Is killing Jewish women and children forbidden?
Translated From The Arabic By Shira Gutgold Reprinted with permission from the Jerusalem Post Column, “What the Papers Say.” (September 9) (Al-Watan, Kuwait, August 31) Religious scholars do not dispute that Islamic law fundamentally forbids the killing of women and children in Jihad [holy war], and the evidence for it is in the Hadith [prophetic tradition] of Ibn-Umar [Vol. 4, Book 52, No. 257]: “A slain woman was found during one of the Prophet’s military campaigns, and following this the prophet forbade the killing of women and children.” The scholars have also found evidence for the prohibition of killing those who are not involved in warfare in the Prophet’s message to Khaled Ben-Al-Walid telling him that they shall not kill a woman or a non-fighting laborer. There are also other sources for the prohibition of killing civilians. The scholars have excluded two cases in which the killing of civilians and women is permitted. The first one is when they take part in the fighting, or if
