The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 159
IV - Battle of Badr, Establishment of the Islāmic Empire and Destruction of the Chieftains of the Quraish 159 husband of Zainab ra , the daughter of the Holy Prophet sa , i. e. , the son-in-law of the Holy Prophet sa. Among the chieftains of the Quraish who are recorded to have been taken captive, some historians have mentioned the name of ‘Uqbah bin Abī Mu‘īṭ, and it is written that by the order of the Holy Prophet sa , he was later killed in captivity. However, this is not correct. Narrations of Aḥādīth 1 and history 2 very clearly mention that ‘Uqbah bin Abī Mu‘īṭ was killed in the field of battle, and was among those chieftains of Makkah whose corpses were buried in a pit. Albeit, the execution of Naḍr bin Ḥārith is evident from many narrations. The reason for his execution was that he was among those people who were directly responsible for the death of those innocent Muslims who had been martyred at the hands of the Quraish in Makkah. Furthermore, it is most probable that Naḍr bin Ḥārith was among those who had brutally martyred Ḥārith bin Abī Hālah, the step-son of the Holy Prophet sa , in the early period of Islām. 3 However, it is definite that except for Naḍr, no other prisoner was executed, nor was it a practice to execute prisoners merely due to their being an enemy or fighting on behalf of the opposing side. Therefore, later on, a specific injunction was revealed in the Holy Qur’ān with regards to this as well. 4 Moreover, it should also be remembered that although many narrations have recorded the execution of Naḍr bin Ḥārith, there are also certain narrations which prove that he was not executed; rather, he remained alive after Badr for a period in time and finally became a Muslim, and joined the servants of the Holy Prophet sa at the occasion of the Ghazwah of Ḥunain. 5 However, these latter narrations have generally been deemed weak 1 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Wuḍū’, Bābu Idhā Ulqiya ‘Alā Ẓahril-Muṣallī Qadharun. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 240 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābuṣ-Ṣalāh, Abwābu Sutratil-Muṣallī, Bābul-Mar’ati Taṭraḥu ‘Anil-Muṣallī. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 520 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād Was-Siyar, Bābud-Du‘ā’i ‘Alal-Mushrikīna Bil-Hazīmati. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 2934 2 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 260, Ghazwatu Badr, Dāru Iḥyā’it- Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 3 Al-Iṣābatu Fī Tamīziṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 1, p. 696, Al- Ḥārithubnu Abī Hālah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2005) 4 * Muḥammad (47:5) * Kitābul-Khirāj, By Abū Yūsuf Ya‘qūb bin Ibrāhīm, p. 212, Faṣlun Fī Qitāli Ahlish-Shirk. . . . . , Published by Baulāq (1302 A. H. ) 5 * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By ‘Allāmah Shihābuddīn Qusṭalānī, Volume 2, p. 336, Bābu Ghazwati Badril-Kubrā, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Usdul-Ghābah Fī Ma‘rifatiṣ-Ṣaḥābah, By ‘Izzuddīn Ibnul-Athīr Abul-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Muḥammad, Volume 4, p. 521, An-Naḍr bin Al-Ḥārith Al-Qarshiyy, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon (2003)