The Chapters on Jihad

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (ﷺ) saw a woman whohadbeen killed on the road, and he forbade killing women andchildren.

It wasnarrated that Hanzalah Al-Katib said: “We went out to fightalongside the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and we passed by a slainwomanwhom the people had gathered around. They parted (to let theProphet(ﷺ) through) and he said: ‘This (woman) was not one ofthose whowere fighting.’ Then he said to a man: ‘Go to Khalidbin Walid andtell him that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commandsyou: “Do not killany women or any (farm) laborer.’”

It wasnarrated that Usamah bin Said said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)sent me to a village called Ubna, and said: “Go to Ubna in themorning and burn it.’”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)burnedthe palm trees of Banu Nadir, and cut down Buwairah (the nameoftheir garden). Then Allah revealed the words: “What you (O Muslims)cut down of the palm trees (of the enemy), or you left themstanding...” [59:5]

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (ﷺ) burned the palmtrees of Banu Nadir and cut them down. Concerning that, their poetsaid: “It is easy forthe elite of Banu Luai – To burn Al-Buwairahin a Frightening manner.”

It wasnarrated from Ayas bin Salamah bin Akwa’ that his father said: “Weattacked, Hawazin at the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) withAby Bakr. He awarded me a slave girl from Banu Fazarah, among themostbeautiful of the Arabs, who was wearing an animal skin of hers.I didnot divest her of her clothing until I reached Al-Madinah. ThentheProphet (ﷺ) met me in the marketplace, and said: ‘By Alla,give herto me.’ So I gave her to him, and he sent her as a ransomfor some ofthe Muslim prisoners who were in Makkah.”

It wasnarrated that Ibn ‘Umar said that a horse of his went out and theenemy captured it. Then the Muslims defeated them and it was returnedto him. (That was) during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).He said: “And a slave of his absconded and joined up with the Romans, then the Muslims defeated them, and Khalid bin Walid returned him to me, after the death of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).”

It wasnarrated that Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani said: “A man from (thetribe of) Ashja’ died in Khaibar, and the Prophet (ﷺ) said:‘Offer the funeral prayer for your companion.’ The people foundthat strange.* When he saw that, he said: ‘Your companion stolefrom the spoils of war (when fighting) in the cause of Allah.’”

It wasnarrated that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr said: “There was a man calledKirkah in charge of the goods of the Prophet (ﷺ), who died. TheProphet (ﷺ) said: ‘He is in Hell.’ They went and looked, andfoundhim wearing a garment or a cloak that he had stolen from thespoils ofwar.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Ubadah bin Samit said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) led us in prayer on the Day of Hunain, beside a camel that waspart of the spoils of war. Then he took something from the camel, andextracted from it a hair, which he placed between two of his fingers.Then he said: ‘O people, this is part of your spoils of war. Handovera needle and thread and anything greater than that or less thanthat.For stealing from the spoils of war will be a source of shameforthose who do it, and ignominy and Fire, on the Day ofResurrection.’”

It wasnarrated from Habib bin Maslamah that the Prophet (ﷺ) awarded onethird (of the spoils of war) after the one fifth (had been taken).

It wasnarrated from ‘Ubadah bin Samit that the Prophet (ﷺ) awardedonequarter of the spoils to those who attacked the enemy at thebeginning and one third to those who attacked at the end.

‘Amrbin Shu’aib narrated from his father that his grandfather said: “There is no awarding of the spoils after the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ), rather whatever the army acquires (of spoils of war) will bedistributed among strong and weak alike.”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (ﷺ) distributed thewarspoils on the Day of Khaibar, giving three shares to the horseman,two shares for the horse, and one share for the man.

‘Umair,the freed slave of Aabi Lahm – Waki’ said; - “He used to noteat meat” – said: “I fought alongside my master on the Day ofKhaibar,and I was a slave. I was not given anything from the spoilsof war butI was given from the least of the utensils (goods) asword, which Idragged when I put it around my waist.”

It wasnarrated that Umm ‘Atiyyah Al-Ansariyyah said: “I foughtalongside the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in seven campaigns, lookingafter their goods, making food for them, tending the wounded andlooking after the sick.”

It wasnarrated that Safwan bin ‘Assil said: “The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) sent us in a military detachment and said: ‘Go in the Name ofAllah, and in the cause of Allah. Fight those who disbelieve inAllah.Do not mutilate, do not be treacherous, do not steal from thespoilsof war, and do not kill children.’”

It wasnarrated from Ibn Buraidah that his father said: “Whenever heappointed a man to lead a military detachment, the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) would advise him especially to fear Allah and treat the Muslimswith him well. He (ﷺ) said: ‘Fight in the Name of Allah and inthecause of Allah. Fight those how disbelieve in Allah. Fight but donotbe treacherous, do not steal from the spoils of war, do notmutilateand do not kill children. When you meet your enemy fromamong thepolytheists, call them to one of three things. Whichever ofthem theyrespond to, accept it from them and refrain from fightingthem. Invitethem to accept Islam, and if they respond then accept itfrom them andrefrain from fighting them. Then invite them to leavetheir land andmove to the land of the polytheists. Tell them that ifthey do that,then they will have the same rights and duties as thepolytheists. Ifthey refuse, then tell them that they will be likethe Muslim Bedouins(who live in the desert), subject to the samerulings of Allah as thebelievers. But they will have no share ofFay’* or war spoils, unlessthey fight alongside the Muslims. Ifthey refuse to enter Islam, thenask them to pay the Poll-tax. Ifthey do that, then accept it fromthem and refrain from fightingthem. But if they refuse, then seek thehelp of Allah against themand fight them. If you lay siege to themand they want you to givethem the protection of Allah and yourProphet, do not give them theprotection of Allah and your Prophet,rather give them yourprotection and the protection of your father andyour Companions, forif you violate your protection and the protectionof your fathers,that is easier than violating the protection of Allahand theprotection of His Messenger. If you lay siege to them and theywantyou to let them come out with a promise of the judgement of AllahandHis Messenger (ﷺ), do not offer them a promise of the judgementofAllah and His Messenger (ﷺ), rather offer them your judgement,because you do not know if you will actually pass (the same as)Allah’s judgement regarding them or not.’”

It wasnarrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, And whoever disobeys me,disobeysAllah. Whoever obeys the ruler, obeys me, and whoeverdisobeys theruler, disobeys me.”

It wasnarrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “Listen and obey, even if the one appointed over you is anEthiopian slave with a head like a raisin.”

It wasnarrated from Umm Husain that she heard the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ)say: “Even if the one appointed over you is a mutilatedEthiopianslave whose nose and ears have been cut off, listen to himand obey,so long as he leads you according to the Book of Allah.”

It wasnarrated from Abu Dharr that he reached Rabadhah when theIqamah forthe prayer had already been given, and there was a slaveleading themin prayer. It was said: “This is Abu Dharr,” so he (theslave)started to move back. But Abu Dharr said: “My close friend(i.e.,the Prophet (ﷺ)) told me to listen and obey, even if (theleaderwas) an Ethiopian slave with amputated limbs.”

It wasnarrated from Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) sent ‘Alqamah bin Mujazziz at the head of a detachment, and Iwas among them. When he reached the battle site, or when he waspartway there, a group of the army asked permission to take adifferent route, and he gave them permission, and appointed ‘Abdullahbin Hudhafah bin Qais As-Sahmi as their leader, and I was one ofthosewho fought alongside with him. When we were partway there, thepeoplelit a fire to warm themselves and cook some food. ‘Abdullah,who was aman who liked to joke, said: “Do I not have the rightthat you shouldlisten to me and obey?” They said: “Yes.” Hesaid: “And if I commandyou to do something, will you not do it?”They said: “Of course.” Hesaid: “Then I command you to jumpinto this fire.” Some people got upand got ready to jump, and whenhe saw that they were about to jump,he said: “Restrain yourselves,for I was joking with you.” When wecame to Al-Madinah, theymentioned that to the Prophet (ﷺ), and theMessenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “Whoever among you commands you to dosomething that involvesdisobedience to Allah, do not obey him.”

It wasnarrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)said: “The Muslim is obliged to obey (the ruler) whether he likes itornot, unless he is commanded to commit an act of disobedience. If heis commanded to commit a sin then he should neither listen nor obey.”

It wasnarrated from ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud that the Prophet (ﷺ)said: “Among those in charge of you, after I am gone, will be men whoextinguish the Sunnah and follow innovation. They will delay theprayer from its proper time.” I said: “O Messenger of Allah, if Iliveto see them, what should I do?” He said: “You ask me, O Ibn‘Abd, whatyou should do? There is no obedience to one who disobeysAllah.”

It wasnarrated that ‘Ubadah bin Samit said: “We gave our pledge totheMessenger of Allah (ﷺ), pledging to listen and obey in times ofhardship and times of ease, willingly or reluctantly, and when othersare shown preference over us, and that we would not dispute the orderof those in charge, that we would speak the truth wherever we are,andthat we would not fear the blame of anyone when acting orspeaking forthe sake of Allah.”

‘Awfbin Malik Al-Ashja’i said: “We were with the Prophet (ﷺ) –seven or eight or nine of us – and he said: ‘Will you not givepledgeto the Messenger of Allah?’ So we stretched forth our handsandsomeone said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we have already given youourpledge. On what basis shall we give this pledge?’ He said: ‘(Onthebasis that) you will worship Allah and not associate anythingwithHim, you will establish the five daily prayers, you will listenandobey’ – then he spoke some words under his breath – ‘andyou will notask the people for anything.’ He said: ‘I saw someof that group. Ifhe dropped his whip he would not ask anyone to pickit up for him.’”