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Refutations

Islamic Rules of War, Captives & the Rape Accusation — A Complete Refutation

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Islamic Rules of War, Captives & the Rape Accusation — A Complete Refutation

Table of Contents

Part One — Who Can Muslims Fight?

The Four Categories of Non-Muslims

Islam Divides Non-Muslims into Four Categories — Three of Whom Are Completely Protected
CategoryDefinitionRuling on Their Blood
DhimmiNon-Muslim living under the Islamic caliphateḤarām (forbidden to harm) — Sahih al-Bukhari 3166; Tarikh Baghdad 8/370
Mu’ahadSomeone you have a peace treaty withḤarām — Sunan Abi Dawud 3052; Quran 9:4; Quran 60:8
Musta’manSomeone who came under your protection (e.g. for trade)Ḥarām — Quran 9:6
MuharibActive fighter/combatantPermitted to fight — however, women and the elderly are not to be killed — Quran 2:190; Sahih al-Bukhari 3015
[[posts/jizyaJizya]]
[[posts/jizya-in-islamJizya in Islam]]
[[posts/did-christians-in-egypt-and-the-levant-convert-to-islam-because-of-the-jizya-taxDid Christians in Egypt and the Levant Convert to Islam Because of the Jizya Tax]]

The Foundation — Quran 2:190

Ibn Kathir — Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Azim (Vol. 1, p. 524) on Quran 2:190

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“Abu Al-Aliyah said: ‘This was the first Ayah about fighting that was revealed in Al-Madinah. Ever since it was revealed, Allah’s Messenger used to fight only those who fought him and avoid non-combatants.’

…the Ayah means: ‘Fight those who fight you’, just as Allah said: ‘And fight against the Mushrikin collectively as they fight against you collectively.’ (9:36)”

The Principle Muslims are only permitted to fight those who fight them. The verse “those who fight you” applies exclusively to enemies who are actively engaged in fighting Islam and its people — not civilians, not women, not the elderly.

Part Two — Rules Governing Captives in Islam

Women Who Do Not Fight Are Freed

Non-Combatant Women Women who do not participate in fighting and remain in the rear lines are to be freed. Those who do fight are dealt with by the ruler after the war ends.

The Four Paths to Freedom

Islam Legislated Multiple Avenues for a Captive to Gain Their Freedom
Quran 47:4 — Path 1 & 2 “Later ˹free them either as˺ an act of grace or by ransom until the war comes to an end.”
  • Act of grace — the ruler may free them freely
  • Ransom — exchanged for Muslim captives (as Suhayl ibn Amr was exchanged after the Battle of Badr)
Quran 24:33 — Path 3: The Mukatabah Contract “And if any of those ˹bondspeople˺ in your possession desires a deed of emancipation, make it possible for them, if you find goodness in them. And give them some of Allah’s wealth which He has granted you.”

The captive can initiate a contract to purchase their own freedom. The master cannot refuse if the captive is capable.

Sahih Muslim 1657a — Path 4: Struck by Owner “He who slaps his slave or beats him, the expiation for it is that he should set him free.”

Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) under the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim

Slaves Cannot Be Beaten or Overworked

Sahih Muslim 1661a — The Rights of a Slave Ma’rur ibn Suwaid reported: “I saw Abu Dharr wearing clothes, and his slave wearing similar ones… Thereupon Allah’s Apostle ﷺ said:

‘You are a person who has remnants of Ignorance in him. Your slaves are brothers of yours. Allah has placed them in your hand, and he who has his brother under him, he should feed him with what he eats, and dress him with what he dresses himself, and do not burden them beyond their capacities, and if you burden them beyond their capacities, then help them.’”

Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) under the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim

Slavery

Slavery in Islam: Islamic Law vs Western Systems Explained

Part Three — Is Rape of Captives Permitted?

The Clear Answer — Rape Is Forbidden

Rape Is a Punishable Crime in Islamic Law The question of how a captive woman could consent is answered simply: she cannot be forced. Rape is a ḥadd crime punishable by death in Islamic law.
Imam al-Shafi’i — Al-Umm (3/253) “If a man forced a slave girl and then has intercourse with her thereafter, and he is not ignorant — the slave girl is taken away from him, he is fined, and he is punished for adultery (stoned).”
The Practical Question — Why Would She Consent? A captive woman can:
  1. Write a mukatabah contract and pay a small sum to leave (this right exists regardless of her religion — open to Jews, Christians, and Muslims)
  2. Refuse — and the man has no legal right to touch her

The historical evidence shows women often chose to remain and accepted Islam after witnessing the good treatment of the Muslims — as in the case of the Hawazin captives.

The Marriage of Captured Women — Scholarly Position

Al-Qurtubi — Al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur’an (Vol. 6, p. 202) on Quran 4:24

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“Another opinion held by Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas’ud, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib, and others: a woman who already has a husband is ḥarām for you — because a woman is ḥarām for two men. It only becomes ḥalāl when her husband is no longer present.”

Key Point The verse (Quran 4:24) on right-hand possessions only applies if her husband has been separated from her by the circumstances of war (fled, died, etc.). If the husband is also captured and present, she remains his wife.
Muhammad Bakr Ismail — Al-Fiqh Al-Wadih (Vol. 3, p. 87)

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“For the Hanafis and Hanbalis, the contract of marriage of two captives or prisoners of war is not broken if they are found in the same captivity.”

Part Four — The Battle of Awtas

Context — A Defensive Battle

Who Were the Captives of Awtas? The captives came from the Battle of Awtas — a battle in which the tribe of Hawazin, led by Malik ibn Awf, were preparing to raid Mecca. It was therefore a defensive battle. Their men fled or were killed, leaving behind women and children.

What Happened to the Captives

The Three Options Available After the battle, the Muslims faced three choices for the non-combatant women:
  1. Leave them — where they could be harmed or return to fight
  2. Kill them — forbidden (Sahih al-Bukhari 3015)
  3. Take them as captives and treat them well with the possibility of freeing them ✅

Option 3 is the most logical and most humane — and is what Islam commands.

Evidence That the Captives Were Not Coerced If the captives were being abused or forced, why did none of the following happen?
  • Their men could have returned to ransom them (as Suhayl ibn Amr was ransomed after Badr)
  • The women could have written a mukatabah contract and left (as Juwayriyah bint al-Harith did — she initiated her own contract with the Prophet ﷺ and no one stopped her)
  • The women could have refused — and the man would be punished

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The Answer They saw the goodness of Islam. Many accepted Islam and some married the Sahabah — willingly — after witnessing how they were treated.

The Hawazin Captives Were Returned

Sahih al-Bukhari 4318–4319 — The Prophet ﷺ Returned All Captives When Asked “When the delegate of Hawazin came to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ declaring their conversion to Islam and asked him to return their properties and captives, Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said:

‘Whoever of you likes to return the captives as a favour — do so. And whoever likes to stick to his share, we will give him from the first booty Allah gives us.’

The people said: ‘We do that willingly as a favour, O Messenger of Allah!’

They went back and their chiefs confirmed that all of them had agreed with pleasure.”

Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) under the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim

Ibn Taymiyyah — Majmu’ al-Fatawa (Vol. 28, p. 354) “We fight those who fight us — if we want to show the religion of God.”

The Weak Report Used as Evidence

The Report in Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir — Not Authentic Some critics cite a report in al-Tabarani’s Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir claiming that married captives were forced or raped. This report is weak because it contains an unknown narrator: Razeen al-Jurjani.
Al-Haythami — Majma’ al-Zawa’id (7/3) Al-Haythami states that Razeen al-Jurjani is unknown — making the narration unreliable.

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🔗 Extended Analysis: Does Islam Permit Muslim Men to Rape Their Slave Girls? — Call to Monotheism

Part Five — Turning the Question Around

The Bible on Captives and Women of War

What the Bible Actually Commands About Captive Women
Deuteronomy 20:10–14 “10 When you go to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives you victory over them… 11 …all the people who dwell in it shall be your slaves. 13 …you shall put all the males in it to the sword. 14 But the women, the children, the livestock, and all the spoil in the city, you shall take for yourselves, and enjoy the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you.”
Deuteronomy 20:11–14 — Marrying Captive Women “11 …if she agrees to peace and opens to you, then all the people who are in it shall do forced labour for you… 12 But if she refuses peace… you shall besiege it. 13 …you shall put all its males to the sword. 14 But the women and the children… you may take as plunder for yourselves, and enjoy the spoil.”
Numbers 31:17–18 — Kill Everyone Except Virgin Girls “17 Now kill every male among the children, and kill also every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save alive for yourselves every virgin who has not slept with a man.”
Deuteronomy 13:15–17 — Kill and Burn Entire Cities “15 Then you shall put the inhabitants of that city to death with the edge of the sword… 16 And you shall gather all its vessels and pile them in the middle of its open place, and burn the city and all its vessels with it…”
2 Samuel 5:13 — Prophet David’s Concubines “And David also took concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he came from Hebron, and there were also sons and daughters born to David.”
Jeremiah 22:22 “The wind will blow away all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then shame and disgrace will come upon you because of all your polytheism.”

Slavery and Concubinage_ Endorsed by the Bible

The Crusaders — What Christian Armies Actually Did

The Crusaders in Jerusalem — An Eyewitness Account Gustave Le Bon documents in Arab Civilization, quoting Monk Robert — a fanatical Crusader and eyewitness — what occurred when the Crusaders entered Jerusalem:

“Our people roamed the streets, squares, and rooftops to quench their thirst for killing, like lionesses who have snatched their young!

They slaughtered children and young men and cut them into pieces.

They hanged many people with a single rope for the sake of speed.

Our people seized everything they found, and they ripped open the bellies of the dead to extract from them pieces of gold.

The blood flowed like rivers in the streets of the city covered with corpses.” (p. 325)

The Contrast Is Clear
  • Islam: Non-combatants protected, captives must be treated as brothers, rape is punishable by death, multiple legal paths to freedom
  • Bible: Commands killing all males, enslaving women and children, enjoying the spoil
  • Crusaders in practice: Mass slaughter of civilians, looting, cutting open corpses for gold

🔗 Does Islam Permit Muslim Men to Rape Their Slave Girls? — Call to Monotheism

🔗 Discussion on Sahih Muslim 1456d — Discord