Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām - Abd Allah al-Bassam - (6/333)

Tawḍīḥ al-AḥkāmAbd Allah al-Bassam

in Allah; do not embezzle, do not act treacherously, do not mutilate, and do not kill an infant.’

He ﷺ also forbade the killing of women and children [agreed upon].

He further said, ‘Set out in the name of Allah, fighting in the path of Allah those who disbelieve in Allah. Do not act treacherously, do not embezzle, do not mutilate, do not kill children, and do not kill the inhabitants of hermitages.’

And he said, ‘Nor are you to kill an aged, decrepit man.’

Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him) counselled Yazīd ibn Abī Sufyān, when dispatching him as commander over one quarter of the Syrian front, saying, ‘I charge you with ten matters:

Do not kill a woman.
Nor a child.
Nor an aged, decrepit man.
Do not cut down a fruit-bearing tree.
Do not demolish an inhabited settlement.
Do not slaughter a sheep.
Nor a camel, except for food.
Do not cut down palm trees, nor burn them.
Do not embezzle.
And do not act cowardly.’ Narrated by Mālik in the Muwattaʾ.

Al-Anbari, commenting on the divine statement, ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (Al-Baqarah 2:256), said: The verse means that religion is not what a person professes outwardly under coercion while the heart does not attest to it and the conscience does not embrace it; rather, religion is the conviction lodged in the heart.

Whoever reflects on the Prophet’s ﷺ biography will realize that he never coerced anyone to embrace his religion; he only fought those who fought him. As for those who made peace with him, he did not fight them so long as they upheld their treaty and did not break their covenant.

Indeed, Allah commanded him to honour their agreements as long as they remained faithful, as He said: ‘So as long as they are true to you, be true to them’ (Al-Tawbah 9:7). When he arrived in Madinah, he made a covenant with the Jews and left them upon their religion.

When they went to war against him and broke their covenant, he fought them in their own lands. As for the idolaters of Quraysh, they were the ones who attacked him—at Uhud, the Trench, and even at Badr they came to fight him. Had they withdrawn, he would not have fought them.

بالله، ولا تغلوا، ولا تغدروا، ولا تمثِّلوا، ولا تقتلوا وليدًا". "ونهى ﷺ عن قتل النساء والصبيان" [متَّفق عليه]. وقال ﷺ: "اخرجوا باسم الله، تقاتلون في سبيل الله من كفر بالله، ولا تغدروا، ولا تغلوا، ولا تمثِّلوا، ولا تقتلوا الولدان، ولا أصحاب الصوامع". وقال: "ولا تقتلوا شيخًا فانيًا". وأوصى أبو بكر الصديق يزيد بن أبي سفيان، حين بعثه أميرًا على ربع من أرباع الشام، بقوله: "إني موصيك بعشر خلال: ١ - لا تقتل المرأة. ٢ - ولا صبيًّا. ٣ - ولا كبيرًا هَرِمًا. ٤ - ولا تقطع شجرًا مثمرًا. ٥ - ولا تخرب عامرًا. ٦ - ولا تعقرن شاة. ٧ - ولا بعيرًا إلاَّ لمأكلة. ٨ - ولا تقطعن نحْلاً، ولا تحرقه. ٩ - ولا تغلل. ١٠ - ولا تجبن"، رواه مالك في "الموطأ". وقال الأنباري عند قوله تعالى: ﴿لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٥٦]: معنى الآية: ليس الدين ما يدين به من الظاهر على جهة الإكراه عليه، ولم يشهد به القلب، فتنطوي عليه الضمائر، إنَّما الدين هو المعتقد في القلب. ومن تأمَّل سيرة النبي ﷺ: تبيَّن له أنَّه لم يُكرِه على دينه قط، أو أنَّه إنما قاتل من قاتله، وأما من هادنه فلم يقاتله ما دام مقيمًا على هدنته، لم ينقض عهده. بل أمره الله تعالى أن يفى لهم بِعهدهم ما استقاموا له؛ كما قال تعالى: ﴿فَمَا اسْتَقَامُوا لَكُمْ فَاسْتَقِيمُوا لَهُمْ﴾ [التوبة: ٧] ولما قدم المدينة، صالح اليهود، وأقرَّهم على دينهم. فلما حاربوه، ونقضوا عهده، غزاهم في ديارهم، وكان كفَّار قريش هم الذين يغزونه، كما قصدوه يوم أُحد، ويوم الخندق، ويوم بدر أيضًا هم جاؤوا لقتاله، ولو انصرفوا عنه، لم يقاتلهم.