Islam and Slavery — Page 51
51 prisoners. (1) They walked on foot giving their camels to the prisoners to ride on. (2) Do we find a parallel to this in the history of any nation or any country ? ་. The gist of Islamic teachings with regard to the prisoners of war is contained in three verses of the Quran, two of which deal particularly with the prisoners of war, while the third enunciates a general principle which is also applicable to war prisoners. . The first verse runs as follows : "It does not become the dignity of a prophet that prisoners of war should be captured for him, until there has actually been fought between him and the enemy a pitched battle. You have in view the advantages that are near at hand (i. e. , you hasten to take captives so that with the help of the ransom money you may become prepared to meet the enemy), but Allah sees the end (and as this course is not commendable with a view to the end, and is calculated to lead to evil results morally, God orders you to refrain from it); and if you are afraid of the numbers and power of the enemy, then remember that. Allah is Powerful over all and He is also Wise. " (3). This verse teaches that the Muslims should not, out of consideration for their own weakness or the power of the enemy or out of a desire to strengthen their financial position by means of ransom money, be careless or unduly hasty in the matter of taking captives so that they may (1) Tabari and Ibn-i-Hisham under the heading "Prisoners of Badr. ” (2) Sir William Muir in section relating to prisoners of Badr. (3) Quran, 8:68,