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the killing of any woman who had fought after capture, exactly as a man would be killed, and in the same vein the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded that Hind and other women be put to death. He had granted safety only to those who had not fought, and he granted no safety to any who had fought, whether men or women. (1)
This makes it clear that he deemed it permissible to kill those women even though, at that moment, they were no longer on the battlefield, because they had previously fought with their tongues; for warfare conducted by speech may sometimes be
(1) Shaykh al-Islam wrote in al-Sarim al-Maslul, 2/259: “If a non-Muslim woman takes part in combat, it is unanimously permissible to kill her, because the Prophet’s reason for forbidding her killing was that she did not fight. Once she fights, the cause that permits killing is present and the obstacle is removed. According to al-Shafi‘i, however, she is to be repelled in the same manner as a Muslim aggressor: the purpose is to stop her, not to kill her; if she is overpowered alive, it is not lawful to execute her. Other jurists hold that once she fights she is treated like a male combatant.”
See also the earlier passage, 2/522. He further states in the same work, 3/774: “In sum, the Prophet’s command to kill those women is among the strongest proofs that anyone who insults him may be executed under all circumstances. Normally, a non-Muslim woman may only be killed if she actually fights; if she fought in one expedition but in a later one ceased fighting, surrendered, and submitted, it would no longer be lawful to kill her in that second expedition. Nevertheless, the Prophet ordered that those particular women be put to death.”
قَتْلَ مَنْ قَاتَلَتْ بَعْدَ الأَسْرِ كَالرَّجُلِ، وَكَمَا أَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ بقَتْلِ هِنْد وَغَيرِهَا مِنْ النِّسْوَةِ، وَكَانَ قَدْ أَمَّنَ مَنْ لَمْ يُقَاتِلْ، وَلَمْ يُؤَمِّنْ مَنْ قَاتَلَ، لا مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَلا مِنَ النِّسَاءِ (١).
فَدَلَّ ذَلِكَ: عَلَى أنَّهُ أَبَاحَ قَتْلَ أُولَئِكَ النِّسْوَة، وَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنَّ حِينَئِذٍ يُقَاتِلْنَ لمَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ قِتَالهِنَّ بِأَلْسِنَتِهِنَّ، فَإِنَّ القِتَالَ بِاللِّسَانِ قَدْ يَكُونُ
(١) قال شيخ الإسلام في الصارم المسلول (٢/ ٢٥٩): (وإذا قاتلت المرأة الحربية جاز قتلها بالإتفاق لأن النبي علل المنع من قتلها بأنها لم تكن تقاتل، فإذا قاتلت وجد المقتضى لقتلها، وانتفى المانع؛ لكن عند الشافعي تقاتل كما يقاتل المسلم الصائل، فلا يقصد قتلها بل دفعها، فإذا قدر عليها لم يجز قتلها، وعند غيره إذا قاتلت صارت بمنزلة الرجل المحارب). وانظر أيضًا الموضع السابق (٢/ ٥٢٢)، وقال أيضًا في الموضع السابق (٣/ ٧٧٤): (وبالجملة فقصة قتله لأولئك النسوة من أقوى ما يدل على جواز قتل السابة بكل حال، فإن المرأة الحربية لا يبيح قتلها إلا قتالها، وإذا قاتلت ثم تركت القتال في غزوة أخرى واستسلمت وانقادت لم يجز قتلها في هذه الثانية، ومع هذا فالنبي أمر بقتلهن).