by his command. As for today, I know of no difference of opinion among the people regarding it. Hamza al-Aslami narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) appointed him as a commander over a military expedition. He said: 'So I went out on it,' and he said: 'If you capture so-and-so, then burn him with fire.' As I turned away, he called me, so I returned, and he said: 'If you capture so-and-so, then kill him, and do not burn him, for no one punishes with fire except the Lord of the fire.' Narrated by Abu Dawud and Sa'id. Other hadiths with the same meaning have also been narrated. Al-Bukhari and others narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), a hadith similar to the hadith of Hamza. As for shooting at them with fire before capturing them, if it is possible to capture them without it, it is not permissible to shoot at them with it, because they are in the status of one who can be captured. But in the case of being unable to reach them without it, it is permissible according to the opinion of the majority of scholars. Al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, and al-Shafi'i also held this view. Sa'id narrated with his chain of transmission from Safwan ibn 'Amr and Jarir ibn 'Uthman that Junadah ibn Abi Umayyah al-Azdi, 'Abd Allah ibn Qays al-Fazari, and others among the governors of Bahrain and those after them, used to shoot at the enemy from among the Romans and others with fire, and they would burn them, as they did to one another. 'Abd Allah ibn Qays said: 'The practice of the Muslims remained consistent with that.'

Section: The same ruling applies to opening sluices against them to drown them. If they can be captured without doing so, it is not permissible, if that involves the destruction of women, children, and offspring, whose destruction is forbidden when intended. If they cannot be captured except by this, it is permissible, just as it is permissible to carry out a night raid (bayat) which involves the same. It is permissible to set up a catapult