Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: In one of the battles of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a woman was found dead, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the killing of women and children.

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the killing of women.

Ayub (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that in the valley of Mina, a man was quoting his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched an army, and I was also present in that army. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us from killing servants and slaves.

Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Ka'b narrates from his uncle that when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched an army towards Ibn Abi Al-Huqaiq, he (peace be upon him) forbade them from killing women and children.

Hazrat Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would dispatch any expedition or army, he would instruct: Do not kill children.

Hazrat Hanzala Katib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a battle. We passed by a slain woman while people had gathered around her. The people made space for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: She was not fighting among those who fight! Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man: Go to Khalid bin Walid and tell him: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commands you that you must never kill children and servants.

Hazrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I used to carry the provision bag of my companions, and when we were sent in the path of Allah, we would camp near Madinah. Until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would come to us and say: With the name of Allah, go forth in the path of Allah… Fight the enemies of Allah in the path of Allah. Do not kill a very old person, nor small children, nor women, and do not be treacherous.

Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to the commanders of the armies that they should not kill women and children. And whoever uses a razor, meaning whoever is mature, kill him.

Hazrat Zaid bin Wahb (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that we received a letter from Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): Do not commit treachery, nor betrayal, and do not kill children, and fear Allah regarding the farmers.

Hazrat Yahya bin Saeed (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that it was conveyed to me that Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent armies towards Syria. He (may Allah be pleased with him) set out and was walking behind Yazid bin Abu Sufyan. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Surely, I advise you with ten things: Never kill children, neither children nor women nor very old women, and do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. And never destroy inhabited land. And never slaughter goats or cows except for eating. And never cut down a date-palm tree from the top nor burn it, and do not commit treachery, and do not show cowardice.

Hazrat Laith (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Children will not be killed in war, nor women, nor the very elderly. Food will not be burned, nor date-palm trees, and houses will not be destroyed, nor will fruit-bearing trees be cut down.

Hazrat Ash'ath (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hasan Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) considered it disliked to kill a very old person, children, and women in the land of war. And he (may Allah have mercy on him) also considered it disliked that a person should take any of them along with him, and then if carrying them becomes burdensome for him, he should abandon them on the way.

Hazrat Abdul Malik bin Umair (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Atiyyah Qarazi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: On the day of the Battle of Banu Qurayza, we were presented before the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Whoever had pubic hair was killed, and whoever did not have pubic hair was let go.

Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Abu Amrah Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a murdered woman. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Who killed her? A man said: O Messenger of Allah! I did. I made her sit behind me on my mount, then she tried to attack me, so I killed her. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that the woman be buried.

Hazrat Yahya bin Yahya Ghassani (may Allah have mercy on him) says that I wrote a letter to Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) and asked about this verse: Translation: "And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors." He (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter in reply to me and said: Indeed, this verse is about women and children and those among them who do not participate in fighting.

Hazrat Thabit bin Hajjaj Kalabi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood among the people. He (may Allah be pleased with him) praised and glorified Allah, then said: Beware! That monk who is in his monastery shall not be killed.

Hazrat Yazid bin Hurmuz (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Najdah wrote a letter to Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) asking about killing children, and in his letter he wrote that indeed a knowledgeable person who was a companion of Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) killed a child?! Yazid says that I wrote a letter with my own hand from Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) to Najdah: You wrote a letter asking about killing children, and in your letter you said that indeed a knowledgeable person who was a companion of Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him), verily he killed a child?! If you also knew about children what he knew, then you too would have killed him. But you do not know. Verily, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade killing children. So keep away from them.

Hazrat Aslam (may Allah have mercy on him), who was the freed slave of Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates that Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote letters to his governors forbidding them from killing women and children. And he ordered them to kill the adults.

Hazrat Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not kill the traders of the polytheists.

Hazrat Aswad bin Sari’ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What is the matter with people that they have gone to extremes in killing, to the extent that they have even killed children?! At this, a man from the people said: But they are the children of the polytheists. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Are not the best among you from the children of the polytheists?! Indeed, no child is born except upon the natural disposition of Islam, until when he becomes mature, he expresses what is within himself, or his parents make him a Jew or a Christian.

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that when the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would send out armies, he would instruct them not to kill those who are present in places of worship.

Hazrat Juwaybir (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Hazrat Dahhak (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Women and very old men were forbidden to be killed.

Hazrat Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) dispatched an army and instructed them: "Fight in the name of Allah. O Allah! Make their death martyrdom in Your path." Then he said, "Do not say anything to those whom you find worshipping in their places of worship, and strike between the heads of those who fight against you."

Hazrat Rashid bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the killing of women, children, and the very elderly who have no strength left.

Hazrat Safwan bin Assal (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would dispatch an army, he would say: Do not kill any child.