More Reports About the Woman Who was Killed

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The sources highlight that Caliph 'Umar ibnu 'Abdi l-'Aziz included all non-combatant people into the purport of this ban. It is only active engagement in combat, which legitimised fighting a person. The following narration supports this.

In his as-Sunan, Abu Dawud narrates from Riyah¹⁷ ibnu Rabi' رضي الله عنه the following narration:

عن رِياحِ بن ربيعٍ، قال: كُنا مع رسولِ الله -صلَّى الله عليه وسلم- في غزوةٍ، فرأى الناسَ مجتمعين على شيءٍ، فبعثَ رجلاً، فقال: "انظُر عَلامَ اجتمعَ هؤلاء" فجاءَ، فقال: على امرأةٍ قَتيلٍ. فقال: "ما كانتْ هذهِ لتقاتلَ"، قال: وعلى الـمُقدِّمة خالدُ بن الوليدِ، فبعث رجلاً، فقال: "قُل لخالد: لا يقتُلَنَّ امرأةً ولا عَسِيفاً"

We were on an expedition with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when he saw people gathering around something. He summoned a man: “Go and see what the people have gathered around.” After a while, the man returned and reported: “Around a killed woman.” Upon which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “But this woman did not even use to fight at all!”

All this took place under the vanguard of Khalid ibnu l-Walid. Subsequently the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم sent out a man with the following instructions: “Tell Khalid, that he should by no means kill a woman or a worker!”

This hadith reappears in numerous works of hadith, such as Ahmad, the Sunan of Sa'id ibnu Mansur, Musannaf and Musnad by Ibnu Abi Shaybah, as-Sunan by Ibnu Majah¹⁸, as-Sunanu-l-kubra by An-Nasa'i and al-Amwal by Ibnu Zanjawayh.

The expression “ma kanat tuqatil”, translated as: “did not use to fight”, linguistically shows that this person was not part of a fighting troop and therefore had not engaged in any form of fighting.

In some narrations, similar to the one by Abu Dawud, this is also stressed by the particle “li” (ma kanat hadhihi li-tuqatil); meaning: “But this woman was not even fighting!”

In the Musannaf of Ibnu Abi Shaybah, it is explained: “But this woman was not fighting amongst those who were fighting!” (ma kanat hadhihi tuqatilu fi-man yuqatil) meaning that she was not part of any fighting party.

In the Musnad of Ibnu Abi Shaybah, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم directly addresses this oration to Khalid ibnu l-Walid رضي الله عنه in front of a gathering. It is reported that he looked into the faces of the people and said – reinforcing his speech with the so-called “Nun of strong emphasis” (نَّ) and additionally, starting his address with the particle of emphasis “inna” –:

انْطَلِقْ إِلَى خَالِدِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ فَقُلْ لَهُ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَأْمُرُكَ يَقُولُ: «لَا تَقْتُلَنَّ ذُرِّيَّةً وَلَا عَسِيفًا»

Head out to Khalid ibnu l-Walid and inform him: “The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم solemnly commands you: ‘You shall not kill progeny nor workers!’”

… linguistically women are included in the word “progeny” in this context, in terms of family and kindred.