The Policy of Islam in the Treatment of Prisoners of War During the Era of the Prophet and the Four Caliphs

“Islam took care of the prisoners and their rights, and the Great Messenger (peace be upon him) recommended the prisoners of war to take care of their food and shelter, and these divine teachings are not man-made. God (peace be upon him), that this great care is taken in the holy and good approach, so we have presented different situations and events to make sure that in history there is no state that gives the prisoner his right more than the Islamic government that follows the approach of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his family (peace be upon him). A review of historical events indicates that Muslims are not satisfied with feeding their captives, but on the contrary, they give them clothes, as was proven in the hadith. The prisoners of the Jews are not very different from the polytheists, except that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) treats the prisoners of the Jews strictly because of the heinous crimes committed by the Jews against them and against the Islamic religion. The Jewish extremism at that time grew to an intolerable level, and it was wise to stand firmly against what the Jews were doing. Therefore, the Prophet took a strong approach towards the Jewish prisoners in Medina after their betrayal. Some of them were killed, and others were expelled from the land of Medina. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) also followed this belief and sacred teachings that he recommended to his children and companions in protecting the rights of the prisoner and working for them, especially protecting the life and personal safety of any person in general and the prisoner of war in particular, and not taking a position of revenge, as well as the work of the accountability model, which we call today the court To prosecute the murderers and war criminals of the captives, even if the culprit was a rebellious Muslim, this measure is never to humiliate the captives, but rather to punish the criminals in an appropriate manner for those who disregard human rights and their rights. The period of the Great Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace) and the period of the Caliphs differed in many situations and events, as the period of the Prophet was characterized by precise systems in the treatment of prisoners, and he treated them out of mercy and compassion. The time of the great prophet (pbuh) and the time of the caliphs differences in many positions and events. During the time of the Prophet, there was a strict framework in dealing with captives and treating them with Islamic kindness, kindness and justice. What is, the method of the three caliphs was a method of punishment for all the captives. And for whatever reason, they did not treat the captives with kindness and compassion. Therefore, death was the only certain fate of captives in their time. The most obvious case in this matter is the behavior of Khaled bin Walid during the brutal assassination of Malik bin Nuweera during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr.