It was customary in Arabia that prisoners of war became the property of the soldiers who caught them. They could be killed, sold in the slave market or enslaved by their captors. When it was required to execute a prisoner, he was made to sit and his hands were tied by a rope. He was immobilised by tying him to a tree and then decapitated with a swift blow of the sword.

When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) counselled with the Muslims about the treatment that should be meted out to the prisoners; Umar^R.A bin Khatab suggested, "They should all be beheaded". Abu Ubaydah suggested they be burnt alive. Abu Bakr^R.A on the other hand suggested the prisoners be allowed to contact their families in Makkah so that they could pay "Fidyah" for their freedom.

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) liked and approved this last suggestion. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then formulated a charter regarding the treatment of prisoners of war, which according to my opinion, is the first charter of the world delineated about the prisoners of war, instructing how to care for their requirements and for clement treatment. Before this charter, the prisoner was left at the free-will of his captor unless set free on paying a ransom by his family or tribe.

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also mentioned in this charter that Fidyah for their freedom would be decided according to the standing of their families. As most of the prisoners belonged to the rich, each was required to pay 4000 Dirhams. If a person could not pay, he, as an alternative, could provide a reasonable number of swords and spears for his freedom. In addition, those prisoners who could read and write were exempted from paying money or armoury. They were required to teach reading and writing to ten Muslims, after which they would be set free. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also added that as long as the prisoners were in the custody of the Muslims, they would be provided free food and clothes and would not be harmed, as Allah does not like the hurting of prisoners of war. The Muslims had been instructed so profoundly to look after the prisoners that some Muslims even gave their food and dress to them while they themselves remained hungry.

When the news of Muslim victory reached Makkah, the people of Makkah decided to avenge their defeat through another battle. One among such Makkans was Abu Sufyan, whose father-in-law, a son and a son-in-law had been killed, and another son captured. He was therefore bound to pay the ransom money of 4000 Dirhams if he wanted the release of his son. Faced with such an insult, Abu Sufyan pledged not to rest or approach his wife unless he had avenged all these deaths. His wife also vowed that she would carve out and chew the liver of the murderer of her father, brother and son. And if the number of murderers was more than one, she would cut their ears, nose and tongues to make a wreath and would dance in the battle field wearing this on the day when Islam would be defeated.

When the flames of revenge were still ablaze in Makkah, news came from Madinah that Makkans could receive their people back by paying 4000 Dirhams per person as Fidyah. An amount of two hundred eighty thousand Dirhams was needed to extricate all the seventy Makkan prisoners.

The sages of Makkah advised against paying the ransom money as the Muslims were presently far inferior in money and effects. Receiving such funds would make them much stronger. However the families of the prisoners including Abu Sufyan approached them and requested that the families be allowed to pay Fidyah to extricate their loved ones. The Quraysh heralds had to agree. One of the prisoners was Abul A’s who was a nephew to the Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) late wife Khadijah^R.A and husband to the Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) daughter. The Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) daughter arranged 3000 Dirhams, but could not manage the remaining 1000 Dirhams. In exchange for this, she sent to Madinah two pieces of jewellery worth 1000 Dirhams, with a message that her husband may be released.

When the cash and the ornaments were brought to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he observed that one of these two ornaments was the necklace that belonged to Khadijah^R.A - his first wife. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had given this necklace to his daughter Zaynab^R.A, after Khadijah^R.A’s death and on that day when he saw the necklace again, his eyes became watery and he could not help himself from weeping. When the Muslims saw their Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) weeping, they could not compose themselves and some of them wept without knowing the cause.

Umar^R.A bin Khatab who was the most prominent among all, owing to his height, wide chest, thundering voice and firm resolution, stepped ahead and said, "O Prophet of Allah! Why do you weep? On seeing you in tears our hearts have come to burst with grief". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied in a choked voice, "O Umar^R.A, the necklace you are looking at was once owned by my wife Khadijah^R.A. After her death, I gave it to my daughter Zaynab^R.A, and today she has sent this necklace and another piece of jewellery along with a cash of 3000 Dirhams, so that we could release her husband in exchange for these things. These things have reminded me of Khadijah^R.A and Zaynab^R.A and I could not stop from weeping".

Umar^R.A addressing the other Muslims suggested Abul-A’s be set free and be exempted from paying Fidyah and that these three thousand Dirhams and ornaments be returned as well. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) forbade this and said that there was no difference between Muslims. Abul-A’s could not be exempted from Fidyah except on one condition that in return for his freedom, he should promise to divorce his wife and send her to Madinah with the other Muslims.

All the Muslims agreed and said that it was unseemly of a Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) daughter to be the wife of a "Mushriq". The same happened and Abul-A’s after reaching Makkah sent Zaynab^R.A to Madinah. However during her journey she met an accident; which is mentioned in detail later.

Another near relative of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) among the prisoners was his uncle Abbas^R.A, who had been picked up by a frail Muslim soldier. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was extremely compassionate to his relatives. Though he saw his uncle imprisoned, he could not do anything for him. His compliance to set rules and principles would not allow him to help.

Abbas^R.A (who was not a Muslim) was an experienced money-lender. He tried to bargain the amount of Fidyah, but when he found that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would not allow any relaxation on the dues, he said, "I cannot pay Fidyah as I am a poor man. I was quite well off in the past, but owing to slump in various business transactions, I have become poor. It has been said that those with scanty means could pay in the form of swords and spears, I am willing to pay in that form".

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) answered that he would conduct an inquiry about his wealth, and if his statement proved true, Fidyah would be recovered in the form of food grain. When Abbas^R.A came to know about an inquiry, he immediately consented to pay 4000 Dirhams, and thus he was freed after paying Fidyah. Before Abbas^R.A was set free, he had nothing left to wear. A young Muslim Ibn-e-Abbi showed commiseration. He took off his shirt and gave it to Abbas^R.A. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was much pleased to see this young man’s compassion and he prayed for him. Ten years after this incident, when the father of this man, who was a resident of Makkah, died and there was no shroud for his burial, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) repaid his virtue by putting his own gown on Abbi in which he was then buried. Though the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was strict in the issuance of injunctions, he championed compassion and treated his kinsmen with great kindness.

The Battle of Badr opened vistas of success for Islam and later a time came when the Muslims became so powerful and prosperous that their armies landed with 10,000 horses, whereas in Badr they had only two. Yet the Battle of Badr has earned more fame than any other battle.

As previously mentioned, when the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had announced Prophethood, Abu Lahab had pressed his son to divorce his wife, the Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) daughter - Ruqayyah^R.A.

After being divorced by Abu Lahab‘s son, she was wedded to Uthman^R.A who was a rich man. After the marriage, they accompanied other Muslims to Madinah. They lived there till the signs for the Battle of Badr became quite prominent. Ruqayyah^R.A fell seriously ill. As the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had been leaving Madinah for Badr with other Muslims, he told Uthman^R.A to stay with Ruqayyah^R.A and handed administrative charge of Madinah to him.

When the Muslims returned to Madinah after the Battle, Ruqayyah^R.A had died. At this the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was filled with grief. He soon had to bear another agonising loss when some days later, his first grand-son from his second daughter Zaynab^R.A also departed forever.

When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had migrated, all his daughters except Zaynab^R.A, who preferred to live in Makkah, had accompanied their father to Madinah. Her husband Abul A’s as mentioned earlier had been captured in the battle of Badr but had then been released conditionally. He fulfilled his promise and sent Zaynab^R.A to Madinah. To ensure her safety, he also sent his brother "Kinah" with her on the journey. The Quraysh learned the news of her departure. When the caravan crossed the boundaries of Makkah a party of the Quraysh led by "Habr" attacked the caravan to prevent her departure to Madinah. Kinah and the other men in the caravan bravely warded them off, but during the scuffle, Zaynab^R.A fell down from her camel and as she was expecting, she had a miscarriage and the child died. That child was the first grandson to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). When the news of the incident reached him, he ordered the arrest of Habr. He was brought to Madinah. Zaynab^R.A who had reached Madinah ailing could not survive for more than a few days. When Habr was brought to Madinah, a furious Muslim demanded this murderer to be burnt alive. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) answered, "Not at any account! It is only Allah who owns fire; I cannot issue such an order". Some Muslims suggested that Habr should be put to death. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was so kind and generous that he overlooked this punishment. A few days before Zaynab^R.A’s death, an incident took place, which is important to mention to show the rights enjoyed by women in the early Islamic period. Abul-A’s loved his wife Zaynab^R.A very much and she also loved him dearly. After she had headed off for Madinah, he sneaked out of Makkah and went after her to Madinah. As he entered Madinah, Zaynab^R.A went to the mosque and told the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the other Muslims that she had decided to take Abul-A’s under Haqq-e-Jawwar. Arabs had access to the right of Haqq-e-Jawwar, by which they were allowed to give refuge to anyone, particularly stranger, whose life was then safe guarded and secured by all. The Arab women had more access to this right than men, which means that an Arab woman was held in such an esteem that if an aggrieved person could manage to reach the tent of a woman and touched even its ropes and asked for Haqq-e-Jawwar, he was sanctioned to one. If a stranger, though a wanted one, requested an Arab woman for Haqq-e-Jawwar and if she put her scarf or shawl on him, his life was then spared. When the Muslims saw her intention of giving Haqq-e-Jawwar to Abul A’s, their eyes turned to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to hear his decision. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that she could extend him the right and could also help him financially but could not keep him in her house, as a Muslim woman cannot live in the same place with a "Mushriq". Abul A’s afterwards embraced Islam and remarried Zaynab^R.A. She could not live long after her remarriage and soon passed away. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had to face grief again.