Musa narrated—from ‘Umārah ibn ‘Ammār ibn Abī al-Yasar, from his father, from his grandfather—who said:

“I looked at al-‘Abbās on the Day of Badr: he was standing motionless like an idol while tears ran from his eyes. I said, ‘May Allah requite you, kinsman, with evil: you fight your nephew alongside his enemies?’ He asked, ‘What has happened—has he been killed?’ I replied, ‘Allah is mightier than that and will grant him greater support.’ He said, ‘What do you want with me?’ I answered, ‘Captivity, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has forbidden us to kill you.’ He replied, ‘This is not the first time he has honored the family ties between us.’ So I took him prisoner.”

Ibn Isḥāq also related—through a man, from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās—that Quraysh sent to ransom their captives. Al-‘Abbās said, “I was already a Muslim.” Concerning him the verse was revealed: “If Allah knows any good in your hearts, He will grant you better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you” (Qur’an 8:70). Al-‘Abbās commented, “In place of the twenty uqiyyahs, Allah gave me twenty slaves, each of whom possessed wealth he could work with—together with the forgiveness I hope for.”

Azhar al-Sammān narrated—from Ibn ʿAwn, from Muḥammad (Ibn Sīrīn), from ʿUbaydah, from ʿAlī, though some relate it without the full chain—that the Prophet ﷺ said about the captives on the Day of Badr: “If you wish, you may kill them; and if you wish, you may ransom them and benefit from the ransom, but an equal number of you will then be martyred.”

The last of the seventy was Thābit ibn Qays, who was killed at the Battle of al-Yamāmah.

This report counts among his ﷺ miracles, for he conveyed Allah’s ruling about those who would be martyred, and events occurred exactly as he foretold.

Yūnus ibn Bukayr transmitted—from Ibn Isḥāq—who said: Nabīh ibn Wahb al-‘Abdarī told me: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned with the captives, he distributed them among the Muslims and said, “Treat them well.” Nabīh added: I heard someone relate on the authority of Abū ʿAzīz who said, “I was among the prisoners on the Day of Badr and I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘Treat the captives kindly.’ Whenever food was brought to them, not a single morsel would reach…"