Prior
to the revelation of the Qur’an fourteen hundred years ago, there was no concept of civilized
behavior neither in war nor of the rights of enemies. Yet Islam decreed humane rules of war, many
centuries before such ideas were put into conventions and agreements in the West.
First,
Islam draws a clear distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Non-combatants such as women,
children, the old and infirm are not to be killed. Also, monks in monasteries and people in places
of worship are to be spared.
These
are the rights that Islam confers on combatants:
No
one should be burned alive or tortured with fire.
Wounded
soldiers who are neither unfit to fight, nor actually fighting, should not be attacked.
Prisoners
of war should not be killed.
It
is prohibited to kill anyone who is tied up or in captivity.
Residential
areas should not be pillaged, plundered or destroyed, nor should the Muslims touch the property of
anyone except those who are fighting against them.
Muslims
must not take anything from the general public of the conquered country without paying for it.
The
corpses of the enemy must not be disgraced or mutilated.
Corpses
of the enemy should be returned.
Treaties
must not be broken.
Muslims
are prohibited from opening hostilities without properly declaring war against the enemy, unless the
adversary has already started aggression against them.
