Yahya bin Sa'id (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) dispatched armies towards Syria, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) walked on foot with Sayyiduna Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the commander of one quarter of the army. People say that Sayyiduna Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him): Either you ride, or else I will walk too. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You will not dismount, nor will I ride; I intend reward in the path of Allah through these steps." Then he said: "You will soon find people who claim that they have devoted themselves to Allah; leave them alone, and leave alone that for which they claim to have set themselves apart. And you will find a people who have made nests of hair on their heads; cut those (parts) with the sword. And I give you ten instructions: Do not kill any woman, child or old man; do not cut down any fruit-bearing tree; do not lay waste and desolate any inhabited land; slaughter a goat or a camel only for food; do not burn palm trees nor drown them; and do not steal from the spoils nor show cowardice."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18148
Yazid bin Abi Malik al-Shami says that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) towards Syria as commander of an army, and himself walked on foot with him.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18149
Salih bin Kaysan (may Allah have mercy on him) says: When Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) towards Syria as commander of one of the four divisions, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) walked with him on foot to give him advice, while Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) was riding. Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O successor of the Messenger! Either you ride, or I will dismount too. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You will not dismount, nor will I ride; I have made the intention of walking in the path of Allah. O Yazid! You will come to lands in which there will be various kinds of food; mention the name of Allah at the beginning and praise Allah at the end, extolling Him. And you will soon find people who have confined themselves in places of worship; leave them alone, and leave alone that for which they have confined themselves. And you will soon find a people on whose heads Satan has made seats for himself (meaning the deacons); strike off their necks. Do not kill any old man, woman or child; do not lay waste any inhabited place; cut trees and animals only for some benefit; do not burn palm trees nor drown them; and do not commit treachery, mutilation, cowardice or theft from the spoils. "So that Allah may know who supports Him and His messengers unseen. Indeed, Allah is Powerful, Mighty." [Surah al-Hadid: 25] 'Astawdi'uka Allah' (I entrust you to Allah), and (convey) my greetings of peace. Then he went back.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18150
Ibn Ishaq narrates from Muhammad bin Ja'far bin al-Zubayr that he said to me: Do you know why Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) made a distinction, ordering the killing of the church attendant who tends the church (the deacon), while forbidding the killing of the monk? I said: In my view, it is only because these (monks) have confined themselves. He said: Yes; but the deacons (shamamisah) engage in fighting and fight themselves, whereas the way of the monks is not to fight, and Allah Almighty says: "And fight in the path of Allah those who fight you." [Surah al-Baqarah: 190]
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18151
Abu Imran al-Jawni (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Yazid bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) towards Syria and walked with him on foot. Yazid said: I do not like that you should be on foot while I am riding. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You are going out to fight in the path of Allah, and I intend reward in walking on foot. Then he advised him: Do not kill a child, a woman, a very old man, a sick person or a monk; do not cut down fruit-bearing trees; do not lay waste inhabited land; slaughter cows and camels only for food; and do not drown palm trees nor burn them.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18152
Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Set out in the name of Allah and with His help, upon the religion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Do not kill a very old man, an infant, a child or a woman. Do not steal from the spoils, gather your spoils together, set things right and do good: 'Indeed, Allah loves those who do good.' [Surah al-Baqarah: 195]"
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18153
Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that whenever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched an army (in the narration of Ibn Abi Uways: whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched his armies, he would say): "Go out in the name of Allah, and fight those who disbelieve in Allah. Do not commit treachery, mutilation or theft from the spoils, and do not kill children or monks."
However, in the narration of al-Misri these words, "And do not steal from the spoils," are not present.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18154
Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) says that whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dispatched an army of Muslims against the idolaters, he would say: "Set out 'Bismillah' (in the name of Allah)." He mentioned the hadith, in which it says: "Do not kill children, women or very old men. Do not block up any spring. Cut down only that tree which obstructs your fighting between you and the idolaters. Do not mutilate any human being or animal. And do not commit treachery or steal from the spoils either."
There is irsal (a break in the chain) and weakness in this chain, but it is strengthened by its supporting reports together with the narrations (athar) on this subject. And Allah knows best.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18155
Sayyiduna Khalid bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), seeing off the people of Mu'tah, went as far as Thaniyyat al-Wada'. He (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped, and the people also stopped around him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Go forth on campaign in the name of Allah. Fight your enemies and the enemies of Allah in the land of Syria. You will soon find people in churches, secluded from other people; do not molest them. And (you will find) another kind of people on whose heads devils have made nests; split those with the sword. Do not kill any woman, small child or very old person; do not cut down trees or palms; and do not demolish houses."
This too is munqati' (broken in its chain) and weak.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18156
Muraqqa' bin Sayfi narrates from his grandfather Rabah bin al-Rabi' (may Allah be pleased with him), the brother of Hanzalah the scribe (may Allah be pleased with him), (that he said): I went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on a military expedition, and Khalid bin al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) was in command of the vanguard. Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him) and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) passed by a slain woman whom the vanguard had killed. They stood looking at her, marvelling at her physique, until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also arrived on his she-camel. The narrator says: The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) moved away from the woman. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood beside her, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Was this one fighting?" Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) looked at the faces of the people and ordered one of them: "Go and tell Khalid bin al-Walid that he must not kill any child or hired servant."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18157
Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from a man, who narrates from his father, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) "forbade killing servants."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18158
Zayd bin Wahb narrates from Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Fear Allah regarding the farmers; kill only those of them who confront you in battle." [Weak]
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18159
Abu al-Zubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that they used not to kill the merchants of the idolaters. [Weak]
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب السير / 18160