JIHAD SECTION · 122 – The Undesirability of Setting an Enemy on Fire
Muḥammad ibn Ḥamza reported on the authority of his father, Ḥamza al-’Aslamī, may Allah be pleased with him:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed a man as commander of a raiding party. This man recounts the incident that occurred. I approached the raiding party and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If you find so-and-so, burn him.”
I returned, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called me back. When I came before him, he said, “If you find so-and-so, kill him; do not burn him. Indeed, fire can only punish its own master.”
**EXPLANATION:**
This is also mentioned in hadith no. 2616. If an enemy is captured and made prisoner, he cannot be burned. However, if he cannot be apprehended and does not abandon his wickedness, then the place where he is located may be set ablaze. Sufyan al-Thawri and Imam Shafi’i issued a legal opinion stating that it is permissible to set fire to a fortress if the defenders of a fortress take refuge within it and the fortress cannot be captured.
Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings upon him, sent us on an expedition and commanded us, “If you find so-and-so…,” then he mentioned the meaning of the hadith that passed. [464]
It is narrated by Abdullah bin Mas’ud that he said:
We were on an expedition with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had gone to fulfill a need. We saw a rock sparrow with its two young ones nearby. We took hold of both of its young ones. The sparrow came and spread its wings, fluttering (trying to get them back).
The Prophet ﷺ returned from his need and said: “Who has distressed this bird because of its young? Release its young one.”
He also saw an ant nest that we had burned and asked, "Who burned this?"
We replied, "We did."
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “It does not behoove anyone but the Lord of Fire to punish with fire.”