Hadith #491

Arabic Text

English Translation

It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (رضي الله عنهما) — via Yazid ibn Hurmuz — that Najdah al-Haruri [the Kharijite] wrote to Ibn 'Abbas asking about killing children [in war], and whether women had attended battles with the Prophet ﷺ, and whether he used to give them a share of the spoils. Yazid ibn Hurmuz said: 'And I was the one who wrote Ibn 'Abbas's letter to Najdah.' [Ibn 'Abbas] wrote to him: 'You wrote asking me about killing children — and the scholar [al-Khidr], the companion of Musa, killed the boy [because of knowledge granted to him by Allah]. If you know about the children what that scholar knew, then kill them — but you do not know, so avoid them, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade killing them. And you wrote asking about women — whether they attended battles with the Prophet ﷺ and whether he gave them a share [of spoils]: yes, they did attend with the Prophet ﷺ. As for giving them a [full warrior's] share — he did not do that; but he used to give them a portion [from the spoils as a gift].'