1108 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported: “The Prophet ﷺ saw a slain woman during one of his expeditions and condemned the killing of women and children.” Agreed upon (1).
1109 – Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Kill the elder idolaters (shuyūkh al-mushrikīn) but spare their youngsters (sharkhahum).” Reported by Abū Dāwūd, and al-Tirmidhī judged it authentic (2).
Hadith grading
This ḥadith is ḥasan. Al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Ḥibbān both declared it authentic. It is transmitted through the chain of al-Ḥasan from Samurah—a transmission about whose soundness the scholars have differed, yet it is accepted.
Al-Hāfiẓ said in al-Talkhīṣ: Aḥmad and al-Tirmidhī transmitted it through al-Ḥasan from Samurah.
Al-Tirmidhī commented: “This is a ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb ḥadith.”
Vocabulary
• shuyūkh al-mushrikīn: A shaykh is someone whose advanced age is apparent; here it means elderly men who are physically fit and able to fight. The feeble aged are not intended.
• sharkhahum – with an open shīn, a silent rāʾ, followed by a khāʾ – refers to their youngsters who have not yet reached maturity, as stated in al-Nihāyah.