(It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land…) [8:67-69].
Said Mujahid: “It happened that some of that which was revealed from heaven agreed with many of 'Umar's opinions. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, consulted the Muslims about the prisoners of Badr, they said: 'O Messenger of Allah, they are your cousins, so free them in exchange for a ransom'. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said: 'No, O Messenger of Allah, you should kill them'. Then this verse was revealed (It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land)”.
Said Ibn 'Umar: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, consulted Abu Bakr regarding the prisoners of Badr, and the latter said: 'They are your people and clan, let them go!' But when he consulted 'Umar, the latter said: 'Kill them'. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, freed them in exchange for a ransom. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land) up to his words (Now enjoy what ye have won, as lawful and good…) [8:69]. When the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, met 'Umar, he said to him: 'We almost incurred a misfortune as a result of opposing your view!' ”
Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Hiri informed us> Hajib ibn Ahmad> Muhammad ibn Hammad> Abu Mu'awiyah> al-A'mash> 'Amr ibn Murrah> Abu 'Ubaydah> 'Abd Allah who said: “When the prisoners were brought on the Day of Badr, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: 'What do you think we should do with these prisoners?' Abu Bakr said: 'O Messenger of Allah, these are your people and kin, spare them and wait that haply Allah, glorious and majestic is He, may relent on them'. 'Umar, on the other hand said: 'They have given you the lie and expelled you, bring them forward and chop their heads off'. 'Abd Allah ibn Rawahah said: 'Look for a valley with abundant wood and burn them there', upon which al-'Abbas commented: 'You have severed your ties of kinship!' The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer them and then went in. Some people said: 'He will act on Abu Bakr's advice', others said: 'He will act on 'Umar's advice', while some said: 'He will act on 'Abd Allah's advice'. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then came out to them and said: 'Indeed, Allah, glorious and majestic is He, softens the hearts of some until they become softer than milk and hardens the hearts of some until they become harder than stones. The like of you, O Abu Bakr, is the like of Abraham when he said (But whoso followeth me, he verily is of me. And whoso disobeyeth me - still Thou art Forgiving, Merciful) [14:36] and the like of you, O Abu Bakr, is the like of Jesus when he said (If Thou punish them, lo! They are Thy slaves, and if Thou forgive them, lo! Thou, only Thou art the Mighty, the Wise) [8:118]. And the like of you, O 'Umar, is the like of Moses who said (Our Lord! Destroy their riches and harden their hearts…)' [10:88]; and the like of you, O 'Umar, is the like of Noah who said: (My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers in the land) [71:26]. Then, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: 'Today, you are dependent, you are today dependent; none of them shall be returned except in exchange for a ransom or he will be beheaded'. Allah, glorious and majestic is He, then revealed (It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land) up to his words (Now enjoy what ye have won, as lawful and good) up to the end of the next three verses”.
'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan al-'Adl informed us> Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Malik> 'Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal> Ahmad ibn Hanbal> Abu Nuh Qurrad> 'Ikrimah ibn 'Ammar> Simak al-Hanafi Abu Zumayl> Ibn 'Abbas> 'Umar ibn al-Khattab who said: “When the army of the believers met the army of the unbelievers at Badr and the idolaters were defeated (seventy men of them were killed and another seventy captured), the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, consulted Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Ali about what to do with the prisoners. Abu Bakr said: 'O Prophet of Allah, these are our brothers, cousins and sons of our clan and my opinion is that you accept a ransom from them, so that what we take from them will be an added strength for us against the unbelievers. And haply Allah will guide them to Islam and be a support to us'. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then asked: 'What do you think, O son of al-Khattab?' He said: 'By Allah, I do not agree with Abu Bakr. My opinion is that you give me so-and-so (a relative of 'Umar) so that I behead him, and give 'Aqil to 'Ali so that he behead him and so-and-so (al-'Abbas ) to Hamzah so that he beheads him. In this way, Allah, glorious and majestic is He, will know that there is no complaisance in our hearts toward the idolaters. These are their notables, leaders and chiefs'. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, liked what Abu Bakr said and disliked what I said. And so, he accepted a ransom from them. The following day, 'Umar said: I went to see the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and found him sitting with Abu Bakr. They were both crying. I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what is it that makes you and your companion weep? If I can cry, I will cry with you, if not I will feign crying'. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “I am crying because of the suggestion of ransoming the prisoners which your fellow believers advised me to do. Your chastisement was closer to you than this tree (and he pointed to a near by tree). Allah, exalted is He, had revealed (It is not for any prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land) up to His words (… an awful doom had come upon you on account of what ye took) of ransom. This was narrated by Muslim in his Sahih from Hannad ibn al-Sariyy from Ibn al-Mubarak from 'Ikrimah ibn 'Ammar.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou