Jihad

Yahya related to me from Malik that Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahmansaid, "Property was sent to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq from Bahrayn. He said,'If someone had a promise or a pledge with the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, let him come to me.' So Jabir ibnAbdullah came to him, and he gave him three times as much of it aswould fill both hands.''

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z-Zinad from al-Araj fromAbu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said "Someone who does jihad in the way of Allah is likesomeone who fasts and prays constantly and who does not slacken fromhis prayer and fasting until he returns."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu'z Zinad from al-Araj fromAbu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, said, "Allah guarantees either the Garden or a safe returnto his home with whatever he has obtained of reward or booty, for theone who does jihad in His way, if it is solely jihad and trust in hispromise that brings him out of his house."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Abu Salihas-Samman from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "Horses are a reward for one man,a protection for another, a burden for another. The one who has themas a reward is the one who dedicates them for use in the way of Allah,and tethers them in a meadow or grassland. Whatever the horse enjoysof the grassland or meadow in the length of its tether are good deedsfor him. If it breaks its tether and goes over a hillock or two, itstracks and droppings are good deeds for him. If it crosses a river anddrinks from it while he did not mean to allow it to drink it, thatcounts as good deeds for him, and the horse is a reward for him.

Another man uses his horse to gain self reliance and up-standingness and does not forget Allah's right on their necks andbacks (i.e. he does not ill treat or over-work them). Horses are aprotection for him .

Another man uses them out of pride toshow them off and in hostility to the people of Islam. They are aburden on that man."

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah blesshim and grant him peace, was asked about donkeys, and he said,"Nothing has been revealed to me about them except this single all-inclusive ayat, 'Whoever does an atom of good will see it, and whoeverdoes an atom of evil, will see it.' " (Sura 99 Ayats 7,8) .

Yahya related to me from Abdullah ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mamar al-Ansari that Ata ibn Yasar said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allahbless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I tell you who has thebest degree among people? A man who takes the rein of his horse to dojihad in the way of Allah. Shall I tell you who has the best degreeamong people after him? A man who lives alone with a few sheep,performs the prayer, pays the zakat, and worships Allah withoutassociating anything with him."

Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya ibn Said said, ''Ubadaibn al-Walid ibn Ubada ibn as-Samit informed me from his father thathis grandfather (Ubada) said, 'We made a contract with the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to hear and obey inease and hardship, enthusiasm and reluctance, and not to dispute withpeople in authority and to speak or establish the truth wherever wewere without worrying about criticism.'"

Yahya related to me from Malik that Zayd ibn Aslam had said thatUbayda ibn al-Jarrah had written to Umar ibn al-Khattab mentioning tohim a great array of Byzantine troops and the anxiety they werecausing him. Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote in reply to him, "Whateverhardship befalls a believing slave, Allah will make an opening for himafter it, and a hardship will not overcome two eases. Allah theExalted says in His Book, 'O you who trust, be patient, and vie inpatience; be steadfast and fear Allah, perhaps you will profit.' "(Sura 3 ayat 200).

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umarsaid that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, forbade travelling with a Qur'an in the land of the enemy.Malik commented, "That is out of fear that the enemy will get hold ofit."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that a son of Kabibn Malik (Malik believed that ibn Shihab said it was Abd ar-Rahmanibn Kab) said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, forbade those who fought ibn Abi Huqayq (a treacherous jewfrom Madina) to kill women and children. He said that one of the menfighting had said, 'The wife of ibn Abi Huqayq began screaming and Irepeatedly raised my sword against her. Then I would remember theprohibition of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, so I would stop. Had it not been for that, we would havebeen rid of her.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Ibn Umar that theMessenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw thecorpse of a woman who had been slain in one of the raids, and hedisapproved of it and forbade the killing of women and children.

Do not kill women or children or anaged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do notdestroy an inhabited place. Do not slaughter sheep or camels exceptfor food. Do not burn bees and do not scatter them. Do not steal fromthe booty, and do not be cowardly."

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibnAbd al-Aziz wrote to one of his governors, "It has been passed down tous that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant himpeace, sent out a raiding party, he would say to them, 'Make yourraids in the name of Allah in the way of Allah. Fight whoever deniesAllah. Do not steal from the booty, and do not act treacherously. Donot mutilate and do not kill children.' Say the same to your armiesand raiding parties, Allah willing. Peace be upon you."

Yahya related to me from Malik from a man of Kufa that Umar ibnal-Khattab wrote to a lieutenant of an army which he had sent out, "Ihave heard that it is the habit of some of your men to chase anunbeliever till he takes refuge in a high place. Then one man tellshim in Persian not to be afraid, and when he comes up to him, he killshim. By He in whose hand my self is, if I knew someone who had donethat, I would strike off his head."

Yahya said, I heard Maliksay, "This tradition is not unanimously agreed upon, so one does notact on it."

Malik when asked whether safe conduct promised bygesture had the same status as that promised by speech, said, "Yes. Ithink that one can request an army not to kill someone by gesturingfor safe conduct, because as far as I am concerned, gesture has thesame status as speech. I have heard that Abdullah ibn Abbas said,'There is no people who betray a pledge, but that Allah gives theirenemies power over them.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that when Abdullah ibnUmar gave something in the way of Allah, he would say to its owner,"When you reach Wadi'l-Qura, (on the outskirts of Madina) then it isyour affair."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibnal-Musayyab used to say, "When a man is given something to use in amilitary expedition, and he brings it to the battlefield, it is his."

Malik was asked about a man who pledged himself to go on amilitary campaign, equipped himself,and when he wanted to go out, oneor both of his parents prevented him. He said, "He should notcontradict them. Let him put it off for another year. As for theequipment, I think that he should store it until he needs it. If hefears that it will spoil, let him sell it and keep its price so thathe can readily buy what is needed fora military expedition. If he iswell-to-do, he will find the like of his equipment when he goes out,so let him do what he likes with his equipment."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umarthat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,sent a raiding party which included Abdullah ibn Umar near Najd. Theyplundered many camels and their portions were twelve or eleven camelseach. They divided it up camel by camel.

Malik said, "I do not see that there is any harm in the Muslimseating whatever food they come across in enemy territory before thespoils are divided."

Malik said, "I think that any camels,cattle and sheep (taken as booty) are considered as food which theMuslims can eat in enemy territory. If they could not be eaten untilthe people had gathered for the division and the spoils had beendistributed among them, that would be harmful for the army. I do notsee any objection to eating such things within acceptable limits. I donot think, however, that anyone should store up any of it to take backto his family."

Malik was asked whether it was proper for aman who obtained food in enemy territory and ate some of it and madeprovision so that there was some of it left over to keep and eat withhis family, or to sell before he had come to his country and make useof its price. He said, "If he sells it while he is on a militaryexpedition, I think that he should put its price into the booty of theMuslims. If he takes it back to his country, I see no objection to hiseating it and using it if it is a small insignificant thing."

Yahya related to me from Malik that it reached him that a slaveof Abdullah ibn Umar escaped and one of his horses wandered off, andthe idol worshippers seized them. Then the Muslims recaptured them,and they were returned to Abdullah ibn Umar, before the division ofthe spoils took place.

I heard Malik say about muslimproperty that had been seized by the enemy, "If it is noticed beforethe distribution, then it is returned to itsowner. Whatever hasalready been distributed is not returned to anyone."

Malik,when asked about a man whose young male slave was taken by the idolworshippers and then the Muslims re-captured him, said, "The owner ismore entitled to him without having to pay his price or value orhaving to incur any loss before the distribution takes place. If thedistribution has already taken place then I think that the slavebelongs to his master for his price if the master wants him back."

Regarding an umm walad of a Muslim man who has been taken bythe idol worshippers and then recaptured by the Muslims and allottedin the distribution of spoils and then recognised by her master afterthe distribution, Malik said, "She is not to be enslaved. I think thatthe Imam should pay a ransom for her for her master. If he does notdo it, then her master must pay a ransom for her and not leave her. Ido not think that she should be made a slave by whoever takes her andintercourse with her is not halal. She is in the position of a freewoman because her master would be required to pay compensation if sheinjured somebody and so she is in the same position (as a wife). Hemust not leave the mother of his son to be enslaved nor mayintercourse with her be made halal."

Malik was asked about aman who went to enemy territory to pay ransom or to trade, and hebought a free man or a slave, or they were given to him. He said, "Asfor the free man, the price he buys him for is a debt against the manand he is not made a slave. If the captive is given to him freely, heis free and owes nothing unless the man gave something in recompensefor him. That is a debt against the free man, the same as if a ransomhad been paid for him. As for a slave, his former master can choose totake him back and pay his price to the man who bought him or he canchoose to leave him, as he wishes. If he was given to the man, theformer master is more entitled to him, and he owes nothing for himunless the man gave something for him in recompense. Whatever he gavefor him is a loss against the master if he wants him back."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Amr ibnKathir ibn Aflah from Abu Muhammad, the mawla of Abu Qatada that AbuQatada ibn Ribi said, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, in the year of Hunayn. When thearmies met, the Muslims were put in disarray. I saw a man from theidol worshippers who had got the better of one of the Muslims, so Icircled round and came up behind him, and struck him with a sword onhis shoulder-blade. He turned to me and grabbed me so hard that I feltthe smell of death in it. Then death overcame him, and he let go ofme."

He continued, "I met Umar ibn al-Khattab and said tohim, 'What's going on with the people?' He replied, 'The Command ofAllah.' Then the people took hold of the battle and the Messenger ofAllah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Whoever haskilled one of the dead and can prove it, can strip him of his personaleffects.' I stood up and said, 'Who will testify for me?' and then Isat down. The Messenger of Allah repeated, 'Whoever has killed one ofthe dead and can prove it, can strip him of his personal effects.' Istood up and said, 'Who will testify for me?' then I sat down. Then herepeated his statement a third time, so I stood up, and the Messengerof Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'What's thematter with you, Abu Qatada?' So I related my story to him. A mansaid, 'He has spoken the truth, Messenger of Allah. I have the effectsof that slain person with me, so give him compensation for it,Messenger of Allah.'

Abu Bakr said, 'No, by Allah! He did notintend that one of the lions of Allah should fight for Allah and HisMessenger and then give you his spoils.' The Messenger of Allah, mayAllah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'He has spoken the truth,hand it over to him.' He gave it to me, and I sold the breast-plateand I bought a garden in the area of the Banu Salima with the money.It was my first property, and I acquired it in Islam."