...?content_id=522

Allah has set down laws dealing with prisoners of war. He says in the Qur'n: "If you meet in battle those who disbelieve, smite their necks. Then, if you have thoroughly subdued them, bind them firmly, so there will be a time for either generosity or ransom for them until cessation of the war." [Srah Muhammad: 4]

Just and legitimate warfare is a necessity in order to resist aggression and oppression, to defend against enemies, and to overcome those who repress the truth and forcibly keep people from it. War captives follow as a necessary consequence of war. This is why Allah says: "If you meet in battle those who disbelieve, smite their necks." This is quite sensible, since no one would expect anyone to say: "If you meet in battle those who disbelieve, shower them with roses and aromatic herbs." The situation at hand is one of severity and hostility. War is a part of life. If a war is just, not for the purpose of brute conquest and imperial expansion, nor for aggression and hatred, then such a war has a positive role to play in preserving civilization and removing from it the blights that seek to bring it down. In the Qur'n, there are two verses that discuss prisoners of war: The first is: "It is not for a prophet to have prisoners of war until he has thoroughly subdued the land." [Srah al-Anfl: 67] This verse was revealed after the battle of Badr when the Muslims had captured a number of the enemy. The second verse we have already mentioned: "If you meet in battle those who disbelieve, smite their necks. Then, if you have thoroughly subdued them, the bind them firmly, so there will be a time for either generosity or ransom for them until cessation of the war." [Srah Muhammad: 4]

Scholars differ whether this second verse abrogates the ruling of the first. The strongest view is that it does not, since both convey essentially the same meaning. In the first verse, Allah says that there should be no prisoners of war until the Muslims have "thoroughly subdued the land." The second verse states that when they have "thoroughly subdued" the enemy so that they are full of fear and dread, then it is permissible to take prisoners. All this means is that prisoners of war should not be taken before or while subduing the land. There is no categorical prohibition in either of these verses to taking prisoners of war. The enemy must be subdued in order to break their strength and resolve. After that, prisoners can be taken. The wisdom behind this is obvious. Putting an end to enemy aggression is the primary goal of war. This is why Sheikh Rashd Rid says in his commentary of the Qur'n entitled Tafsr al-Manr: "The gist of these verses is that it is not the tradition of the prophets nor of those who follow them to have prisoners of war whom he ransoms or releases except after gaining some ascendancy over the enemies of Allah."

The Rights of Prisoners of War in Islam

1. A prisoner of war has the right to remain on his religion and cannot be compelled to give it up. Today this principle is referred to as freedom of religion. He should merely be called to Islam without any pressure being placed upon him. Allah says: "O Prophet! Say to those who are captives in your hands: 'If Allah finds any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you and He will forgive you. For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Srah alAnfl: 70] We can see in this verse how prisoners of war are to be endeared to Islam and how they should be invited to accept the faith. The verse opens to them the doors of repentance. It entices them with a promise of rewards far greater than the ransom that they have had to spend on themselves. It promises them that if they embrace Islam willingly, Allah will bless them from His bounty in this world and the next and grant them forgiveness for all the wrong they had committed in the past. This verse is clear proof that they are not to be compelled to accept Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) and those who followed

him never once forced a prisoner of war to embrace Islam. This can clearly be seen in the story of Thammah b. Athl al-Hanafi, an idolater who was captured by the Muslim army in battle and then brought to the mosque where he was restrained. The Prophet approached him respectfully and said:"What have you, O Thammah?" Thammah replied: "Actually I have a lot going for me. If you kill me, you kill a man whose blood will surely be avenged. If you are generous, then you are generous to a man who knows how to be grateful. If you are after money, then ask of me whatever amount you like." The Prophet (peace be upon him) left him at this point. On the second day when he approached him, Thammah said basically the same thing. On the third day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Let Thammah go." [Al-Bukhr (4372) and Muslim (1764)] They unbound him and let him go. He went on his way, quickly took a bath, and returned, declaring: "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah. O Muhammad! I swear to Allah that there was no man on the face of the Earth who I hated more than you. Now you have become to me the dearest of men. And I swear by Allah that there was no religion on Earth more loathsome to me than your religion, but now it is the most beloved to me of all religions. There was no country on Earth more despised by me than your country, yet now I love it more than any other country in the world." This is the effect that kindness and good conduct can have. Look at the effect it had on this man who was far from being a simpleton. He was a man of distinction, the leader of his people. Moreover, his acceptance of Islam was not an act of deception, nor did it take place under any pressure or compulsion.

2. He has the right to nourishment, enough to maintain his health. Allah says in the Qur'n: "And they feed from what they love for themselves the indigent, the orphan, and the prisoner of war, saying: 'We feed you for the sake of Allah. No reward do we desire from you nor thanks." [Srah al-Insn: 8-9] Allah has made taking care of enemy prisoners of war an act of worship that can bring the believer closer to Allah. When Allah says: "from what they love for themselves", He is showing us that it is not sufficient just to give them our surplus food, but to prefer them over ourselves and give them the best, even if we have a need for it ourselves. Conversely, denying nourishment to the prisoners of war is counted as a major sin in Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) alluded to this when he said: "A woman was punished on account of a cat. She kept it in confinement until it died, and on account of it entered the Fire. She confined it without feeding it or giving it anything to drink. She did not let it out to eat on its own." [Al-Bukhr (3482) and Muslim (2242)] Since a prisoner is unable to provide for himself, it is incumbent upon his captor to provide for him. If the punishment for abusing a cat is so great, then imagine what the punishment must be when a human being is concerned. Allah has vested the human being with a special honor. He says: "We have honored the children of Adam." [Srah al-Isr': 70] It is enough for us that Allah has placed the needs of enemy prisoners of war on the same level as the needs of the poor and the orphans when He says: "the indigent, the orphan, and the prisoner of war", encouraging us to spend on them and treat them kindly. Such good conduct can be the cause of their being guided, as was the case with Thammah. 3. He has a right to be clothed in dignity in a manner that is appropriate to his social status. Jbir relates: "After the Battle of Badr, prisoners of war were brought. Among them was al-`Abbs. He did not have a shirt on, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) looked for a shirt for him. It turned out that a shirt of `Abd Allah b. `Ubayy was the right size, so the Prophet gave it to al-`Abbs to wear and compensated `Abdullah with his own shirt." [Al-Bukhr (3008)] From this, we can see how Islam guarantees prisoners of war the right to decent clothes. 4. He has a right to decent lodgings, whether they are in a prison cell, a mosque, or even a private home. During the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) there were no formal prisons. Sometimes a prisoner would be kept in the mosque, and sometimes they would be distributed among the believers to be kept in their homes. Once the Prophet (peace be upon him) brought a prisoner of war to his own home and left that prisoner under the supervision of `'ishah. There were women with her who distracted her attention and the prisoner got up and left. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) returned home and asked her where the prisoner was, she replied that the women who were with her kept her distracted. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to her: "May Allah smite your hand!" and left to dispatch someone to pursue the prisoner. When the prisoner was apprehended, the Prophet (peace be upon him) returned home with him and saw `'ishah sitting with her hands out. He asked her why she was doing that, and she said: "You invoked Allah to smite my hands, so I am waiting for it to happen." The Prophet said: "Have you gone mad?" Then he raised his hand and prayed to Allah, saying: "Turn my invocation against this one into a form of expiation for her and a purification." [Sunan alBayhaq: 9/89; al-Dhahab declared its chain of transmission to be good.] Ibn Kathir, in his historical work al-Bidyah wa al-Nihyah, mentions that the Prophet (peace be upon

him) distributed the prisoners from the Battle of Badr between his Companions (5/191). The Prophet (peace be upon him) would free the prisoners of war who knew how to read and write in exchange for their teaching the children of Madinah how to do so. Such a prisoner would obviously have to be free to move about and not tied up. The only reason for restraining a prisoner is to keep him from running away. If preventing him from fleeing can be achieved without tying him up, then there is no need to bind him. 5. When families are taken together as prisoners of war, they have a right not to be separated. A mother should not be separated from her child, nor should that child be separated from its father. Brothers should not be separated either. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said regarding captives: "Whoever separates a mother from her child will be separated from his own loved ones on the Day of Judgment." [Ahmad (23499), al-Tirmidh (1283), Ibn Mjah (2250) and Ab Dwd (2696). Al-Tirmidh declares it good but unusual.] For this reason, the Companions and the people of knowledge who came after them loathed separating parents from children among the war captives. Al-Drim relates that Ab Ayyb al-Ansr was in an army and inadvertently separated a mother from her two children. When he saw them crying, he quickly returned them to their mother, declaring: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever separates a mother from her child will be separated from his own loved ones on the Day of Judgment.'" Look at how much mercy, compassion, and justice was employed by the Muslims during war in keeping family members together whom they taken captive. 6. Prisoners of war have a right not to be subjected to any abuse or torture. They cannot be abused on account of the fact that they were fighting against us. Islamic Law does not command us to punish them for this reason. Prisoners of war were never subjected to punishments by the Muslims during the early generations of Muslims when Islam was strong and put into practice. This follows logically from the fact that Muslims are commanded to treat prisoners of war kindly and hospitably. They must feed them, clothe them, and keep their family members together. Abuse is diametrically opposed to what is demanded of us. An exception is made where it is known that a prisoner is hiding something. Then it is permissible to punish him in a restrained matter to extract information from him. Such punishment, however, should never reach the level of outright torture and must not have any affect on his health. The Prophet (peace be upon him) fought against the people of Khaybar until they were forced to retreat to their castle. The Muslims had total control of their land and their farms, and their plantations. The Muslims arrived at a settlement with the people of Khaybar that they would be allowed to depart from their land taking with them whatever they could carry but leaving behind all their gold and silver for Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). A condition was placed upon them that they could not hide anything or try to smuggle out any gold or silver. If they did so, then their covenant would be broken. They concealed a purse containing wealth and jewelry belonging to Hayy b. Akhtab which he had brought to Khaybar when the tribe of al-Nadr was driven out. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Hayy's uncle what happened to Hayy's purse that he brought with him from al-Nadr. His uncle replied that all the wealth was used up in personal expenses and the war effort. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The time was too short and the money was much more than that." The Prophet then handed him over to al-Zubayr who began to inflict punishment upon him in a nonserious manner until he said: "I saw Hayy going about in the ruins." They searched through the ruins and found the purse. [Sunan al-Bayhaq (9/137). Ibn Hajar, in Fath al-Br, says that its narrators are reliable.] The only prisoners of war who were ever executed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) were people who already had a sentence of death passed upon them for crimes they had previously committed against the Muslims.

When the great jurist, Mlik, was asked whether it was permissible to torture a prisoner of war to extract from him information about the enemy's weaknesses, he said that he had never heard of such a thing.

Many of the scholars of the past loathed the idea of killing prisoners of war. Throughout all of the wars and battles that the Prophet (peace be upon him) waged, he killed very few prisoners of war. These were all among the worst criminals among the enemy who had previously engaged in atrocities against the Muslims. Many of them would today be called war criminals. When word of the advance of Ab Sufyn's forces reached Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), his Companions captured a slave belonging to the enemy. They asked him the whereabouts of Ab Sufyn and his forces. The slave replied: "I know nothing about Abu Sufyn, but Abu Jahl, `Utbah, Shayibah, and Umayyah b. Khalaf are there." When he said this, they beat him until he said: " I will tell you about Abu Sufyan." However, when they stopped beating him, he again said: " I know nothing about Abu Sufyn, but Abu Jahl, `Utbah, Shayibah, and Umayyah b. Khalaf are there." When he said this, they beat to beat him again. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had been praying. When he saw what they were doing, he stopped praying and said: "I swear by Allah in whose hand is my soul! You beat him when he tells you the truth and let him go when he lies to you!"

This is clear proof that it is wrong to aggress against prisoners of war. They should not be punished except for crimes that they commit. In consideration of the rights that we have mentioned, it follows that they should have appropriate medical care and have all their needs taken care of that falls under the idea of good treatment. None of them should ever be treated unjustly with respect to his person, his family, or his wealth.

Some Islamic Injunctions Concerning Prisoners of War

1. It is permissible for a Muslim if he is unable to repel the enemy during a war to allow himself to be taken prisoner. We have the story of Khubayb b. `Ad and his comrades. They surrendered to the unbelievers who then took them and sold them as slaves in Mecca. Khubayb was bought by the sons of a man he had killed during the Battle of Badr and they resolved to crucify him. Before he was executed, he recited these very famous lines of poetry: What should I worry when I die a Muslim, As to the manner in which I'm to die. I go to my death for the sake of my Maker, Who at His wish can bless limbs torn awry.

2. Paying the ransom to free Muslim prisoners of war is a preferred act of worship. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Ransom the war prisoners, feed the hungry, and visit the sick." [Al-Bukhr (3406)] Ab Juhayfah asked `Ali about any revelation that he knew about from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that was not to be found in Allah's Book. Al replied: "By He who splits the seeds in the Earth and creates life, I know nothing of the sort except the understanding that Allah gives one who knows the Qur'n and what is written in this document." Ab Juhfah asked him what was written therein, and he said: "It contains the blood money that must be paid for killing someone, the order to pay ransom to free prisoners of war, and that a Muslim must not be killed on account of an unbeliever." [Al-Bukhr (3047) and Muslim (1370)] Securing the freedom of prisoners of war is an act of worship that Muslims should hasten to fulfill if they are able to. They should expend every effort and use all means at their disposal to secure the freedom of these prisoners or at least get their conditions to improve. They should use all modern means of communication, negotiation, and applying pressure that they can muster to achieve this goal. 3. Al-Zuhr said: "As long as the whereabouts of a prisoner of war is known, then his wife cannot get remarried and his inheritors cannot divide up his wealth. If, however, no one knows anything about his situation, then the waiting period is the same as for any individual who has disappeared." [Mentioned with a partial chain of narrators in Sahh al-Bukhr] 4. Al-Bukhr mentions that the judge Shurayh used to allot to prisoners of war in enemy captivity their share of inheritance, saying: "He needs the money more than anyone else." The Caliph `Umar b. `Abd al-`Azz used to say: "I permit the giving of bequests to prisoners of war and to securing their emancipation. As long as he does not become an apostate, then he still has the right to dispose of his wealth as he sees fit." 5. With respect to the proclaimed conversion of an unbelieving prisoner of war, `Imrn b. Husayn relates the following: The tribe of Thaqf was allied to tribe of `Uqayl. Two Muslims were captured and imprisoned by Thaqf. The Muslims, in turn, took a member of the tribe of `Uqayl as a prisoner. They also captured al-`Udb', a she-camel The Prophet (peace be upon him) went to see the prisoner who was tied and bound. The prisoner said: "O Muhammad!" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "What is the matter?" The prisoner replied: "Why did you take me captive along with this camel?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) answered: "I took you captive in response to what your ally Thaqf did." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then turned to leave. The man said: "Muhammad! Muhammad!" The Prophet (peace be upon him) was very merciful and soft-hearted, so he went back to him and said: "What is the matter?" He said: "I am a Muslim."

The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "If you had said that when you were in control of your own affairs, you would have found every possible success." He then turned to leave again. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then ransomed him for the two Muslims who had been taken prisoner but retained the camel. [Muslim (1641)] There is evidence that the conversion of a non-Muslim prisoner of war is to be accepted. We have the story of Usmah b. Zayd who killed a man in battle after that man had cried out: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (peace be upon him) admonished him, saying: "You killed him after he said 'There is no God but Allah'? What are you going to do on the Day of Resurrection with this man who said 'There is no God but Allah'?" [al-Bukhr (4269) and Muslim (96)] If an unbelieving prisoner of war accepts Islam, he acquires inviolable rights. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said this about what happens when an enemy who you are at war with embraces Islam: "I have been commanded to fight them until they say 'There is no God but Allah'. If they do so, then their blood and wealth become forbidden for me." [al-Bukhr (25) and Muslim (21)] 6. A prisoner of war is a prisoner of the state. He is never a prisoner of the person who had taken him captive. Therefore, it is the political leadership who must determine what to do with the prisoner. This leadership may choose to free the prisoner, like the Prophet (peace be upon him) did with Thammah b. Athl, as well as with 80 men captured during the Battle of Hudaybiyah. They had come with the express purpose of killing the Prophet (peace be upon him) but were captured and then pardoned by the Prophet (peace be upon him). They may decide to charge a ransom for the prisoner's release. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did this with the prisoners captured during a number of battles, including the Battle of Badr. They may also exchange their prisoners for Muslim prisoners of war captured by the enemy, like the Prophet (peace be upon him) did with the man from `Uqayl. The Prophet (peace be upon him) once sent a female prisoner to Mecca in exchange for a number of Muslims whom the Meccans had captured. [Muslim (1755), Ahmad (16502), al-Nas' (8665), and Ibn Mjah (2846)]

who posed a danger to the Muslims and who had been responsible for heinous deeds. One of these was
7. The Prophet (peace be upon him) killed a few people after their capture Ibn Khatl who was killed during the conquest of Mecca. [al-Bukhr (1846) and Muslim (1357)] The question then arises: Is it permissible for the Muslim government to kill prisoners of war? This is a matter of disagreement in Islamic Law. What is certain, however, is that a prisoner of war cannot be killed for nothing. The prisoner must be guilty of crimes that warrant the death penalty.

The two great jurists, al-Hasan and `At', who were among the pious predecessors, loathed the killing of war prisoners. The same can be said for Ibn `Umar. The governor of Iraq, al-Hajjj, brought a prisoner in irons to Ibn `Umar nad ordered him to come up and kill him. Ibn `Umar refused, saying: "This is not the way we do things. Allah says: 'either generosity or ransom' and He does not say anything about killing them." In another instance, a governor ordered Ibn `Umar to have a prisoner of war killed. Ibn `Umar replied: "Since he is now a captive, he cannot be killed." By saying this, he was implying that the time to kill an enemy soldier is on the battlefield, not after you have captured him. Ibn Muflih, the Hanbal jurist, writes: "The correct position on the matter is that if an enemy soldier is captured, it becomes unlawful to kill him." This is the official position of the Hanbal School of Law. AlHasan b. Muhammad al-Tamm claims that this was a point of consensus among the Companions.

Islam has provided the most humane of the rules of combat in existence, and I assure you that Islam does forbid the killing of non-combatants, particularly the killing of women, children, the elderly or disabled, and soldiers who surrender. Considering the importance of the topic against the background of the American invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, we have been repeatedly giving the details of Islams rules of combat and other related topics in our Web site. It is evident that we can never have a world here below without the possibility of humans fighting one another. So the best we can strive for is to have a code of rules for war. And it is the merit of Islam that it does provide such rules, which remain ever nobler and more realistic than any other code existing for the conduct of war. In religious or sectarian history, it was Islam that, for the first time ever, adopted an attitude of mercy and caring for the captured enemy. Unprecedented by previous legal

systems, and long before the Geneva Convention, Islam set the rule that the captive is sheltered by his captivity and the wounded by his injury. Whether in war or peace, Islam insists that its injunctions are to be strictly observed. Worship does not cease during wartime. Islamic jurisprudence maintains that whatever is prohibited during peace is also prohibited during war. Here is the actual command of God permitting fighting; the Qur'an says what means: *{Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loves not aggressors.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:190) The above permission to fight lays down clearly the following conditions: (1) Never commit aggression; fighting is allowed only for self-defense. (2) Fighting must never be against non-combatants or non-fighting personnel. In the course of war, enemy soldiers are likely to be caught as prisoners. The Qur'an provides alternatives in dealing with the prisoners of war: either free them ("generosity") or ransom them. The Qur'an says what means: *{Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers [in fight], smite at their necks; at length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly [on them]: thereafter [is the time for] either generosity or ransom: until the war lays down its burdens.}* (Muhammad 47:4) It is noteworthy that Allah does not give a third choice, so there is no provision for keeping enemy soldiers incarcerated in cells for abuse. And so Muslims cannot hold anybodyeither soldiers or civiliansas "enemy combatants" in a legal limbo, to be chained or kept within cages as the leaders of the "civilized world" do. The second option allowed in the case of prisoners of war is ransoming. This stands for a provision in the treaty following a war, for the release of the prisoners on certain conditions, such as the payment of compensation, exchange of prisoners, and so on. But undoubtedly, for fighting as an enemy soldier, no human should be put behind bars for an indefinite period. Islam has given clear rulings for the kind treatment of captives. Whether a soldier is captured in battle or surrenders to the Muslims, he should be treated humanely. The example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this regard is well known, as he never enslaved a free man, never imprisoned anyone. The later followers of the Prophet imprisoned enemy soldiers and kept them as captives to be exchanged for Muslim captives held by the enemies. This was in accordance with this Qur'anic verse that says what means: *{If then anyone transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:194) But the Prophet had given them clear instruction to treat the prisoners of war in a kind and humane manner. He said, "Beware of the prayer of the oppressed; for there is no barrier between it and Allah." Relating how the Companions complied strictly with this order given by the Prophet, one of the prisoners of the Battle of Badr, Huzayr ibn Humayr, stated, "Whenever they had lunch or dinner, they used to give me preference by providing me with bread while theyd eat only dates, in showing compliance with the Prophets order of treating prisoners well." Abu Bakr, who was the first caliph in Islam immediately after the Prophets death, gave the following instructions to his commander who went on a campaign to Syria: "Do not betray or be treacherous or vindictive. Do not mutilate. Do not kill the children, the aged or the women. Do not cut or burn palm trees or fruitful trees. Dont slay a sheep, a cow or camel except for your food. And you will come across people who confined themselves to worship in hermitages, leave them alone to what they devoted themselves for." And the guiding principle of such noble behavior on the part of Muslim soldiers and commanders is the Qur'ans insistence on justice. The Muslims are commanded to stand out

firmly for justice, even opposing their own parents or others intimate to them, if need be. The Qur'an says what means: *{O you who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be [against] rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not the lusts [of your hearts], lest you swerve, and if you distort [justice] or decline to do justice, verily God is well acquainted with all that you do.}* (An-Nisaa' 4:135) And again: *{O you who believe! stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear God. For God is well-acquainted with all that you do.}* (Al-Ma'idah 5:8) During the Crusades, the Muslim commander, Salah Ad-din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Saladin; 11371193), while engaged in battle with Richard the Lion Heart of England, sent his own personal physician to treat him when he was seriously ill. In fact, he personally supervised Richards treatment until he became well. This attitude was quite different from the behavior of the invading crusaders. When the Christian army entered Jerusalem on July 15, 1099, it slaughtered 70,000 Muslims, including women, children, and old men. They broke children's skulls by knocking them against walls, threw babies from roof tops, roasted men over fire, and cut open womens bellies to see if they had swallowed gold. So wrote the famous Christian historian Edward Gibbon. (Quoted by Draper, History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Vol. 2, p. 77.) Islam never fought nations but fought only despotic rulers. War in Islam is always for truth and justice, or, in other words, in the Way of God. Muslims must bear this in mind, and so their behavior before, during, or after a war should never violate the commands of Allah and the example of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Prophet treated the captives mercifully, justly, firmly, and observed the Dawah (propagation) objectives. This was why he varied his ways of treatment. Hence, he killed some of the captives, took ransom for some, released some of them and made a condition for others to teach ten Muslims how to read and write so that he would release them.

A. Observing the right of protection of Al-Mutim bin Adiyy The Prophet said about the captives of Badr: Had Al-Mutim bin `Adiyy been alive and negotiated with me regarding those foul people, I would have released them for him. [Abu Daawood with a Saheeh chain of transmission] This Hadeeth is an expression of loyalty and gratitude as Al-Mutim bin Adiyy had been kind to the Prophet . The Prophet entered Makkah under the protection of AlMutim bin Adiyy when he was returning back from At-Taaif, as mentioned in an earlier article. Also, Al-Mutim was one of those who were fiercely calling for the ending of the boycott against the Muslims and Banu Haashim. This shows the utmost loyalty of men, even if they are disbelievers. B. The execution of Uqbah bin Abi Muayt and An-Nadhr bin Al-Haarith Just as there was such great loyalty to Al-Mutim bin Adiyy, then there was also firmness with the criminals of war and the leaders of strife, such as Uqbah bin Abi Muayt and An-Nadhr bin Al-Haarith, as they were among the firmest adversaries of Islam who had schemed against the Muslims to afflict them with misfortunes. Hence, their very existence posed a grave threat to Islam, especially during the critical circumstances that the Muslim Dawah was encountering. If these two men were released, they would have used every possible way to plot against Muslims and Islam. Therefore, executing them, amidst these circumstances, was a necessity for the public interest of the emerging Muslim Dawah. When he arrived at As-Safraa, a valley that had many palm trees and plants, on his way back to Madeenah, the Prophet ordered the Companions to execute Uqbah bin Abi Muayt and An-Nadhr bin Al-Haarith. When he knew that he was about to be executed, Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt asked, Why did you decide to kill me? The Prophet replied: We choose you to be executed because of your enmity to Allaah and His Prophet. Uqbah said, O Muhammad, your grace is better. So, treat me the same as my people. If you will kill them, kill me, if you will forgive them, forgive me. If you will take ransom from them, take from me. O Muhammad, who will take care of my boys? The Prophet said:Fire. O Aasim, take him and strike his neck. Aasim then took him and struck his neck. As for An-Nadhr bin Al-Haarith, he was one of the devils among the Quraysh who would harm the Prophet . An-Nadhr had been to Al-Heerah and learned the speeches of the Persian kings such as the speeches of Rostam and Esfandiyar. Whenever the Prophet sat and began to teach people and warn them against similar punishments as what had happened to the previous nations, An-Nadhr would say, O people of the Quraysh, I can deliver a speech that is better than Muhammad; so, come and listen to me. He would then start telling them about the Persian kings, other than Rostam and Esfandiyar. After this he would ask, In what respect is Muhammads speech better than mine? Indeed, that man was arrogant and felt superior to Allaah The Almighty. He claimed that his speech was better than that of the Prophets. Anyone who thought or acted in the same manner had to be avenged. This was why the Prophet Companions Taalib executed him. did not ask the about this man and ordered them to execute him. Thus, Ali bin Abi

By executing these two tyrants, the Muslims realized that they should not be tolerant or lenient to such oppressors as they were the leaders of evil and deviation and they exceeded the limits of pardon and forgiveness because of their awful deeds. These two men were among the most evil men who despised Islam and Muslims. C. Entrusting the honoring of the captives to the Muslims was an aspect of the Prophetic methodology

When the Prophet

returned to Madeenah, he distributed the captives among the

Companions and advised them saying: Treat the captives well. This advice conforms with the verse in which Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive.} [Quran 76:8] Abu Azeez bin Umayr, the brother of Musab bin Umayr, narrated what he saw in this regard and said, I was one of the captives of the Battle of Badr and the Prophet had said: Treat the captives well. I was among the Ansaar [helpers] and they would eat dates for lunch and dinner and give me bread made of wheat in order to abide by the advice of the Prophet .

Abu Al-Aas bin Ar-Rabee said, I was among a group of the Ansaar, may Allaah reward them, and they would treat me altruistically. At lunch or dinner time, they would give me bread and eat dates. This was so in spite of the fact that they did not have much bread or many dates. This was their custom. When any of them would find a crust of bread, he would give it to me. Al-Waleed, the son of Al-Waleed bin Al-Mugheerah, and Yazeed would say the same. The captives said that the Companions walk on foot and let them ride. would

These were the merciful morals that the noble Quran established when praising the believers and of which the Prophet reminded his Companions . The Muslims adopted these morals so that they became their nature. These morals affected a group of the honorable captives and encouraged them to convert to Islam. Abu Azeez converted immediately after the Battle of Badr and the arrival of the captives to Madeenah, and As-Saaib bin Ubayd also embraced Islam after he ransomed himself. The Islamic Dawah touched their hearts and purified their souls. These captives returned to their tribes and families to talk about Muhammad his noble manners, his loving heart, his tolerance and his Dawah that entailed righteousness, piety, reformation and goodness. The good treatment of the captives shows lofty morals as the Muslims showed the enemies of Islam the highest degrees of noble morals, and that is altruism. D. Ransoming Al-Abbaas, the paternal uncle of the Prophet The Quraysh sent messages to the Prophet in order to ransom their captives. So, every tribe ransomed its captive according to what they had agreed upon. AlAbbaas said, O Prophet! I am a Muslim. The Prophet responded: Allaah is more knowledgeable of your Islam. If what you say is true, then Allaah will reward you. However, your outward actions showed that you are against us. Hence, you should ransom yourself and your nephews, Nawfal bin Al-Haarith bin Abd Al-Muttalib and Aqeel bin Abu Taalib bin Abd Al-Muttalib, and your ally Utbah bin Amr, who belongs to Banu Al-Haarith bin Fihr. Al-Abbaas said, O Prophet, I do not have this amount of money. The Prophet said: Where is the money that you buried with [your wife] Umm Al-Fadhl? You told her that if you are victorious in this outing then this money will be for my sons Abdullaah and Qutham. Al-Abbaas said, By Allaah, I now know that you are the messenger of Allaah as this secret was known only to me and Umm AlFadhl. Therefore, take away [from my ransom] the booty that you took from me, of eight hundred dirhams. The Prophet : said: [No], that was money that was given to us from you by Allaah. Thus, Al-Abbaas ransomed himself, his two nephews and his ally. Allaah The Almighty then revealed the verse (what means): {O Prophet, say to whoever is in your hands of the captives, If Allaah knows [any] good in your hearts, He will give you [something] better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you; and Allaah is Forgiving and Merciful. But if they intend to betray you - then they have already betrayed Allaah before, and He empowered [you] over them. And Allaah is Knowing and Wise.} [Quran 70, 71] Al-Abbaas said, Allaah the Almighty gave me instead of these eight hundred dirhams, after embracing Islam, twenty slaves who had a lot of money and I aspire for the forgiveness of Allaah The Exalted. [Al-Bukhaari]

A text of religious authority is construed in accordance with its general indication without restricting it to any relevant circumstances or causes. Hence, this noble verse, despite being revealed specifically with regards to Al-Abbaas, applies to all captives. Some of the Ansaar wanted to take the permission of the Prophet to not take ransom from Al-Abbaas. They said, O Prophet, allow us to not take ransom from our cousin Al-Abbaas. The Prophet said: By Allaah, do not forsake any dirham that he has to pay as ransom. This shows the politeness and respect of the Ansaar with the Prophet as they called Al-Abbas their cousin, so that the favor would seen as for them. They did not call him the Prophets uncle, so that the favor would not be for the Prophet . This shows the tact of the Companions . However, the Prophet refused to allow any favoritism concerning the ordinances of the religion. This was a significant lesson for the captives and all Muslims so as to learn not to favor their relatives. Moreover, the Prophet greater than the ransom of the others. made the ransom of Al-Abbaas, his uncle,

After paying his ransom and the ransom of his nephews, Al-Abbaas returned to Makkah and concealed his Islam. He skillfully ran the intelligence of the Islamic state in Makkah until his role ended with the Conquest of Makkah and he declared his Islam only a few days before this conquest.