A Fifteenth-century Fatwa Issued by al-Wansharīsī on the Fate of Christian Prisoners: Death, or Captivity?

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents a translation and analysis of a fatwa belonging to one of the most important and extensive compilations of legal opinions in Mālikī Islamic law, gathered together in the fifteenth century by al-Wansharīsī. We explore the fatwas in this compilation on the subject of captives, and focus in particular on one whose main point of interest is its exhaustive analysis of the possible fates that might await Christian prisoners who fell into Muslim hands, specifically those classified as “weak” – that is, women, children, the elderly and even religious figures.