CLEMENCY TOWARDS THE CAPTIVES
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When the martyred Muslims had been buried, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) decided to
deal with the captives of war. Seventy members of the Kuffar had been arrested by the
Muslims at Badr. 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; UmarR.A bin Khatab
suggested, "They should all be beheaded". Abu Ubaydah suggested they be burnt
alive. Abu BakrR.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 As who was a
nephew to the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) late wife KhadijahR.A and husband
to the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) daughter. The Prophets (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 KhadijahR.A - his first wife. The Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had given this necklace to his
daughter ZaynabR.A, after KhadijahR.As
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. UmarR.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 UmarR.A, the necklace you are looking at
was once owned by my wife KhadijahR.A. After her death, I
gave it to my daughter ZaynabR.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
KhadijahR.A and ZaynabR.A
and I could not stop from weeping". UmarR.A addressing the other Muslims
suggested Abul-As 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-As 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
Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
daughter to be the wife of a "Mushriq". The same happened and Abul-As
after reaching Makkah sent ZaynabR.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
AbbasR.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. |
At the end of battle, when the matters regarding the prisoners were
being settled, there came the turn of AbbasR.A. On seeing
the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
he said, "Nephew! I was a hidden Muslim. You have arrested me without any
reason". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) replied, "Islam is not a hidden religion to be practised in
secret by the Muslims. You were seen carrying weapons in the battlefield, siding by the
unbelievers. Your presence, though in the last files, represents you are against the
Muslims and their Allah. And now as you have been arrested, you are also required to pay
the ransom for freedom". AbbasR.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 AbbasR.A came to know about an inquiry, he
immediately consented to pay 4000 Dirhams, and thus he was freed after paying Fidyah.
Before AbbasR.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
AbbasR.A. The Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) was much pleased to see this young
mans 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 Prophets
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) daughter - RuqayyahR.A. After being divorced by Abu Lahabs son, she was wedded to UthmanR.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. RuqayyahR.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 UthmanR.A
to stay with RuqayyahR.A and handed administrative charge
of Madinah to him. When the Muslims returned to Madinah after the Battle, RuqayyahR.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 ZaynabR.A also departed forever. When the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) had migrated, all his daughters except ZaynabR.A, who preferred to live in Makkah, had accompanied their
father to Madinah. Her husband Abul As as mentioned earlier had been captured in the
battle of Badr but had then been released conditionally. He fulfilled his promise and sent
ZaynabR.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, ZaynabR.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. ZaynabR.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 ZaynabR.As death, an
incident took place, which is important to mention to show the rights enjoyed by women in
the early Islamic period. Abul-As loved his wife ZaynabR.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, ZaynabR.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-As 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 As, 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 As afterwards
embraced Islam and remarried ZaynabR.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. |