Umar II on War: No killing women, children, civilians, non-combatants

Yahya ibn Yahya reported: I wrote to Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, asking him about the verse, “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress,” (2:190). Umar wrote back to me, saying, “This refers to women, children, and whoever among them is not waging war against you.”

Source: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī 2:190

عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ يَحْيَى الْغَسَّانِيِّ قَالَ كَتَبْتُ إِلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ رحمه الله أَسْأَلُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ وَقَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ قَالَ فَكَتَبَ إِلَيَّ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ فِي النِّسَاءِ وَالذُّرِّيَّةِ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَنْصِبْ لَكَ الْحَرَبَ مِنْهُمْ

2:190 تفسير الطبري سورة البقرة القول في تأويل قوله تعالى وقاتلوا في سبيل الله الذين يقاتلونكم

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Abu Amina Elias
Abu Amina Elias (Justin Parrott) is an academic librarian, researcher, and translator specializing in the Quran, Hadith, and their commentaries. He is a former instructor of Islamic Creed for Mishkah University.
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