used it against the people of Ṭāʾif during their siege; the suggestion came from Salmān the Persian, just as he had earlier proposed digging the trench at the Battle of the Confederates.

Points derived from the report:

1. As established above, when the need arises it is permissible to strike the unbelievers in a manner that incidentally destroys their offspring and women—such as mounting a surprise night attack while they are unsuspecting, or when their fighters take shelter behind their children and women.
2. This ḥadith shows that the Prophet ﷺ bombarded the inhabitants of Ṭāʾif with a catapult; by analogy, the same ruling applies to other artillery—cannons, rockets, and the like.
3. The report illustrates the legal maxim “choosing the lesser of two evils” (irtikāb akhaff al-mafsadatayn): killing women and children is an evil, yet suspending jihad in Allah’s cause is the greater evil, so the lesser of the two was borne.
4. Intentionally targeting those who do not fight—women, children, the elderly, monks in their cells, and similar non-combatants—is impermissible unless they participate in the battle, give strategic assistance, or have committed murder themselves. Thus the Prophet ﷺ sanctioned the killing of Durayd ibn al-Ṣimmah on the day of Ḥunayn because he was directing the fight, and the Jewish woman from Banū Qurayẓah was executed because she had killed one of the Companions.