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Islamic views on prisoners of war encompass teachings from the Qur'an and hadith as well as later regulations developed in Islamic jurisprudence.
The historical legal principles governing the treatment of prisoners of war, in shar'iah, Islamic law, (in the traditional madhabs schools of Islamic jurisprudence), was then a significant improvement[citation needed] over the pre-existing norms of society during Muhammad's time (see Early reforms under Islam). Men, women, and children may all be taken as prisoners of war under traditional interpretations of Islamic law. Generally, a prisoner of war could be, at the discretion of the military leader, freed, ransomed, exchanged for Muslim prisoners, or kept in bondage.[1] In earlier times, the ransom sometimes took an educational dimension, where a literate prisoner of war could secure his or her freedom by teaching ten Muslims to read and write.[2][3] Some Muslim scholars hold that a prisoner may not be ransomed for gold or silver, but may be exchanged for Muslim prisoners.[4]
- ^ Tafsir of the Qur'an by Ibn Kathir [1]
- ^ Shirazi, Imam Muhammad. The Prophet Muhammad - A Mercy to the World. Createspace Independent Pub, 2013, p. 74.
- ^ The Story of the Prisoners of the Battle of Badr : Shaykh Safi ur-Rahmaan Mubarakfoori [2]
- ^ 'Abu Yusuf Ya'qub Le Livre de l'impot foncier,' translated from Arabic and annotated by Edmond Fagnan, Paris, Paul Geuthner, 1991, pages 301-302) Abu Yusuf (d. 798 CE)