Treat Them Well

Abū ʿAzīz — the brother of Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr — said: I was among the captives on the day of Badr, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, treat the captives well; and I was with a group of the Anṣār, and they, whenever they prepared their supper or their lunch, would eat the dates themselves, and give me the bread, in keeping with the instruction of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) regarding us. He said: every piece of bread that came into their hands, they passed on to me. I was embarrassed, and would return the bread, but they would pass it back untouched. Bread was the better food compared to dates, so they would eat the dates and they would give him the bread — they would give him, in fact, a better treatment than they gave themselves. Ibn Hishām comments on this: he says that this Abū ʿAzīz was the standard-bearer of the mushrikīn at Badr, following on from al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith. So Abū ʿAzīz was not just a foot soldier — Abū ʿAzīz was the standard-bearer at the Battle of Badr, and still the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had told the Companions to treat such men well.

Abū ʿUqaysh ibn al-Rabīʿah^** said: I was in a group of the Anṣār, may Allah reward them for their good, and they would give me bread when we were resting or travelling — much the same thing. Al-Walīd ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah would say: they would carry me, and we would walk — meaning that the prisoners of war were riding, while the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), may Allah be pleased with them, were walking.

Subḥān Allāh, this good treatment is what caused many of these prisoners of war to become Muslim. Throughout the battles of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), one hears of people who were arrested or captured, and who would then become Muslim and stay behind; and some of them, to show and prove that they had not become Muslim for fear of the sword, would, after they were released, go back to their people, and then come back to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and become Muslim — to prove that they had become Muslim of their own initiative, not because of any pressure placed on them. Abū ʿAzīz, the brother of Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr, was one such man: he ended up becoming Muslim when he saw how the Muslims were treating him. They would treat him better than their own selves.

Good character, then, matters even with one's enemy. Even with the enemy, a Muslim is to deal with him in a good way, with dignity — a Muslim is not cruel, a Muslim is not wicked, a Muslim is not deceptive, a Muslim is not a liar. A Muslim deals with everyone with honesty, dignity, straightforwardness, and kindness toward the whole of Allah's creation, mighty and glorious is He — except for those who deserve to be dealt with firmly, such as ʿUqbah ibn Abī Muʿayṭ and al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith, because these are people who are so evil, one cannot afford to treat them kindly; treating them kindly would in fact be to be fooled by them, because these are people who would only turn around and harm the Muslims.