And He, Most High, says:

“It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has thoroughly subdued the enemy in the land. You desire the fleeting gains of this world, while Allah desires the Hereafter. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” [al-Anfāl: 67]

Mālik and the majority of scholars held that the ruler may choose between five courses concerning captives: executing them; taking them captive and enslaving them; granting them their freedom as a favour; accepting ransom for them; or concluding a covenant of protection with them and imposing the jizyah upon them. For Mālik applied all these verses, interpreting them in light of one another, and regarded none of them as abrogating or abrogated.

The first verse, His saying, Most High:

“If you encounter them in battle, make a fearsome example of them to those who follow them” [al-Anfāl: 57],

requires that captives be killed rather than spared, but its general wording admits of restriction. Its scope is therefore restricted by the second verse, His saying, Most High:

“When you meet those who disbelieve in battle, strike their necks until you have thoroughly subdued them; then bind them firmly. Thereafter, either release them as a favour or for ransom, until the war lays down its burdens.” [Muhammad: 4]

This clarifies that the former ruling applies before the enemy has been thoroughly subdued, whereas afterward the ruling is to bind the captives firmly for release as a favour or for ransom.

Alternatively, the third verse, His saying, Most High:

“It is not for a prophet to have captives until he has thoroughly subdued the enemy in the land” [al-Anfāl: 67],

clarifies that binding captives for release as a favour or for ransom, as mentioned in the second verse—the verse in the Surah of Fighting—is a matter of choice, not an obligation that forbids execution. This is because a prohibition preceding a command is an indication that the command conveys permission rather than obligation. Taking captives had been prohibited before the enemy was thoroughly subdued. This therefore indicates that His saying:

“Then bind them firmly. Thereafter, either release them as a favour or for ransom, until the war lays down its burdens” [Muhammad: 4]

means “if you wish.” This is like His saying, Mighty and Majestic:

“When you have come out of consecration, then hunt” [al-Mā'idah: 2],

following His saying, Mighty and Majestic:

“Land game is forbidden to you as long as you remain in consecration.” [al-Mā'idah: 96]

Likewise, His saying:

“When the prayer is concluded, disperse throughout the land” [al-Jumu'ah: 10],

follows His saying:

“When the call to prayer is made on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trade.” [al-Jumu'ah: 9]