Do not kill him, for if you kill him, he will be in the same position as yours before you kill him, and you will be in the same position as his before saying the word that he said

Explanation

Al-Miqdād ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) about the situation if he meets a man from the disbelievers during a battle and they fight with swords and the disbeliever strikes one of his hands with the sword and cuts it off, then he runs away from him and seeks protection in a tree and says: La ilāha illallāh (there is no god but Allah), is it lawful for me to kill him after cutting off my hand? The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: Do not kill him. He said: O Messenger of Allah, but he cut off one of my hands; how could I not kill him despite this?! He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not kill him because his life has become inviolable. If you kill him after declaring his Islam, his Islam has made his life inviolable just like you, and you will have the same status as his, as it will be permissible to kill you by way of legal retribution for killing him.

Lessons

• It is unlawful to kill whoever does or says what indicates embracing Islam.
• If any of the disbelievers embraces Islam during a battle, his life becomes inviolable, and refraining from harming him becomes obligatory unless he proves otherwise.
• A Muslim's personal desire must comply with the Shariah, not with fanaticism and revenge.
• Ibn Hajar said: It is permissible to ask about afflictions that have not yet occurred, based on the opinion stating that this story most likely has not taken place. Considering what was reported from some of the righteous predecessors about this being disliked, it is taken to refer to what rarely occurs. However, it is permissible to ask about what could usually occur to make it known.