Sūrah Muḥammad Muhammad

محمد

Al-Qurṭubī derives the four-school rulings on war captives and ghanīmah (war booty) distribution from this surah's instructions on freeing prisoners as a grace or for ransom.

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahMuḥammadMedinanRules of armed conflict and treatment of prisoners

Key Fiqh IssueUmarāʾ al-ḥarb treatment of war captives and their legal optionsWājib to decide lawfullyFour lawful options for captives under Islamic law

School ComparisonḤanafī: execute or enslave; Mālikī: four options (execute, enslave, ransom, release); Shāfiʿī: four options with leader's discretion; Ḥanbalī: four options per verseLeader's discretionWhich options are available and when

Uṣūl PrincipleNaṣṣ qāṭiʿ definitive text on captive treatment optionsLegal specificationVerse itself provides the four options

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verse 4 "free them afterward as a grace or for ransom" that the Qurʾān explicitly provides two of the options for captive treatment: grace (release without compensation) and ransom (exchange for money or Muslim prisoners). He maps these to the four-school framework of captive treatment options: the Ḥanafī school restricts options to execution or enslavement (rejecting ransom release as abrogated); the Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī schools hold that this verse remains operative and the leader may choose among four options: execute, enslave, release as grace, or ransom.

Al-Qurṭubī examines the uṣūl question of whether the Ḥanafī abrogation position is tenable: the verse explicitly mentions mannan (grace) and fidāʾ (ransom) after war these are not pre-Islamic practices being abolished but Qurʾānic authorizations. He concludes the majority position is stronger: the verse is not abrogated, and the commander retains discretion to choose the most beneficial option given military and humanitarian circumstances.

فَإِمَّا مَنًّا بَعْدُ وَإِمَّا فِدَاءً Fa-immā mannan baʿdu wa-immā fidāʾan Meaning: "Then [free them] afterward either as a grace or for ransom" Al-Qurṭubī: "immā... wa-immā" (either... or) gives the commander a lawful choice; this verse is the primary Qurʾānic text on captive treatment; the Ḥanafī abrogation claim requires strong counter-evidence which al-Qurṭubī finds insufficient.

وَلَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَانتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَٰكِن لِّيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُم بِبَعْضٍ Wa-law yashāʾu llāhu la-ntaṣara minhum wa-lākin li-yabluwabacḍakum bibaʿḍ Meaning: "And if Allah had willed He could have taken vengeance upon them but [He commands fighting] so that He may test some of you by means of others" Al-Qurṭubī: jihad is a test, not a mechanical punishment; the leader's choices in captive treatment must reflect wisdom and the long-term interests of the Muslim community.

Majority (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī): four lawful options for war captives execute, enslave, release as grace, or ransom all based on verse 47:4.
Ḥanafī minority position: verse 47:4 is abrogated by later fighting commands; only execute or enslave remain the most restricted position.
The commander's choice among the four options is a matter of maṣlaḥah (public interest) no single option is permanently mandated.
Women and children captives: all schools restrict execution of women and children; they may only be enslaved or released per majority.
Ghanīmah (war booty) distribution follows the khums (one-fifth) rule of Qurʾān 8:41 four-fifths to fighters, one-fifth to the categories specified in that verse.

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