Protection of a War Enemy’s Wealth Upon Embracing Islam Before Captivity

Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī

Ruling:​

If a war enemy embraces Islam before being captured, his life and property are safeguarded according to the Sharīʿah.

1. Evidence from the Sunnah​

❖ Hadith of Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:


Arabic:
أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أُقَاتِلَ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَشْهَدُوا أَنْ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ، فَإِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَٰلِكَ عَصَمُوا مِنِّي دِمَاءَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ


Translation:
“I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity but Allah, establish the prayer, and pay the zakāh. Once they do so, they have protected from me their lives and their property.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 25 – Kitāb al-Īmān; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 22)

2. Ruling from Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله​

He titled a chapter in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:


Arabic:
باب إذا أسلم قوم في دار الحرب ولهم مال وأرضون فهي لهم


Translation:
“If a people embrace Islam in the land of war (Dār al-Ḥarb) while they own property and land, then it remains in their ownership.”
(Before Ḥadīth 3058 – Kitāb al-Jihād wa al-Siyar)


This title reflects the scholarly consensus that conversion to Islam before capture preserves the right of ownership.

3. Weak Narrations​

❖ The narration of Ṣakhr bin ʿIlāthah رضي الله عنه regarding this issue is weak (ḍaʿīf).
(Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd: 670; Abū Dāwūd: 3067; Aḥmad: 4/310)


Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله said:
“Its narrators have been declared trustworthy.”
(Bulūgh al-Marām: 284)


❖ Another narration states:
Arabic:
من أسلم على شيء فهو له


Translation:
“Whoever embraces Islam upon something (i.e., possessing wealth or property), it belongs to him.”
(Abū Yaʿlā: 5847; Bayhaqī: 9/113; Al-Kāmil by Ibn ʿAdī: 8/535)


Imām Ibn ʿAdī declared it weak due to the narrator Yāsīn al-Zayyāt, and Imām al-Bayhaqī said it is mursal from Ibn Abī Mulaykah and ʿUrwah.


❖ Another narration states:
“When the Prophet ﷺ besieged Banū Qurayẓah, Thaʿlabah and Usayd bin Saʿīd embraced Islam. Their Islam protected their wealth and their children.”
This narration is mursal (disconnected).
(Naṣb al-Rāyah: 3/410)

4. Scholarly Opinions​

• (Jumhūr – Majority):
  If a war enemy embraces Islam willingly, his property remains his legal possession, regardless of whether he accepts Islam in Dār al-Islām or Dār al-Kufr.
• (Abū Yūsuf رحمه الله):
  He held the same opinion.
• (Shāfiʿīs & Ḥanbalīs):
  Islam protects both movable and immovable property.
  (Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu: 6/467; Āthār al-Ḥarb: p.613; Nayl al-Awṭār: 5/79)

Summary:​

• If an enemy combatant accepts Islam before capture,
  ➤ his life and property become inviolable.
  ➤ The ownership of his assets remains intact.
• The consensus of early scholars and the practice derived from prophetic guidance confirm that Islam safeguards life and wealth from that moment onward.