in combat, and I was presented to him while I was fifteen, and he enlisted me among the combatants." Nafi' said: I told Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz about this hadith, and he said: "This is the point of separation between men and boys." It is agreed upon (17). These three signs apply to both the male and the female, and the female is distinguished by two additional signs: menstruation and pregnancy. Thus, whoever does not possess any of these signs is considered a child, and it is prohibited to kill him.

Section: A woman shall not be killed, nor shall a senile old man. This was the view of Malik and the scholars of reason (Ashab al-Ra'y). It has also been narrated from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Mujahid. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas regarding the word of the Almighty: {Do not transgress} (18); he says: Do not kill women, children, and old men (19). Al-Shafi'i, in one of his two opinions, and Ibn al-Mundhir said: It is permissible to kill old men (20), based on the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Kill the old men of the polytheists, and spare their youths" (21). It was reported by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi (22), who said: A hasan sahih (good and authentic) hadith. Furthermore, Allah the Almighty said: {Kill the polytheists} (23). This is a general statement which, in its generality, encompasses old men. Ibn al-Mundhir said: I do not know of any evidence that excludes old men from the generality of His saying: {Kill the polytheists} (23). Furthermore, he is a disbeliever with no benefit in his life, so he is to be killed just like a youth. Our evidence is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Do not kill a senile old man, nor a child, nor a woman." Reported by Abu Dawud in his "Sunan" (24). It is narrated from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he gave a testament (25) to Yazid when he dispatched him to the Levant, saying: Do not kill a child, a woman, or an aged person. And from