Statements by Other Scholars and Personalities of Early Islam
The established abundance of narrations about this topic signals that Muslims, in succession, must have passed on these prohibitions similarly.
The scholar of tafsir by the name of ad-Dahhak ibnu Muzahim رحمه الله is an example of the first-century scholars who transmitted the Prophet's prohibition concerning women and children (see also traditions recorded in al-Musannaf by 'Abdu r-Razzaq and in the Sunan of Sa'id ibnu Mansur).
Another example of this is the hadith scholar Mujahid رحمه الله, whose statement is recorded by Ibnu Abi Shaybah:
عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، قَالَ: «لَا يُقْتَلُ فِي الْحَرْبِ الصَّبِيُّ وَلَا امْرَأَةٌ وَلَا الشَّيْخُ الْفَانِي، وَلَا يُحْرَقُ الطَّعَامُ وَلَا النَّخْلُ وَلَا تُخَرَّبُ الْبُيُوتُ، وَلَا يُقْطَعُ الشَّجَرُ الْمُثْمِرُ»
Children, women and the elderly must not be killed in battle. Likewise, nourishment and palm trees must not be burned down, houses must not be destroyed, and fruit-bearing trees must not be felled.
Ibnu Abi Shaybah additionally narrates the following from al-Hasan:
ابن أبي شيبة: عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، قَالَ: «كَانَ يكْرَهُ أَنْ يُقْتَلَ فِي دَارِ الْحَرْبِ الشَّيْخُ الْكَبِيرُ وَالصَّغِيرُ وَالْمَرْأَةُ، وَكَانَ يكْرَهُ لِلرَّجُلِ إِنْ حَمَلَ مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ شَيْئًا مَعَهُ فَثَقُلَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يُلْقِيَهُ فِي الطَّرِيقِ»
It was considered forbidden26 to kill the elderly, children or women in a war zone. It was also considered forbidden for someone, who was transporting27 one of these people, to abandon them on the way, had they become too burdensome for them.
Notes
- Depending on the vocalization, it can also be read as: “He considered it forbidden, to …” Narrators can convey a norm regarding a particular time by using constructions like “It was considered” and similar phrasings. The intention is to express that said norms were prevalent and persistently predominant. The word in use “yakrahu” or “yukrahu” (which literally means “abominate”) was, by early scholars, also commonly used to convey a prohibition. In the case of this ruling, pertaining to the said group of people, it is already evident that it should be read as a prohibition, due to the numerous traditions earlier mentioned. ↩
- In a linguistic sense, this expression can be understood as the transportation of goods and objects belonging to said groups of people (i.e. the elderly, children or women) and that the ruling referred to their belongings. However, this is probably not the meaning intended and the expression may instead refer to the people themselves, as they are specifically being referred to in the beginning. Although the word in use is not associated to refer to people, to convey a particular meaning, this style of speech can be used and is fairly common in the Arabic language. The word in use, “something” or “a thing” (shay'an), in this case means to convey that they are a “segment” or “part” of a group. And Allah knows best. ↩