ransom, which will reinforce us against the unbelievers, and perhaps Allah will guide them to Islam.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, “What is your view, Ibn al-Khattab?” I replied, “By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I do not agree with what Abu Bakr has proposed. Instead, I think you should allow us to strike off their heads. Let ʿAli deal with ʿAqīl and sever his neck, and put so-and-so—a kinsman of mine—within my reach so I may strike off his. These men are the ringleaders and champions of disbelief.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ inclined toward Abu Bakr’s opinion and not toward mine. The next morning I came and found the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr weeping. I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me what makes you weep. If I find cause, I shall weep; otherwise I shall at least appear to weep because you two are weeping.” He replied, “I weep for what your companions proposed to me about taking ransom. The punishment shown to me for them was as near as this tree”—and he pointed to a tree close by the Prophet ﷺ.

Then Allah the Exalted revealed, “It is not for a prophet to have prisoners until he has thoroughly subdued the land… so eat of that which you have taken as booty, lawful and good” (Qur’an 8:67–69). Thus Allah made war-booty lawful for them. Muslim recorded this report.

Jarīr narrated—from al-ʿAmash, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Abū ʿUbaydah ibn ʿAbd Allah, from his father—who said: On the Day of Badr the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, “What do you think should be done with these prisoners?” ʿAbd Allah ibn Rawāḥah said, “You are in a valley with plenty of firewood; kindle a fire and hurl them into it.” Al-ʿAbbās retorted, “May Allah sever your kinship ties!” ʿUmar said, “Their leaders and chiefs fought you and denied you, so strike off their heads.” Abu Bakr said, “They are your own clan and your people.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then withdrew for a private need. A group among them said, “The correct view is what ʿUmar has said.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out and said, “What do you say about these men? Their case is like that of their brothers before them: Noah said, ‘My Lord, do not leave upon the earth a single…’ ”