Linguistic and Technical Definitions
1. Captives (Asīr):
In Arabic, a captive is called أَسِير, plural أَسْرَى, أُسَرَاء, أَسَارَى. The word سَبِي refers to a female captive. The verb سَبَى – يَسْبِي means “to capture.”
📚 [Al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ: p.17, p.415]
Technical Definition:
Those men (and by extension, women and children) who are taken captive in war after the Muslims gain dominance.
📚 [Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu: 6/369]
2. Spies (Jāsūs):
A spy is a person who investigates and gathers information; plural جَوَاسِيس.
The verbs جَسَّ، تَجَسَّسَ، اجْتَسَّ mean “to investigate, to spy.”
📚 [Al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ: p.122]
3. Peace (Ṣulḥ):
In Arabic, al-hudnah means “truce” or “peace.” Its plural is هُدَن.
📚 [Al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ: p.978; Al-Miṣbāḥ: p.983]
Technical Definition:
A peace agreement between Muslims and their enemies (ahl al-ḥarb) to cease fighting for a specified time, possibly with compensation or mutual conditions.
Scholarly Views:
- (Jumhūr – Majority): The ruler or his representative has the authority to make peace treaties.
- (Ḥanafīs): A group of Muslims may enter a peace agreement without official authorization if it benefits all Muslims, as peace itself constitutes a form of amān (security).
📚 [Āthār al-Ḥarb: p.662; Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ: 7/108; Ḥāshiyat al-Dusūqī: 2/189; Maʿnā al-Muḥtāj: 4/260; Al-Mughnī: 8/462; Al-Furūq: 1/207]
Qur’ānic Evidence
❖ Allah Almighty says:
Arabic:
فَشُدُّوا الْوَثَاقَ فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً
📖 (Muḥammad: 4)
Translation:
“Bind firmly the captives; then (after the war) you may either release them as an act of grace or demand ransom.”
Prophetic Evidence
❖ Incident of Hawāzin:
Marwān bin Ḥakam and Miswar bin Makhramah narrated:
When the tribe of Hawāzin sent a delegation to the Prophet ﷺ asking for the return of their property and captives, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Arabic:
أحب الحديث إلى أصدقه فاختاروا بعدى الطائفتين إما السبى وإما المال
Translation:
“The most beloved speech to me is the truest. Therefore, choose one of the two: either (return of) your captives or your property.”
📚 (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2307–2308; Abū Dāwūd: 2693; Aḥmad: 4/326)
These captives were Arab tribesmen, proving that even Arab captives were taken.
❖ Hadith of ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها:
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:
ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها had a slave girl from Banū Tamīm. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Set her free, for she is from the descendants of Ismāʿīl.”
📚 (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2543, 4366; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2525; Aḥmad: 2/390)
The Prophet ﷺ said this because ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها had vowed to free a slave from the progeny of Ismāʿīl.
📚 (Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id: 10/50; Ṭabarānī al-Awsaṭ: 7967; Nayl al-Awṭār: 5/71; Ṭabarānī al-Kabīr: 4/231)
The tribe of Banū Tamīm was a well-known Arab tribe.
❖ Hadith of Juwairiyah رضي الله عنها:
ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated:
Juwairiyah bint al-Ḥārith was among the captives from Banū al-Muṣṭaliq. She had agreed with her owner to pay for her freedom (mukātabah). The Prophet ﷺ married her and paid her freedom on her behalf. Following the marriage, the Companions freed all the captives from her tribe, saying, “They are now the Prophet’s relatives by marriage.”
📚 (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2541; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1356; Abū Dāwūd: 3931; Bayhaqī: 9/24; Ḥākim: 4/26; Aḥmad: 6/277)
Scholarly Opinions
- (Jumhūr): It is permissible to enslave Arabs.
- (Ḥanafīs): Arab polytheists are not to be enslaved; only Islam or death is acceptable for them.
📚 (Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/479; Al-Umm: 5/467; Bayhaqī: 9/73; Nayl al-Awṭār: 5/73; Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/751)
Preferred (Rājiḥ) Opinion:
It is permissible to enslave Arabs, because all four actions — killing, ransoming, releasing, and enslaving enemy captives — are established in Sharīʿah. Whoever excludes some disbelievers from this ruling must bring valid proof.
📚 (Nayl al-Awṭār: 5/74; Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/752)
Weak Narration
The narration stating:
Arabic:
لو كان الاسترقاق جائزا على العرب لكان اليوم إنما هو أسرى
Translation:
“If enslaving Arabs were permissible, they would have been captives today.”
is weak (ḍaʿīf).
Its chain includes al-Wāqidī, who is weak and unreliable.
- Imām al-Bukhārī: “He is matrūk (abandoned).”
- Imām Abū Ḥātim: “Matrūk.”
- Imām Ibn Maʿīn: “Not trustworthy.”
- Imām al-Dāraqutnī: “Weak.”
- Imām al-Nasā’ī: “Abandoned; fabricates ḥadīths.”
📚 (Bayhaqī: 9/74; Al-Majrūḥīn: 2/290; Al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl: 8/20; Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 3/662)
