Validity of Protection (Amān) Granted by a Slave or Prisoner in Islamic Law

Written by: ʿImrān Ayyūb Lāhorī

Ruling:​

In Islamic jurisprudence, the protection (amān) granted by a Muslim slave or captive is valid and legally binding, just like the amān of any other Muslim.

1. Statement of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه​

Arabic:
العبد المسلم رجل من المسلمين ذمته ذمتهم


Translation:
“A Muslim slave is one of the Muslims; therefore, the protection he grants is like the protection granted by all Muslims.”
(Sunan Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr: 2/233; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 5/222; Ibn Abī Shaybah: 12/453)


Ruling Derived:
This establishes that a Muslim slave can validly offer protection (amān) to a non-Muslim, and such protection is binding upon all Muslims.

2. Conditions for a Valid Amān (According to Ḥanafī Jurists)​

According to the Ḥanafī school, the following four conditions must be met for an amān to be valid:


① Muslim weakness: The Muslims must be in a state of weakness, and the disbelievers in strength (i.e., when amān serves as a necessary diplomatic act).
② Sanity: The grantor of amān must be sane; the amān of a madman or insane person is invalid.
③ Maturity: The person must be an adult; the amān of a minor is invalid.
④ Islam: Only a Muslim can grant valid amān; a non-Muslim’s amān is not valid.
(Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 7/106; Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 4/298; Tab’yīn al-Ḥaqā’iq: 3/247; Al-Durr al-Mukhtār: 3/249)

3. Views of Other Scholars​

• ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, al-Thawrī, al-Awzāʿī, and Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh held:
  
  “The amān of any Muslim—adult, sane, independent, male or female, slave or free—is valid.”
  
  
• Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and Abū Yūsuf held:
  
  “A slave’s amān is valid only if he has been permitted to participate in battle.”
  
  
• Imām Mālik held:
  
  “A woman’s amān is not valid without the ruler’s permission.”
  

(Al-Mughnī: 13/75; Subul al-Salām: 4/1790)

4. Preferred (Rājiḥ) Opinion​

The first opinion—that of ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, and others—is the most correct (rājiḥ).
A Muslim’s amān is valid regardless of his or her social status—whether free or enslaved, man or woman—provided the person is sane, adult, and Muslim.
(Nayl al-Awṭār: 5/98)

5. The Amān Granted by a Muslim Prisoner​

A Muslim prisoner’s amān is also valid because he falls under the general ruling of the hadith:


Arabic:
ذمة المسلمين واحدة يسعى بها أدناهم


Translation:
“The covenant of protection of the Muslims is one; the protection granted by any of them is binding upon all.”
Thus, a captive who is sane, mature, and responsible (mukallaf) can also grant amān.
(Al-Mughnī: 13/77)

Summary:​

• A Muslim slave or captive has the authority to grant amān, and it is legally recognized.
• The amān is binding on all Muslims, as supported by the statements of ʿUmar رضي الله عنه and leading jurists.
• The stronger view in Islamic jurisprudence upholds the equality of all Muslims in this matter — every Muslim’s amān is valid and must be honored.