Why Palestinians treat prisoners better than Israelis

Many sincere people, when they look at the plain facts, wonder why there is such a huge contrast between Zionist and Palestinian treatment of captives.

It’s normal that anyone who travels to Muslim societies comes back testifying to the endemic hospitality and values of Islamic societies. But when it comes to prisoners of war and captives, the Palestinians — particularly in Gaza — have it as publicly stated policy.

As they claim,

We will treat our captives as per the guidelines set by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the Sharī’ah.”

Prophetic guidelines they claim to follow

The Qur’ān and Sunnah — the primary textual sources of Islam and the Sharī’ah — are replete with examples.

For example, the Qur’ān mentions about the believers:

وَيُطْعِمُونَ الطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا

And they give food in spite of love and need for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive,

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا

[Saying], ‘We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude.'” [1]

The Imams of tafsīr said that these refer to polytheists taken as captives in battle.

Prioritising prisoners for food and clothing

There are many ahadīth of the Prophet ﷺ giving guidelines for the treatment of prisoners, such as his command to the Sahaba after the Battle of Badr to give preference to the captives at mealtimes.

At the time, the brother of Mus’ab ibn Umayr was a captive. He later narrated that he was actually embarrassed by how the Muslim soldiers would give him bread — somewhat of a delicacy back then — while they themselves would eat dates. And whenever any food would come their way, they’d send it to him immediately.

The Prophet ﷺ also told those holding captives to give them clothing to shield them from the sun’s scorching heat, or the bitter cold of the night — even when they barely had enough clothes on their own backs. The Prophet ﷺ gave his own clothing to many captives too.

Guidance penned centuries before the Geneva Convention

The books of Islamic law are filled with chapters on treatment of captives and prisoners taken in battle, written by Muslim jurists a millennium before the Geneva Convention.

Yes, it’s a matter of fact that capital punishment also exists if some prisoners were guilty of certain crimes. But jurists unanimously agreed that before their punishment, it is forbidden to starve or torture them.

And this is besides other rights such as of repentance, due process being carried out with public knowledge, not killing them secretly, or burying them in mass graves — all of which we see the opposite normalised by Western-backed regimes.

Actions speak louder than words

So that’s the theory, but anyone can claim they follow Islamic guidelines when it comes to treating prisoners.

The proof is in the pudding. And the Zionists hate this pudding!

Ironically, when Israeli prisoners are released, they’re held hostage by their own regime, not allowed to talk to the media, only allowed certain family members and friends to visit them, and so on and so forth.

In fact, when they speak out, they get attacked by pro-Zionist media as being brainwashed by “khamaas”.

Why? Because of what they’ve been saying about their treatment, breaking the myths. They say they were fed, looked after more than the average Gazan, given medicines, kept with other prisoners as a community with regular meetings and events, not in cages and camps in solitary confinement like some countries treat people(!)

This truth is poison to Zionism and other white supremacist ideology that requires dehumanisation of the other.

Western torture methods copied by others

Let’s be realistic, the captives weren’t in some kind of holiday retreat.

They were still held within the world’s largest concentration camp with the rest of the Palestinians subjected to starvation, genocide, and daily bombing. That’s what the captives’ complaints have been about!

But then, that’s not the Palestinians’ fault, except for being born the wrong race for Zionism to not leave them alone.

Showing restraint requires considerable integrity

Treating your enemies well requires a very high level of moral scrupulousness, especially prisoners of war, who famously have fewer rights than anyone else.

After all, these are people who are fighting you — sometimes maintaining a criminal, genocidal occupation — that’s been killing your family members since as long as you can remember.

And if they finally come under your control or you overpower them, there are bound to be some who don’t have the self-control to follow Islamic guidelines.

Look at ISIS for example — as Barack Obama (read o’Bomber) said himself — they were created out of the decimation of Iraq, with Saddam’s ex-Ba’athist commanders coming together in US prison camps like Bagram. [2]

Who did they take the cue from? They literally dressed up their prisoners in orange and carried out Guantanamo Bay pageantry learnt from American neocons.

And the same can be said for all the Western-backed dictators and CIA black sites dotted around the world.

Western agents would routinely threaten people like Moazzam Begg, saying they’d send them to their Syrian friends to get tortured more if they didn’t co-operate. [3]

Strength needed to follow Sharī’ah, not the enemy

Not everyone can be like the Lion of the Desert, Omar Mukhtar, a leader of the Libyan mujāhidīn against Italian colonists who — when asked why they shouldn’t treat their enemies like their enemies treated them — famously said “they are not our teachers”. [4]

We have a standard set by the Sharī’ah to follow, and it requires some moral fortitude to follow the Sharī’ah over imitating your enemies.

In the context of Muslim societies like Gaza, that’s the difference between isolated acts of aggression and crimes on the one hand, and official policies and widespread expected Islamic moral norms on the other.

Generally speaking, Islamic societies have these norms because they know Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) is watching them, and their treatment of prisoners isn’t for PR reasons, but primarily for the sake of God.

There are other wisdoms too

Like anything else in the Sharī’ah, not only do these ethics of treating captives or prisoners represent perfect servitude to God, they represent the most benefit in the Earthly sense as well.

The Islamic practice of taking and looking after prisoners of war has many strategic benefits that has historically helped Islam become a flourishing civilisation on the global stage.

Islamic scholars and jurists give many legal wisdoms of this practice, such as reducing aggression from your enemies — as they know if they lay down arms, they will be treated well, which leads to an overall net reduction in violence — compared to the “take no prisoners”, “destroy everything”, “scorched Earth” attitude that enemies of Islam take.

It also allows them to be in contact with real-life Muslims — especially since captives are historically taken care of by families and communities, such as put in the Prophet’s mosque (ﷺ), not dungeons.

This all means that they can see Muslims in real life, hear the truth, and undo the brainwashing that had them fighting against Muslims in the first place!

As Allah says in the Qur’ān,

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّىٰ يَسْمَعَ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah.

Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know.” [5]

Giants of Islam were themselves often imprisoned

Perhaps one of the greatest wisdoms of these Islamic norms about treating prisoners and captives is what we have seen historically.

What do the likes of Imams Abu Hanīfa, Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak, and Hasan al-Basrī have in common along with many other Islamic leaders?

Other than being legends and leaders in knowledge and piety, they were all at one point either themselves captives or children of enemies of Islam taken captive.

They then witnessed the truth about Islam and altered the course of human history.

This is the Qur’ān’s objective when Allah says,

وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ۚ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ

And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend.” [6]

And also says,

فَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَجَاهِدْهُم بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا

So do not obey the disbelievers, and strive against them with the Qur’ān a great striving.” [7]

Why? Simple maths. If you vanquish an enemy, you have reduced your enemies by one.

But if you win him over, you not only reduce your enemies by one, but you gain a friend and an ally.

This is just one example of the genius of the Sharī’ah that is desperately needed in our day and age. We all have a duty to call people to this because, after all, it was sent as a mercy to all mankind, not just Muslims.

Also read and watch

• We stand tallest
• Lion of the Desert, Omar Mukhtar
• How to re-humanise the Palestinians
• Don’t let Israelis hijack the Holocaust
• What made Hiroshima and Nagasaki possible?
• Fight numbness on Gaza by living these virtues

Source: Islam21c

Notes

[1] al-Qur’ān, 76:8-9

[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/president-obama-claims-rise-of-isis-is-unintended-consequence-of-george-w-bush-s-invasion-in-iraq-a130251.html

[3] https://youtu.be/cbW0NSnvj9g

[4] https://youtu.be/KCTbG8cNOjs

[5] al-Qur’ān, 9:6

[6] al-Qur’ān, 41:34

[7] al-Qur’ān, 25:52