Hadeeth on the Night Raids…

www.ExamineTheTruth.com

 

 

There are some hooligans on the internet who have been passing around this hadeeth to trick people into thinking that Islam allows terrorism:


Book 019, Number 4321:

It is reported on the authority of Sa'b b. Jaththama that the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him), when asked about the women and children of the polytheists being killed during the night raid, said: They are from them.

From this hadeeth the internet hooligan spun the following personal interpretation:

 

When Prophet Muhammed said, “they are from them”… um.. err..   that means they are nothing but pagans so.. yea… go ahead and kill them all! Hey all innocent civilians can be killed during the night raids…

 

The first false assumption made by the internet hooligans is the following:

 

Women and children always = Innocent civilians

 

Not true! Because it was the custom of the Arab tribal warriors to bring their women and children onto the battlefield to provide material support to the warriors – to replenish supply lines, rally the troops, and in many cases fight along side. One example was the battle of Hunain. The tribal leader commanded all women and children as well all of their personal belongings to accompany them on the battlefield to fight against Islam. Therefore they fall in the category of enemy combatants. One of the most famous woman warriors was Umm Qirfa, who lead a battalion of 30 horsemen to assassinate Prophet Muhammed(P). Also, Hind Bint Utbah, who ate the liver of the Hamza on during the battle of Uhud! And keep in mind, a 9 year old boy with a poison dart is just as dangerous as a full grown man. Therefore, in response to the internet hooligan, I pose the following challenge to them: PROVE that the women and children killed in this battle did not partake in any of the war time activities and were innocent civilians. Of course, there is no such evidence.

 

The second false assumption made by the internet hooligans is that the phrase “they are from them” means they are nothing more than pagan. Rather, this is nothing more than their own personal bogus interpretation. Who exactly is them that the Prophet was referring to?  “They are from them” could mean:

  1. They are from the people who are enemy combatants and were actively fighting against the Muslims.

 

  1. They are from the people who were accidentally killed because it was at night and the visibility is very poor. It may be the case that the women and children were surrounding the warriors and they were struck by a flurry of arrows.

  2. They are from the people who are prohibited to be killed.

 

The scholars have pointed out that the correct answer is B based on other hadeeth.

 

In conclusion, the only thing this hadeeth tells us is that the gender and age of your enemy are not important during the night raids (poor visibility) and nothing more. This hadeeth does not give us any instructions or guidance on the subject of combatants vs. non-combatants. And you still have to perform the Surah 4:91 spot check to avoid innocent civilians as the Quran commands. The Quran made it clear never to target non-combatants, and the night raid hadeeth does not contradict those commands in anyway. The trick used here by the internet hooligans is that they will never be able to produce an explicit verse which says: kill all innocent civilians… rather they will try to trick you with their false assumptions and false interpretations. This is why the Prophet Muhammed stated(P):


"This `Ilm (religion) will be carried by the trustworthy of ones of each generation. Negating from it:

 

1.the tahreef (alterations) of the ones going beyond bounds,

 

2. the false assumptions of the liars,


3. and the ta'weel (false interpretations) of the ignorant."

 

 


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