Shaykh Safi ur-Rahmaan Mubarakfoori
On their way back to Madinah, at a large sand hill, the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam divided the spoils equally among the fighters after he had taken Al-Khums (one-fifth). When they reached As-Safra', he ordered that two of the prisoners should be killed. They were An-Nadr bin Al-Harith and 'Uqbah bin Abi Muait, because they had persecuted the Muslims in Makkah, and harboured deep hatred towards Allaah and His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam . In a nutshell, they were criminals of war in modern terminology, and their execution was an awesome lesson to oppressors. 'Uqbah forgot his pride and cried out, "Who will look after my children O Messenger of Allaah?" The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam answered, "The Fire (of Hell)." Did 'Uqbah not remember the day when he had thrown the entrails of a sheep onto the head of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam while he was prostrating himself in prayer, and Fatimah had come and washed it off him? He had also strangled the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam with his cloak if it had not been for Abu Bakr to intervene and release the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam . The heads of both criminals were struck off by Alee bin Abi TAleeb.
The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam exhorted the Muslims to treat the prisoners so well to such an extent that the captors used to give the captives their bread (the more valued part of the meal) and keep the dates for themselves.
Prisoners of war constituted a problem awaiting resolution because it was a new phenomenon in the history of Islaam. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam consulted Abu Bakr and Umar bin Al-Khattab as to what he should do with the prisoners. Abu Bakr suggested that he should ransom them, explaining this by saying: "They are after all our relatives, and this money would give us strength against the disbelievers, moreover, Allaah could guide them to Islaam." Umar advised killing them, saying, "They are the leaders of Kufr (disbelief)." The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam preferred Abu Bakr's suggestion to that of Umar's. The following day, Umar called on the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and Abu Bakr to see them weeping. He showed extreme astonishment and inquired about the situation so that he might weep if it was worth weeping for, or else he would feign weeping.
"It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the
From Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtoom
source: sunnah online
