It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'b bin Jathamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the houses of the polytheists upon which attacks are made at night, and thus their women and children are also killed. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They are from among them." Imam Zuhri says: But after that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the killing of women and children.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) found a woman killed in one of his battles, and then forbade the killing of women and children.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Rabah bin Rabi’ (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the brother of Hanzalah the scribe, he says that he went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a battle. Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) was appointed over the vanguard of the army. When Rabah and other companions passed by a slain woman, who had been killed by the vanguard, they stopped, looked at her, and were amazed at her physique. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) joined them, riding his mount. He (peace and blessings be upon him) also stopped by the woman and said: She was not one who fought. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a companion: Go to Khalid and tell him not to kill women, children, and laborers.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man took a woman as a captive. When the woman grabbed the hilt of his sword and tried to draw the sword, he killed her. When the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by him and was informed about this, he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the killing of women.

Ayub, the narrator, says: I heard from a man of my tribe, who was narrating from his father, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, dispatched a military expedition, and he was among them. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade us from killing laborers, slaves, and slave-girls.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Aswad bin Sari’ (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and participated in jihad with him, and I was also given a mount. That day, people engaged in such killing that even children and women were killed. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) found out, he said: What has happened to the people? Today, killing has exceeded its limits, to the extent that they have killed women and children as well. A man said: O Messenger of Allah! They are the children of the polytheists. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Beware! Even the most beloved among you are the children of polytheists. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Beware! Do not kill children and women, beware! Do not kill children and women. Then he said: Every soul is born upon the natural disposition, until its tongue begins to clarify, and its parents make it a Jew or a Christian.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Aswad bin Sari’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a detachment on the day of Hunayn. They fought against the polytheists, and the killing extended to children and women. When they returned, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What made you kill children and women? They said: O Messenger of Allah! They are the offspring of the polytheists. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Are not your favorite individuals also the offspring of polytheists? By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! Every soul is born upon the natural disposition of Islam, until its tongue makes it clear otherwise.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would dispatch his armies, he would say: Set out in the name of Allah, fight in the way of Allah against those who disbelieve in Him, do not deceive, do not be treacherous, do not mutilate, do not kill children, and do not kill those in churches.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Kill the brave and strong men of the polytheists who fight, and leave the minor children. Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I asked my father, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), about the explanation of the hadith "Kill the elders of the polytheists," and he said: The issue with the elder is that it is unlikely that he will become a Muslim, whereas the boy is closer to accepting Islam than the elder. By "al-sharh" is meant the boys.

Mawla of the Messenger, Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever kills a small child or an old man, or burns date-palm trees, or cuts down a fruit-bearing tree, or slaughters a goat for its skin, then he will not return from this jihad with any reward at all.