On the day of Badr, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “What do you think (we should do with) these prisoners?" Abu Bakr said: O Messenger of Allah, they are your people and your family; keep them alive and give them respite, and perhaps Allah may cause them to repent. 'Umar said: O Messenger of Allah, they drove you out and disbelieved you, bring them forth and strike their necks. ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah said: O Messenger of Allah, find a valley with a lot of wood and put them there, then set it alight. Al-‘Abbas said: Then you will have severed your ties of kinship with them. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went in and did not give them any answer. Some people said: He will follow the suggestion of Abu Bakr. Others said: He will follow the suggestion of ʼUmar; others said: He will follow the suggestion of ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah. Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out and said: Allah may make some men's hearts so soft that they are softer than milk, and He may make some men's hearts so hard that they are harder than rock. Your likeness, O Abu Bakr, is that of Ibraheerm (as) who said: ‘But whoso follows me, he verily, is of me. And whoso disobeys me, still You are indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful’ (Ibraheem 14:36) and your likeness, O Abu Bakr, is that of Eesa who said: 'If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the AllWise (al-Ma'idah 5:118). And your likeness, O Umar, is that of Nooh who said: 'My Lord! leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth!' (Nooh 7:26), and your likeness, O ‘Umar, is that of Moosa, who said: My Lord, ‘harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment' (Yoonus 10.38). You are poor, so none of them should be set free except in return for a ransom or his neck should be struck.” ‘Abdullah said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, except Suhail bin Baida', for I heard him speak well of Islam. He remained silent, and I was never more afraid that a rock would fall on me from heaven except on that day, until he said: “Except Suhail bin Baida." Then Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the words: “It is not for a Prophet (ﷺ) that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allah desires (for you) the Hereafter. And Allah is All-Mighty, All-wise. Were it not a previous ordainment from Allah, a severe torment would have touched you for what you took” (al-Anfal 8:67-68).