Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Soulveda | January 05, 2018
After the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah, the opponents of his mission in Makkah did not rest content. They tried their best to nip Islam in the bud in its new abode in Madinah. Thus, they engaged the Prophet and his Companions in battle in the year 624 AD. The battle ended in defeat for the Makkans.
Seventy Makkans were captured at the Battle of Badr and were brought to Madinah. Suhayl ibn Amr was one of them. The Prophet was told that Suhayl was a fiery speaker, who would make fiery speeches to incite people against him. “Why not pluck his teeth out?” it was suggested. This may disfigure him and dampen his oratorical zeal. “If I disfigure him,” the Prophet replied, “then God will disfigure me on the Day of Judgment, even though I am a prophet.”
The Prophet then divided the prisoners up into various homes of the Muslims, and told all concerned to treat them well. Abu Aziz, who was one of the prisoners, says that the Muslim household in which he was kept would give him bread morning and evening, and themselves make do with dates.
The chief of the Yamama tribe, Thumama ibn Uthal, a dire opponent of the Prophet and his religious message, was once similarly taken prisoner. For the duration of his captivity, he was provided with excellent food and milk, under the Prophet’s instructions.
The Prophet would thus exhort his followers to show humane and kind treatment even to those who were prisoners of war and deserved strict punishment according to the law prevailing in Arabia at that time. The reason for this is that the Quran says that one should lead one’s life in such a manner that it causes no harm or injury to others. The sun, moon and all heavenly bodies, revolving in their own respective orbit–instead of clashing with each other–show how proper this demand is.
The Quran makes it very clear that after this world, another world will be brought forth in which people will have to reap the consequences of their deeds. The universe, with its ultimate meaningfulness, testifies that life cannot end with the present world; another world must come in which truth and falsehood are exposed for what they are and where people who do good deeds be separated from those who do evil without any repentance.