Al-W¥^idÏ's Asb¥b al-Nuz‰l - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies ...

Chapter 8: Surah al-Anfal
them’. Then this verse was revealed (It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter
in the land)”.
Said Ibn ‘Umar: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, consulted Abu Bakr regarding
the prisoners of Badr, and the latter said: ‘They are your people and clan, let them go!’ But when
he consulted ‘Umar, the latter said: ‘Kill them’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him
peace, freed them in exchange for a ransom. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (It is not for any prophet
to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land) up to his words (Now enjoy what ye have won,
as lawful and good…) [8:69]. When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, met ‘Umar, he said
to him: ‘We almost incurred a misfortune as a result of opposing your view!’ ” 18
Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Hiri informed us> Hajib ibn Ahmad> Muhammad ibn Hammad>
Abu Mu‘awiyah> al-A‘mash> ‘Amr ibn Murrah> Abu ‘Ubaydah> ‘Abd Allah who said: “When the prisoners
were brought on the Day of Badr, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said:
‘What do you think we should do with these prisoners’ Abu Bakr said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, these are
your people and kin, spare them and wait that haply Allah, glorious and majestic is He, may relent on
them’. ‘Umar, on the other hand said: ‘They have given you the lie and expelled you, bring them forward
and chop their heads off ’. ‘Abd Allah ibn Rawahah said: ‘Look for a valley with abundant wood and burn
them there’, upon which al-‘Abbas commented: ‘You have severed your ties of kinship!’ The Messenger
of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer them and then went in. Some people said:
‘He will act on Abu Bakr’s advice’, others said: ‘He will act on ‘Umar’s advice’, while some said: ‘He will
act on ‘Abd Allah’s advice’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then came out to
them and said: ‘Indeed, Allah, glorious and majestic is He, softens the hearts of some until they become
softer than milk and hardens the hearts of some until they become harder than stones. The like of you,
O Abu Bakr, is the like of Abraham when he said (But whoso followeth me, he verily is of me. And whoso
disobeyeth me – still Thou art Forgiving, Merciful) [14:36] and the like of you, O Abu Bakr, is the like of
Jesus when he said (If Thou punish them, lo! They are Thy slaves, and if Thou forgive them, lo! Thou, only
Thou art the Mighty, the Wise) [8:118]. And the like of you, O ‘Umar, is the like of Moses who said (Our
Lord! Destroy their riches and harden their hearts…)’ [10:88]; and the like of you, O ‘Umar, is the like of
Noah who said: (My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers in the land) [71:26]. Then, the Messenger of
Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Today, you are dependent, you are today dependent;
none of them shall be returned except in exchange for a ransom or he will be beheaded’. Allah, glorious
and majestic is He, then revealed (It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter
in the land) up to his words (Now enjoy what ye have won, as lawful and good) up to the end of the next
three verses”.
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan al-‘Adl informed us> Ahmad ibn Ja‘far ibn Malik> ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad
ibn Hanbal> Ahmad ibn Hanbal> Abu Nuh Qurrad> ‘Ikrimah ibn ‘Ammar> Simak al-Hanafi Abu Zumayl>
Ibn ‘Abbas> ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab who said: “When the army of the believers met the army of the
unbelievers at Badr and the idolaters were defeated (seventy men of them were killed and another seventy
captured), the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, consulted Abu Bakr, ‘Umar
and ‘Ali about what to do with the prisoners. Abu Bakr said: ‘O Prophet of Allah, these are our brothers,
cousins and sons of our clan and my opinion is that you accept a ransom from them, so that what we take
from them will be an added strength for us against the unbelievers. And haply Allah will guide them to
Islam and be a support to us’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then asked:
‘What do you think, O son of al-Khattab’ He said: ‘By Allah, I do not agree with Abu Bakr. My opinion
is that you give me so-and-so (a relative of ‘Umar) so that I behead him, and give ‘Aqil to ‘Ali so that he
behead him and so-and-so (al-‘Abbas ) to Hamzah so that he beheads him. In this way, Allah, glorious
and majestic is He, will know that there is no complaisance in our hearts toward the idolaters. These are
their notables, leaders and chiefs’. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, liked
what Abu Bakr said and disliked what I said. And so, he accepted a ransom from them. The following
day, ‘Umar said: I went to see the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and found him sitting
with Abu Bakr. They were both crying. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is it that makes you and your
18
Durr, :104-105.
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