mutilate, nor kill a woman, a decrepit old man, a child, a blind person, or a cripple—unless such people direct the war effort or, in the woman’s case, she is a reigning queen—and they must not kill the insane.
If the imam judges that making peace with the belligerent population, or with one of their factions, serves the Muslims’ interests, he may do so. Should he fix a term for the truce and later decide that breaking it is more advantageous, he must first repudiate it to them and then fight them.
But if they are the ones who begin the treachery, he fights them immediately without prior notice, provided their betrayal is unanimous.
If any of their slaves escape to the Muslim camp, they become free.
There is no harm in the army, while in enemy territory, feeding its mounts on whatever fodder it finds and eating whatever food is available. They may use firewood, apply found oils, and fight with captured weapons without first dividing them, but they may not sell any of these items or treat them as private property.
Whoever among the enemy embraces Islam thereby secures his own life, the lives of his minor children, and whatever movable property is in his hand or held in trust for him by a Muslim or a dhimmi. Should we later conquer the land, however, his real estate becomes state booty (fayʾ), and so do his wife, her unborn child, and his children.
Weapons must not be sold to the enemy or transported to them. According to Abu Ḥanīfah, their prisoners are not to be exchanged for Muslim captives, whereas Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad allowed such an exchange; outright clemency, however, is impermissible.
When the imam captures a territory by force (ʿanwatan), he may either divide it among the combatants or leave it with its inhabitants and levy land tax (kharāj) upon them. As for the prisoners, he has the same options: to kill them, to enslave them, or to set them free under Muslim protection—but he may not send them back to enemy lands.
If, on the return journey, the army has livestock that cannot be transported to Muslim territory, they must slaughter and burn the animals rather than hamstring or abandon them.
Booty is not divided in enemy territory; it must first be brought to the Abode of Islam. In its distribution, the auxiliary troops and the front-line fighters receive equal shares.