English
Salamah ibn al-Akwa‘ (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: A spy from the polytheists came to the Prophet (ﷺ) while he was on a journey. He sat with his Companions, conversing, then slipped away. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “3 Seek him and kill him.” I killed him, and he granted me his spoils. [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]
We say: This granting of spoils was a specific incident, not a general, binding ruling in our view.
Possible references (unverified, pending editorial review)
- Candidate: Sahih al-Bukhari 3051 (unverified) 98% confidence
- Candidate: Sahih Muslim 1754b (unverified) 87% confidence
Confidence and text similarity are not editorial verification.
Commentary and footnotes (4)
Note 3
(3) The statement: “Seek him and kill him, etc.”: This indicates the permissibility of killing a hostile spy, and there is consensus on this. As for a spy under a covenant or dhimmi, Malik and Al-Awza‘i said: He breaks the covenant, and the leader may enslave or kill him. The majority say his covenant is not broken unless stipulated otherwise. For a Muslim spy, Abu Hanifah, Shafi‘i, and some Malikis say he is punished as the leader sees fit, short of death. Malik said: The leader exercises discretion. Iyadh said: Prominent Malikis say he is killed. They differed on sparing him if he repents; Al-Majishun said: If known for it, he is killed; otherwise, he is punished. As for a hostile spy from the land of war entering the land of Islam without safe-conduct, scholars differed. Malik said: The leader has discretion, and his ruling is like that of the people of war. Al-Awza‘i and Shafi‘i said: If he claims to be a messenger, it is accepted. Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, and Ahmad said: His claim is not accepted, and he is spoils for the Muslims. Muhammad said: He belongs to whoever finds him. As stated in (‘Umdat al-Qari).
Note 4
(4) The statement: “granted me his spoils”: Al-Nawawi said: This Hadith clearly supports Shafi‘i and his followers’ view that the killer is entitled to the spoils, and it is not subject to one-fifth tax. In (Al-‘Alamgiriyyah): The killer does not automatically deserve the spoils unless the leader grants it before the killing, saying, “Whoever kills an enemy gets his spoils.” This is our scholars’ view. The Hadiths cited by Shaykh Ibn al-Humam clearly support our position; refer to (Fath al-Qadir) and (Al-Binayah) for details.
Note 3
(٣) قوله: اطلبوه واقتلوه إلخ: فيه قتل الجاسوس الحربي، وعليه الإجماع، وأما الجاسوس المعاهد أو الذمي، فقالمالك والأوزاعي: يصير ناقضا للعهد، فإن رأى الإمام استرقاقه أرقه ويجوز قتله. وعند الجمهور لا ينقض عهدهبذلك إلا أن يشترط عليه انتقاضه به، وأما الجاسوس المسلم عند أبي حنيفة والشافعي وبعض المالكية يعزر بما يراهالإمام إلا القتل. وقال مالك:يجتهد فيه الإمام. وقال عياض: قال كبار أصحابه: يقتل. واختلفوا في تركه بالتوبة،فقال الماجشون: إن عرف بذلك قُتل وإلا عُزر، وأما الحربي من أهل دار الحرب إذا دخل دار الإسلام بغير أمان مايكون أمره هل يجوز قتله أم لا؟ فاختلفوا فيه، فقال مالك: يتخير فيه الإمام، وحكمه حكم أهل الحرب. وقالالأوزاعي والشافعي: إذا ادعى أنه رسول قُبل منه. وقال أبو حنيفة وأبو يوسف وأحمد: لا يقبل ذاك منه، وهو فيءللمسلمين. وقال محمد: هو لمن وجده. قاله في (عمدة القاري).
Note 4
(٤) قوله: فتفلني سلبه: وقال النووي: وفي هذا الحديث دلالة ظاهرة لمذهب الشافعي وموافقيه أن القاتل يستحقالسلب وأنه لا يخمس، انتهى. وقال في (العالمكيرية): ولا يستحق القاتل سلب المقتول بنفس القتل ما لم ينفلالإمام قبل القتل، فيقول: (من قتل قتيلا فله سلبه). وهذا مذهب علمائنا رحمهم الله تعالى، وفي الأحاديث التي ذكرهاالشيخ ابن الهمام دلالة ظاهرة لمذهبنا، إن شئت الاطلاع إليها فارجع إلى (فتح القدير) و(البناية).