After the Battle of Badr, our Master (saw) sought the advice of his companions on how to treat the prisoners of war. Hadhrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra) shared his opinion:

“O Rasul of Allah, the prisoners are our cousins. They are from our tribe and our brethren. My suggestion is to take a ransom from them. With the ransom we receive, we can become stronger in dealing with the disbelievers. Additionally, we hope that Allah may guide them to the right path and that they might become supporters of the Muslims...”

Following this, our Master asked Hadhrat Omar al-Faruq (ra) for his opinion: “What do you think, O son of Khattab?”

Omar (ra) expressed his viewpoint:

“By Allah, I do not think Abu Bakr’s opinion is quite right! In my view, first, you should grant me permission to behead such and such a person (referring to his own relative) ... You should allow Ali to kill Akil, and then you should permit Hamza to kill his brother Abbas. This way, it will be known that we have no weakness or leniency when it comes to the polytheists. It should not be forgotten that they are the elites and leaders among the polytheists!”

Following this, Abdullah bin Revaha shared his perspective in response to the question: “O Rasul of Allah, let us find a valley with many trees, put them in it, and then set the trees on fire to burn them.”

Upon hearing these suggestions our Master (saw) remained silent for a while… He then stood up and entered his tent, where he remained for some time. During this period, the Muslims were discussing and debating these proposals, with some supporting the viewpoint of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra) and others endorsing Omar’s (ra) perspective…

Finally, our Master (saw) emerged from his tent and addressed his companions: 

“Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has endowed certain individuals with exceedingly gentle and tender hearts, softer and more delicate than milk. Allah, the Exalted, has also given hardness to the hearts of some, harder than stone…

O Abu Bakr, your disposition is like that of Abraham, peace be upon him. He said to Allah, “My Rabb... whoever follows me; then indeed he is of me... And whoever disobeys me, then indeed You are the Ghafur, the Rahim.”[1]

O Abu Bakr, your disposition is like that of Jesus, peace be upon him. He prayed to Allah, “If You cause them suffering, indeed they are Your servants! If You forgive them, indeed it is You who are the Aziz, the Hakim.”[2]

O Omar, your character is reminiscent of Noah, peace be upon him. He prayed to his Rabb, “My Rabb... Do not leave upon earth anyone from among those who deny the knowledge of the reality!”[3]

O Omar, your disposition also resembles that of Moses, peace be upon him. He implored to his Rabb, “Our Rabb! Obliterate their wealth and give distress to their hearts! For they will not believe until they see a painful suffering.”[4]

“Now, I will explain the plan: Do not release any of the prisoners until they pay the ransom. If they refuse to pay the ransom, execute them.”

Among the seventy prisoners captured, only those like Ukbe bin Muayt and Nadr bin Haris, who were among the atheists or the “Godless” of the Quraysh, had their heads struck, even though they wanted to pay the ransom…