The story of captives of Badr
One of the results of the Battle of Badr was that the Muslims captured seventy prisoners, there was no prior law in dealing with prisoners, It was necessary for the Messenger of God to act in one of the ways of consultation with which he was accustomed to dealing with the Companions; so he formed an advisory council by gathering his companions and began asking and consulting them regarding the matter of the prisoners.
The position of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq
The first advisor to the Messenger of God (Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq) said: O Messenger of God, these are the cousins, the clan, and the brothers, I think that you should take the ransom from them, so that what we took will be our strength against the infidels, and perhaps God will guide them and they will be our support.
The position of Omar bin Al-Khattab
Second Advisor: What do you see, Ibn Al-Khattab? Omar bin Al-Khattab said: By God, I do not see what Abu Bakr saw, but I think that you can help me with so-and-so, He mentioned a relative of his - so he beheaded him, and Ali was able to restrain Aqeel bin Abi Talib - his brother - and beheaded him, Hamza managed to attack his brother so-and-so and beheaded him, so that God knows that there is no hostility in our hearts toward the polytheists, and these are their supporters, imams, and leaders.
Saad bin Moaz
The third advisor: An opinion similar to that of Omar bin Al-Khattab, and he said this early when the Muslims began to capture the polytheists, before consulting, the Prophet looked at Saad bin Muadh when the Muslims began to capture the polytheists, and he found him sad, and he said to him: “By God, it is as if you, Saad, hate what the people do,” that is, the Muslims taking prisoners of the polytheists, Saad said: “Yes, by God, O Messenger of God, this was the first incident that God inflicted upon the people of polytheism, I liked killing more than sparing men.
The Messenger of God liked what Abu Bakr said and did not like what Omar said, and he took ransom from them
The next day, Omar says: “So I went to the Messenger of God and Abu Bakr and they were crying, I said: O Messenger of God, tell me what makes you and your friend cry, If I find crying, I cry, and if I do not find crying, I cry because of your crying, He, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: Your companions offered me some of their ransom, their torment was shown to me below this tree, and he pointed to a nearby tree, And God Almighty revealed His saying: “It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has made a great slaughter in the land”[Al-Anfal: 67 {If it had not been for a Book from God that had preceded, a great punishment has touched you while you took it.} [Al-Anfal: 68] The great torment is what the Prophet spoke about to Omar bin Al-Khattab, that he was lower than a tree. The book that preceded is the verses that were revealed before that in Surah Muhammad.
God Almighty said regarding prisoners
(فَإِذا لَقِيتُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَضَرْبَ الرِّقَابِ حَتَّى إِذَا أَثْخَنْتُمُوهُمْ فَشُدُّوا الْوَثَاقَ فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً حَتَّى تَضَعَ الْحَرْبُ أَوْزَارَهَا ذَلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَاءُ اللهُ لاَنْتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَكِنْ لِيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ وَالَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ فَلَنْ يُضِلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ} [محمد: 4].
(So when you meet those who disbelieve, he strikes their necks, until when you bind them tight, tighten the bonds, either mann after: (liberating them without ransom) or ransom, until the war ends, that is, and if God had willed, He would have been victorious, of them, but to test some of you by others, and those who are killed in the cause of God - His deeds will never go astray} [Muhammad: 4]. the matter of redemption is legitimate, but it is the first here, It was to thicken the land: that is, to make fighting difficult for them during the war.
The Muslim opinion settled on
The keeping prisoners and taking ransom from them, and when God revealed the signs, he did not deny this matter to them, Although God mentioned that the first was to thicken the earth, He - the Almighty - He approved taking the ransom, and Muslims began to take the ransom, whoever had money would pay from it, What was paid was between one thousand and four thousand dirhams per man, depending on his financial condition.
The dialogue that took place between the Prophet and his uncle Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib
One of the most wonderful examples mentioned in the matter of redemption is that he was a prisoner on the day of Badr, He had gone out under cover to Badr and fought with the polytheists, He was captured with the one who was captured, and he was a rich man, and he would pay a ransom to redeem himself, this wonderful dialogue took place between him and the Messenger of God, which conveys one of the highest ranks in the leadership of countries, there is no kind of mediation or favoritism for any relative, family or clan, Al-Abbas said, “O Messenger of God, you were a Muslim, that is, he was hiding his conversion to Islam, and therefore did not pay the ransom, the Messenger of God said, “God knows best about your Islam, so if it is as you say, then God will reward you, As for your appearance, it was against us. So ransome yourself and your two nephews, Nawfal bin Al-Harith bin Abdul Muttalib, And Aqeel bin Abi Talib bin Abdul Muttalib, and your ally is Utba bin Amr, Al-Abbas said: I do not have that, O Messenger of God. He said - peace be upon him - where is the money that you and Umm Al-Fadl buried? So I said to her: If I am injured during this travel, then this money that I buried is for my sons: Al-Fadl, Abdullah, and Qutham, Al-Abbas said, “By God, O Messenger of God, I know that you are the Messenger of God.” This is something no one else has taught me, Other than Umm al-Fadl, consider for me what you have afflicted from me: Twenty ounces of money I had with me (this was one of the Messenger’s miracles: telling of the unseen) The Messenger of God said, “That is something that God Almighty has given us from you, and God has sent down,
(يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِمَنْ فِي أَيْدِيكُمْ مِنَ الأَسْرَى إِنْ يَعْلَمِ اللهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ خَيْرًا يُؤْتِكُمْ خَيْرًا مِمَّا أُخِذَ مِنْكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَاللهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ} [الأنفال: 70].
(O Prophet, tell those of the prisoners in your hands, If God knows there is good in your hearts, He will give you better than what was taken from you, And He will forgive you, and God is Forgiving and Merciful} [Al-Anfal: 70]. This verse was revealed about Al-Abbas.
He said after that
“So God Almighty gave us, in place of the twenty ounces in Islam, twenty slaves, they all have money in their hand to use, and I hope for God’s forgiveness. This matter clarifies to us how the Messenger of God applied the law to everyone even against Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib, and the Companions themselves were surprised by this matter, there was amazing tenderness in the hearts of the Ansar, and when they saw this matter, they feared that the Messenger of God would not accept the ransom from his uncle, And his uncle whom he loves. Al-Abbas was standing with the Messenger of God in the Second Pledge of Aqaba, This means that he was very close to the heart of the Prophet, and not like Abu Lahab, for example.
The Ansar’s position on the ransom of the Prophet’s uncle (Abbas)
They tried to exempt Abbas from the ransom, but in a very kind and polite way. They said to him: “O Messenger of God, give us permission, Let us leave his ransom to our sister’s son, Al-Abbas, and Al-Abbas’s grandmother from Banu Al-Najjar from Al-Khazraj, Those who are Ansar, they ask the Messenger to pardon his uncle, not because he is his uncle, but because he is close to them in this regard, But the Messenger - may God bless him and grant him peace - completely rejected this, He insisted on taking the ransom, and even took from Al-Abbas himself the highest value of the ransom, which was four thousand dirhams for the man.
Another situation with Suhail bin Amr
Suhail bin Amr was one of the leaders of the Quraysh, and he was a prisoner at Badr, He was known for his good rhetoric and rhetoric, and he used to encourage the polytheists to fight the Messenger, When the Muslims took him prisoner, it was in the opinion of Omar ibn al-Khattab that his teeth - which are the front teeth - should be removed, Suhail bin Amr; So that he does not stand as a preacher against Muslims after that; He said: “O Messenger of God, let me remove two teeth of Suhail bin Amr, He will never preach against you in another place, The Messenger of God rejected this matter, and a new prophecy appeared for the Messenger of God in this situation, When he said: “Perhaps he will rise to a position that you will not disparage, this happened when the Arabs apostatized. Suhail stood up and addressed the people and convinced them of Islam in Mecca, among what he said was: “This only increased Islam in strength. Whoever refuses us, we will behead him, so the people in Mecca remained steadfast in Islam.”
Some of the prisoners were poor
The Prophet saw that some of the prisoners knew how to read and write, The Islamic nation at that time had not yet learned, and those who could read and write were few, He ransomed these polytheists by teaching each of them ten young men from Medina, This matter demonstrates the accuracy of the Prophet, his farsightedness, and the depth of his understanding, He wants to teach the nation to read and write from the beginning, so he took advantage of this great event, It is the presence of seventy captive polytheists, some of whom know how to read and write in order to teach the nation.
The Prophet released some prisoners without ransom, and released them like this without taking anything from them
Among them is Abu Azza Al-Jumahi, who was a poor man, He said to the Messenger: “You know what wealth I have, and that I am in need and have children, so be gracious to me, so who was kind to him, but he made a covenant with him not to support anyone against him, but he did not fulfill his covenant, and he received his punishment after that, Murder and the Prophet killed two captives ( Uqba bin Abi Muait - And Al-Nadr bin Al-Harith) Because they were among the biggest criminals of the Quraish, or what we call them today, war criminals. After that.
Second: How to deal with a prisoner
If the prisoner is kept
It must be honored and it must be cared for in a sublime moral manner befitting the religion of Islam
First: The feeding
Allah says
( وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا} [الإنسان: 8)
(And they feed food out of love for Him to the poor, the orphan, and the captive.) [Al-Insan: 8]
Even if the Muslims are poor and prisoners of war fall into their hands, God Almighty motivates the Muslims by feeding the prisoners of war and this is considered praiseworthy to the Muslims, In spite of need and want, they are fed by whomever they feed (the prisoner). The Prophet instilled this matter in his companions from the first day because there were prisoners with them, and he said to them, “Treat the prisoners well,
The opinions of some of Badr's captives regarding the treatment of Muslims
Abu Aziz bin Umair - one of those captured at Badr - says:
He is the brother of Musab bin Umair. He says: “I was with a group of Ansar, and when they served their lunch and dinner, they would eat dates and feed me with wheat: because of the commandment of the Messenger of God to them regarding us. This matter had a great impact on the psychology of Abu Aziz, who as soon as he was released declared his conversion to Islam.
The opinion of Abu Al-Aas bin Al-Rabi’
Also about the prisoners of Badr, he says: “I was with a group of Ansar, may God reward them well, He converted to Islam after that, and was the husband of the daughter of the Messenger of God, Mrs. Zainab, may God be pleased with her, despite this, one of the prisoners was saying: I was with a group of Ansar, may God reward them well, Whenever we had dinner or lunch, we preferred bread and dates They have little bread and dates, so much so that a man gets a piece of bread in his hand and gives it to me.
The opinion of Al-Walid bin Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah
He is the brother of Khalid bin Al-Walid, one of the prisoners of Badr. He used to say the same and more. He said: “And they would carry us and walk, that is, if they saw one of them wounded, sick, or tired, they would carry him gently.”
The links
https://www.islamweb.net/ar/article/139341/%D8%BA%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%82%D8%B6%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%89 https://islamstory.com/ar/artical/82/%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%B1