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The rules of war in Islam are the basic religious laws of war governing the military conduct of the mujahideen (Muslim struggler). These rules are part of a broader Islamic military doctrine encompassed by what Muslims call "Lesser Jihad" or what most westerners translate as "Holy War". This article concerns the rules governing military conduct during both defensive Jihad and offensive Jihad. These religious laws are a part of the traditional Islamic code, shar'iah, which is based on traditional interpretations of the Qur'an and the hadith (traditions of Muhammad). Not all Muslims follow the traditional interpretations, and there has been some disagreement between various Islamic authorities about certain details.
For comparison, the article laws of war discusses modern international conventions on the conduct of war.
Civilians
Islam expressly prohibits the killing of non-combatants, civilian women, children and the eldery, during war. The Quran states "make (them) prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them ransom (themselves) until the war terminates" (Qur'an 47:4) which has traditionly been seen as meaning prisoners caught in war are part of the spoils of war. A discussion of the Islamic treatment of enemy prisoners of war can be found below.
Prisoners of War
The historical legal principles governing the treatment of prisoners of war, in shar'iah, Islamic law, (in the traditional madhabs schools of Islamic jurisprudence), closely mirror the pre-existing norms of society during Muhammad's time. Men, women, and children may all be taken as prisoners of war under traditional interpretations of Islamic law. Generally, a prisoner of war could be (at the discretion of the military leader): freed, enslaved for the purposes of labor, or sold on the slave market. Female prisoners may be enslaved as concubines (in which case they are called Ma malakat aymanukum by the Qur'an). In earlier times, the ransom sometimes took an educational dimension, where a literate prisoner of war could secure his or her freedom by teaching ten Muslims to read and write.
Muslim scholars have traditionally held that women and children prisoners of war cannot be killed under any circumstances, but that they may be freed, ransomed, or enslaved. In the case of adult males, there has been disagreement on whether an adult male prisoner of war must be executed, must not be executed, or can be executed. One opinion is that all adult, male prisoners of war must be executed under all circumstances, except those who convert to Islam; this has never been widely believed or upheld. The second traditional opinion is that all adult, male prisoners of war must be executed, except for those who convert to Islam or those who are Christian or Jewish prisoners and who accept to henceforth pay the jizya tributary tax. Again, this was never widely upheld, and as the Muslim caliphate expanded, other major religions, such as Zoroastrianism and Hinduism, were given the same protected status as Jews and Christians. The third traditional opinion is that no prisoners of war may be executed; this is the most widely accepted view. The Hanafi Maddhab views that prisoners must remain as such until the war is over, and then freed. A fourth opinion is that all adult, male prisoners of war must be executed (except those who convert) until the cessation of major hostilites, after which they can be executed at the discretion of the Islamic supreme leader or those legally deputized by him. This opinion was upheld by the medieval Muslim judge, Sa'id bin Jubair (665-714 AD). A fifth opinion is that adult, male prisoners of war may be executed at the discretion of the Islamic supreme leader, or those legally deputized by him. This fifth opinion was upheld by the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools of Islamic jurisprudence. The Shiah Jafari school of Islamic jurisprudence holds similar views on the matter.
The above facts are attested to by a number of scholarly sources coming from medieval and modern, Muslim and non-Muslim sources:
Imam Shafi, said the Imam (supreme leader of the Muslims) is given the choice of killing the prisoners, showing them mercy, ransoming them or keeping them in bondage. This issue has been confirmed and has been proven in our book 'Al Ahkam.' (Tafsir of the Qur'an by Ibn Kathir )
Slavery was not abolished by the Koran, but ... only children of slaves or non-Muslim prisoners of war can become slaves, never a freeborn Muslim. (Annemarie Schimmel. Islam: An Introduction. Albani: State University of New York Press, 1992, p. 67)
Male captives might be killed or enslaved, whatever their religious affiliation. (People of the Book were not protected by Islamic law until they had accepted dhimma.) Captives might also be given the choice between Islam and death, or they might pronounce the confession of faith of their own accord to avoid execution: jurists ruled that their change of status was to be accepted even though they had only converted out of fear. Women and children captured in the course of the campaigns were usually enslaved, again regardless of their faith. Nor should the importance of captives be underestimated. Muslim warriors routinely took large numbers of them. Leaving aside those who converted to avoid execution, some were ransomed and the rest enslaved, usually for domestic use. (Patricia Crone. God’s Rule: Government and Islam. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, pp. 371-72)
It was the custom to enslave prisoners of war and the Islamic state would have put itself at a grave disadvantage vis-a-vis its enemies had it not reciprocated to some extent. By guaranteeing them humane treatment, and various possibilities of subsequently releasing themselves, it ensured that a good number of combatants in the opposing armies preferred captivity at the hands of Muslims to death on the field of battle. (Roger DuPasquier. Unveiling Islam. Islamic Texts Society, 1992, p. 104)
According to the Qur'an a woman who has been captured by force falls in the category of a slave girl (kaniz). And because the Qur'an confines the use of force to the fighting (qital) in the way of God, thus according to the Qur'an a slave girl is that woman who falls in the hands of Muslims as a prisoner during the course of war waged in the way of God. (Maulana Maududi, Rasa'il wa Masa'il 3rd edition, Vol. III, p.102).
"There is no limit to their numbers (Tafsir of the Qur'an by Maulana Maududi, Vol. IV, exegesis of verse 33:52).
...that one can even...finish off the wounded, or kill prisoners who might prove dangerous to the Muslims...As for the prisoners who are led before the imam, the latter has the choice, as he pleases, of executing them, or making them pay a ransom, for the most advantageous choice for the Muslims and the wisest of Islam. The ransom imposed upon them is not to consist either of gold, silver, or wares, but is only in exchange for Muslim captives... As for the captives, the amir has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. ('Abu Yusuf Ya'qub Le Livre de l'impot foncier,' translated from Arabic and annotated by Edmond Fagnan, Paris, Paul Geuthner, 1991, pages 301-302) Abu Yusuf (d. 798 CE) was a classical jurists from the Hanafi school of jurispudence).
The above discussion on the matter of prisoners of war in Islam concerns the traditional practices and opinions of Muslim warriors and Muslim scholars. Certain Muslims, such as those who reject the hadith literature in its entirely (e.g. Qur'an Aloners) or liberal Muslims may not necessarily agree with the traditional interpretations of Islamic law in general, and Islamic laws concerning prisoners of war in particular. It should furthermore be noted that some militant Islamist movements do in fact agree with the traditional interpretations. For such mujahideen movements, the execution of prisoners of war is a powerful political weapon (particularly in asymmetric warfare), while the ransoming and enslaving of prisoners of wars is a lucrative source of funding for their militant movements as well as a source of personal pleasure. Armed Islamic conflicts in Chechnya and the Sudan, in particular, have in recent times gained international condemnation for kidnapping and ransom schemes and for the international crime of human trafficking.
According to accounts written by Muhammad's followers, after the Battle of Badr, some prisoners were executed for their earlier crimes in Mecca, but the rest were given options: They could convert to Islam and thus win their freedom; they could pay ransom and win their freedom; they could teach 10 Muslims to read and write and thus win their freedom . William Muir wrote of this period:
- "In pursuance of Mahomet's commands the citizens of Medina and such of the refugees as possessed houses received the prisoners and treated them with much consideration. 'Blessings be on the men of Medina', said one of these prisoners in later days, 'they made us ride while they themselves walked; they gave us wheaten bread to eat when there was little of it, contenting themselves with dates."
Quotes from the Qur'an and Hadith
From the Qur'an:
- Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. - Quran 2:190
- If any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people. - Quran 5:32
- So when the sacred months (of cease-fire) have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And if one of the idolaters seek protection from you, grant him protection till he hears the word of Allah, then make him attain his place of safety; this is because they are a people who do not know. Quran 9:5-6 (Idolaters referred to in this verse is group among Idolaters in Mecca who had made an agreement of mutual protection with Muslims and then later conspired against Muslims, thus breaking the agreement.)
- But if the enemy incline towards peace, then you (also) incline towards peace, and trust in Allah: for He is One that hears and knows (all things). Quran 8:61
- O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in war, never turn your backs to them. Qur'an 8:15
- And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevails justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere. But if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do. Qur'an 8:39
- When the Believers saw the Confederate forces, they said: "This is what Allah and his Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger told us what was true." And it only added to their faith and their zeal in obedience. Qur'an 33:22
From the hadith:
- "You are neither hard-hearted nor of fierce character, nor one who shouts in the markets. You do not return evil for evil, but excuse and forgive." - Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 362
- "Do not kill any old person, any child or any woman" (Abu Dawud).
- "Do not kill the monks in monasteries" or "Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship" (Musnad of Ibn Hanbal).
Speech by Abu Bakr, Mohammed's closest friend and first successor, to an Islamic army set out for Syria: "Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy's flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone."