[337] "It is to ransom the captive."—XC, 13.
"There is no piety in turning your faces towards the east or the west, but he is pious who believeth in God and the Last Day, and the Angels and the Scriptures and the Prophets; who for the love of God disburseth his wealth to his kindred and to the orphans and the needy, and the wayfarer and those who ask; and for ransoming," &c.—II, 172.
[338] "And to those of your slaves who desire a deed of manumission, execute it for them, if ye know good in them, and give them a portion of the wealth of God which He hath given you. Force not your female slaves into sin, in order that ye may gain he casual fruitions of this world, if they wish to preserve their modesty. Yet if any one compel them, then verily, after their compulsion, will God be Forgiving, Merciful."—XXIV, 33.
[339] "A believer killeth not a believer but by mischance: and whoso killeth a believer by mischance shall be bound to free a believer from slavery," &c.—IV, 94.
[340] "And those who thus put away their wives, and afterwards would recall their words, must free a captive before they can come together again," &c.—LVIII, 4.
[341] "But alms are only to be given to the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and to those whose hearts are won to Islam, and for ransoming and for debtors, and for the cause of God, and the wayfarer," &c.—IX, 60.
[342] "God will not punish you for a mistaken word in your oaths; but He will punish you in regard to an oath taken seriously. Its expiation shall be to feed ten poor persons with such middling food as ye feed your families with, or to clothe them; or to set free a captive: but he who cannot find the means shall fast three days. This is the expiation of your oaths when ye have sworn. Keep then your oaths. Thus God maketh his signs clear to you. Haply ye will be thankful."—V, 91.
[343] Vide Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. III, page 223.
[344] According to Hishámi, p. 745, a party of fifty or forty Koreish went round about Mohammad's camp at Hodeibia, seeking to cut off any stray followers; and having attacked the camp itself with stones and arrows, they were caught and taken to Mohammad, who pardoned and released them.—Vide Muir's Life of Mahomet, IV, p. 31, f.n.; and Moslim's collection of genuine traditions Kitab-ul Jihad vas-Siyar, chapter on Tanfeel and Ransom.
[345] All the prisoners of Hawázin at Honain were released without taking any ransom and were not made slaves. See Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV, pp. 148-149. That Mohammad had presented three female slaves to Ali, Othman, and Omar from the captives of Bard Hawázin, as stated by Sir W. Muir, Vol. IV, p. 149, is void of all truth. The captives were not enslaved. They were mere prisoners, as Sir W. Muir himself calls them so (ibid, pp. 148-149); yet he styles these three of them "female slaves." The captives together with the captured camp were removed to the valley of Jierána, pending negotiations (ibid, p. 142). At the end of the negotiations the prisoners were released. Thus there could be no distribution of prisoners to anyone.