and the People of Opinion. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by a slain woman on the day of the Trench and said: "Who killed this one?" A man said: "I did, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "And why?" The man said: "She disputed with me by the hilt of my sword." He said (2): So he fell silent (3). And because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood over a slain woman and said: "What is the matter with her that she has been killed, when she does not fight?" (4). This indicates that he only forbade the killing of a woman if she does not fight, and because these individuals are not killed only because, by custom, they do not fight.

Section: As for the sick person, he is to be killed if he is of the type who would have fought were he healthy, because he is in the position of one who is dispatched while wounded (al-ijhaz), unless he is a person whose recovery is despaired of, in which case he is in the position of one who is bedridden/incapacitated (zamin) and is not to be killed, because there is no fear that he might reach a state in which he could fight.

Section: As for the farmer who does not fight, it is appropriate that he should not be killed, due to what has been narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "Fear Allah regarding the farmers who do not pose war against you" (5). Al-Awza'i said: "The plowman is not to be killed if it is known that he is not of the combatants." Al-Shafi'i said: "He is to be killed unless he pays the jizya, because he is included in the general term of polytheists." Our evidence is the statement of Umar, and the fact that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not kill them when they conquered the lands, and because they do not fight, thus they resemble the old men and the monks.

Section: If the Imam besieges a fortress, he is obligated to persevere in the siege (6), and he shall not turn away from it except for one of five reasons. The first is if they accept Islam, for by Islam they protect their blood and their wealth, due to the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "I have been commanded to fight the people until they say: There is no god but Allah; if they say it, they protect their blood and their wealth from me, except for its right" (7). If they embrace Islam after the conquest, they protect their blood but not their wealth, and they become enslaved. The second is if they offer wealth for a truce, it is permissible to accept it from them, whether they give it as a lump sum or make it a continuous tribute (kharaj) to be taken from them every year. If they (8) are among those from whom the jizya is accepted and they offer it, it is mandatory for him to accept it from them, and it becomes forbidden to fight them, due to the statement of Allah Almighty: {Until they pay the jizya with willing submission and while they are humbled} (9). If they offer wealth on grounds other than the jizya, and he sees the benefit (maslaha) in accepting it, he may accept it, but he is not obligated to accept it if he does not see the benefit in it. The third is that he conquers it. The fourth is that he sees the benefit in withdrawing from it, either due to harm in remaining, or due to despair of it, or due to an interest he can seize that would be lost by his remaining, so he withdraws from it, according to what has been narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) besieged the people of al-Ta'if and did not achieve anything from them, so he said: "We are returning, if Allah wills, tomorrow." The Muslims said: "Shall we return from it without having conquered it?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Go forth to the fight." So they went forth to it (11), and they suffered wounds, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to them: "We are returning tomorrow." This pleased them, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) departed. This is agreed upon (12). The fifth is that they descend upon the judgment of a ruler, [it is permissible; for it is narrated from (13) the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that when he besieged Banu Qurayza, they agreed to descend upon the judgment of] (14) Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, so he granted them that (15); and the discussion regarding this is in two sections, the first of which is the qualification of the ruler.