Ransoming captives

It is narrated from Kulayb (may Allah have mercy on him) that "We came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was sitting in his tent, and I called out: I am so-and-so son of so-and-so al-Jarmi, and a nephew of ours (a sister's son) is held captive by such-and-such a group, and I have presented to them the ruling of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); and we used to say that such rulings are four." Ibn Idris says: "'Unat means captives who had been taken captive in the time of Jahiliyyah." This hadith is hasan (good).

It is narrated from Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) that "Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) ruled that the ransom for those (Arabs) whom the Arabs had taken captive from one another should be four hundred (dirhams)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "No Arab may be held in ownership (as a slave), and we will not forcibly take from a man's possession a captive who accepted Islam while with him; rather, we will fix the price (of his release) at five camels."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was wounded, he said to me: "Know well that every captive from among the believers who is in the hands of the polytheists, the ransom for his release is the responsibility of the Muslims' treasury (Bayt al-Mal)." Its chain is hasan (good).

Abd Khayr narrated: We went on campaign with Sayyiduna Salman bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Balanjar and besieged its people. During this, Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) was struck by a stone which wounded his head, and he said: "If I die, bury me at the foundation of this very city." So when he passed away, we buried him there as he had instructed. Then we continued the siege of the city's people until we conquered the city, and we gained many captives and much wealth, so much so that one man among us received a thousand dirhams or even more. Then, when we turned back, we reached a place called al-Sadd; we did not have the strength to pass through it, until we went by the inner route along the sea and came out through the lands of Muqan, Jilan and Daylam. Every people we passed by asked us for peace and gave us hostages as a guarantee, until the people in Kufah had despaired of us, had wept over us, and poets had even composed verses about us. Abd Khayr says: During this, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) bought a Jewish slave woman for seven hundred dirhams. When he passed by Ra's al-Jalut (the chief of the Jews), he stopped with him, and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Ra's al-Jalut! Would you like to buy from me an old woman of your people?" He said: Yes. He said: "I bought her for seven hundred dirhams." He said: I will give you seven hundred dirhams profit. He said: "No." He said: Then I have no need of her. He said: "By Allah! You must buy her at her original price, or else you will be disbelieving in the religion you follow." He said: By Allah! I will never buy her from you at any price. Abd Khayr says: Then Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Come near." When he came near, he recited to him this ruling of the Torah: "Whatever slave of the Children of Israel you find, buy him at his original cost and then set him free." Then he recited this verse of the Qur'an: "And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their expulsion was itself forbidden to you. Do you then believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in part?" At this Ra's al-Jalut said: By Allah! I will certainly buy her from you at her original price. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Now I have sworn that I will not give her for less than four thousand dirhams." So he brought four thousand dirhams, and he returned two thousand dirhams to him and took only two thousand. Abd Khayr says: When I returned, I went to al-Rabi' bin Khuthaym to greet him; he too had obtained many slaves. He recited this verse: "You will never attain righteousness until you spend from that which you love," and set all those slaves free. The chain of this hadith is hasan (good).