The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 161
IV - Battle of Badr, Establishment of the Islāmic Empire and Destruction of the Chieftains of the Quraish 161 Swayed by his innate nature of mercy, the Holy Prophet sa approved of the proposal made by Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr ra. He thus, issued an order against execution and directed that such idolaters who pay their ransom, would be released. 1 Therefore, subsequently a divine injunction was also revealed to this effect. 2 As such, a ransom of 1,000 dirhams to 4,000 3 dirhams was set for each individual according to his means. In this manner, all of the prisoners continued to be released. ‘Abbās was the real paternal uncle of the Holy Prophet sa and he loved the Holy Prophet sa dearly. The Holy Prophet sa also loved him very much. With respect to him, the Anṣār submitted that he was their nephew 4 and they were willing to release him without ransom. However, although it is permissible in Islām, rather, highly commendable, to release a prisoner as an act of benevolence, on this occasion, the Holy Prophet sa did not accept this with respect to ‘Abbās. The Holy Prophet sa said, “It is only upon the payment of ransom that ‘Abbās shall be released. ” 5 With relation to ‘Abbās, it is also narrated that when he was tied in the Masjid-e-Nabawī 6 , the Holy Prophet sa could not sleep due to his groaning at night. When the Anṣār found out, they loosened his bonds. When the Holy Prophet sa was notified, he said, “If you choose to loosen his bonds, then do so for everyone else as well. There should be no discrimination in favour of ‘Abbās. ” As such, the bonds of all the prisoners were loosened. Abul-‘Āṣ, the son-in-law of the Holy Prophet sa was also among the prisoners of Badr. His wife Zainab ra who was the daughter of the Holy Prophet sa and still resided in Makkah, sent a few items as a ransom. Among these items was a necklace. This was the same necklace which Ḥaḍrat Khadījah ra gave her daughter Zainab ra as part of her dowry. When the Holy Prophet sa saw this necklace, he was reminded of the memory of his late Khadijah ra , and his eyes began to glisten with tears and he said to the Companions, “If 1 * Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābul-Jihād Was-Siyar, Bābul-Imdādi Bil-Malā’ikati Fī Ghazwati Badrin. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 4588 * Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābu Tafsīril-Qur’ān, Bābu Wa Min Sūratil-Anfāl, Ḥadīth No. 3084 * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By ‘Allāmah Shihābuddīn Qusṭalānī, Volume 2, pp. 320-321, Bābu Ghazwati Badril-Kubrā, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 * 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. ) 3 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 262, Ghazwatu Badr, Dāru Iḥyā’it- Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 4 One may recall that the great grandmother (paternal) of the Holy Prophet sa was from Madīnah 5 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād Was-Siyar, Bābu Fidā’il-Mushrikīn, Ḥadīth No. 3048 6 The Prophet’s Mosque at Madīnah [Publishers]