◈ Releasing a Captive with the Hope of Accepting Islam ◈
Authored by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
It is permissible to release a captive if there is hope that he will accept Islam, as evidenced by the narration of Thumamah رضي الله عنه, in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
أطلقوا ثمامة
"Release Thumamah."
Thereafter, he went to a grove near the mosque, performed ghusl, entered the mosque, and said:
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا رسول الله
References:
[Bukhari: 4372, Kitab al-Maghazi: Chapter on the Delegation of Banu Hanifa and the Hadith of Thumamah bin Uthal,
Muslim: 1764, Abu Dawood: 2679, al-Nasa’i: 109/1, Ahmad: 452/2]

❖ Releasing a Captive with the Hope of Accepting Islam is Permissible
It is permissible to release a captive if there is hope that he will accept Islam, as evidenced by the narration of Thumamah رضي الله عنه, in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
أطلقوا ثمامة
"Release Thumamah."
Thereafter, he went to a grove near the mosque, performed ghusl, entered the mosque, and said:
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا رسول الله
References:
[Bukhari: 4372, Kitab al-Maghazi: Chapter on the Delegation of Banu Hanifa and the Hadith of Thumamah bin Uthal,
Muslim: 1764, Abu Dawood: 2679, al-Nasa’i: 109/1, Ahmad: 452/2]