Did Khalid ibn Al-Walid Kill Malik ibn Nuwayrah and Marry His Wife? How Should We Respond to Those Who Criticize Him?

"The agreed-upon account is that Khalid debated with him, and that Malik accepted prayer but evaded zakah."

"Then Khalid ordered Malik ibn Nuwayrah to be brought forward for execution. Malik said, 'Will you kill me while I am a Muslim who prays toward the Qiblah?' Khalid replied, 'Had you truly been a Muslim, you would not have withheld the zakah, nor would you have ordered your people to withhold it.'"

This was also subsequently mentioned by later historians such as Al-Tabari, Ibn al-Athir, Ibn Kathir, Al-Dhahabi, and others.

"It is also said that Khalid summoned Malik ibn Nuwayrah and rebuked him for following Sajah and for withholding the zakah. He said, 'Do you not know that zakah is inseparable from prayer?' Malik replied, 'Your companion used to claim that.' Khalid said, 'Is he our companion and not yours?! O Dirar, strike off his head.' So his head was struck off."

"Khalid dispatched military detachments throughout Al-Bitah, calling the people to Islam. The leaders of Banu Tamim received them with obedience and submitted their zakah, except for Malik ibn Nuwayrah, who appeared uncertain in his affair and withdrew from the people. The detachments seized him along with his companions. The soldiers differed concerning them. Abu Qatadah al-Harith ibn Rib'i al-Ansari testified that they had established the prayer, while others said that they neither called the adhan nor prayed."

"Ali ibn Muhammad narrated to us from Abu Dhi'b, from Al-Zuhri, from Salim, from his father, who said: Abu Qatadah came to Abu Bakr and informed him about the killing of Malik and his companions. Abu Bakr was deeply distressed by it, so he wrote to Khalid, ordering him to come. When he arrived, Abu Bakr said: 'What more can be said except that Khalid exercised his own judgment and erred?' Abu Bakr reinstated Khalid, paid the blood money for Malik ibn Nuwayrah, and returned the captives and the property."

"His brother Mutammim ibn Nuwayrah came to Abu Bakr and recited an elegy for his brother. He appealed to him concerning his brother's blood and their captives, so Abu Bakr returned the captives. Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar mentioned that Abu Bakr ordered Khalid to separate from Malik's wife, while Umar spoke sternly to Khalid concerning Malik. As for Abu Bakr, he excused him."

"It is not established to us that Malik ibn Nuwayrah's blood was inviolable. Then it may be said that the utmost that can be claimed regarding the story of Malik ibn Nuwayrah is that his blood was inviolable and that Khalid killed him based on his own interpretation. Yet this does not justify killing Khalid, just as Usamah ibn Zayd killed a man who had said: 'There is no god worthy of worship except Allah.' The Prophet ﷺ said to him: 'O Usamah! Did you kill him after he said: "There is no god worthy of worship except Allah"? O Usamah! Did you kill him after he said: "There is no god worthy of worship except Allah"? O Usamah! Did you kill him after he said: "There is no god worthy of worship except Allah"?' The Prophet ﷺ rebuked him for killing him, yet he did not require retaliation, blood money, or expiation. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari and others narrated from Ibn Abbas and Qatadah that the saying of Allah, the Exalted: 'And do not say to one who offers you peace: "You are not a believer."' [Surah An-Nisa 4:94] was revealed concerning Mirdas, a man from Ghatafan. The Prophet ﷺ sent an army against his people under the command of Ghalib al-Laythi. His people fled, but he remained behind and said, 'I am a believer.' When the cavalry reached him, he greeted them with salam, yet they killed him and took his sheep. Thereupon Allah revealed this verse. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered that his property be returned to his family, paid blood money for him, and forbade the believers from doing such a thing. Likewise, Khalid ibn al-Walid killed Banu Jadhimah based on his own interpretation, and the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and said: 'O Allah, I declare myself free before You from what Khalid has done.' Yet despite this, the Prophet ﷺ did not have him executed because he had acted based on his own interpretation. Therefore, if the Prophet ﷺ did not execute him after he killed a number of Muslims from Banu Jadhimah due to an interpretive judgment, then Abu Bakr was even more justified in not executing him for killing Malik ibn Nuwayrah."

"Malik ibn Nuwayrah turned toward his wife, looked at her, and then said, 'O Khalid, because of this woman you are killing me.' Khalid replied, 'Rather, by Allah, I am killing you because you have turned away from the religion of Islam, withheld the camels of zakah, meaning that you prevented them, and ordered your people to withhold the zakah that was obligatory upon their wealth.' Then Khalid brought him forward and had him executed. It is said that Khalid ibn al-Walid married Malik's wife and consummated the marriage, and the scholars are unanimous regarding that."

"Thabit ibn Qasim narrated in Al-Dala'il that Khalid saw Malik's wife, who was exceptionally beautiful. Malik then said to his wife, 'You have killed me,' meaning, 'I will be killed because of you.' He said this merely out of assumption, and it so happened that he was indeed killed. However, he was not killed because of the woman as he had imagined."

"The correct view is that Khalid should not be accused of wrongdoing, because Malik apostatized and returned the charitable collections to his people after hearing of the death of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, just as the people of apostasy did. Malik's own brother admitted this to Umar. As for his marriage to Malik's wife, it is possible that her waiting period had already ended because she gave birth shortly after Malik's death. It is also possible that she had remained with him after the completion of her waiting period according to a practice that existed during the pre-Islamic era. In any case, Khalid was more God-fearing than to be suspected of such vile conduct, something that would not even be expected from the lowest of the believers, let alone from the Sword of Allah unsheathed against His enemies. Therefore, Abu Bakr's position was correct, not Umar's objection. This is further supported by the fact that when Umar himself became Caliph, he neither took action against Khalid, nor reproached him, nor criticized him with a single word regarding this matter. This demonstrates that the correctness of Abu Bakr's judgment had become clear to him, and he therefore withdrew his earlier objection. Otherwise, he would never have remained silent after assuming authority, for he was more God-fearing than to compromise in the religion of Allah for anyone."

"The summary of the story is that some accused Khalid of marrying Umm Tamim immediately after she came into his possession because he could not restrain himself due to her beauty and because he had previously desired her. Consequently, they alleged—Allah forbid—that his marriage to her amounted to fornication. This is a later claim that carries no weight, as the early historical sources make no mention of it. Rather, their explicit reports indicate the opposite. Al-Mawardi mentions in Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyyah (p. 47) that what prompted Khalid to execute Malik was his withholding of the zakah, by which his blood became lawful according to Khalid's judgment. Consequently, the marriage bond between Malik and Umm Tamim was considered dissolved. The ruling concerning the women of apostates who joined the abode of war is that they may be taken captive but are not to be killed, as Al-Sarakhsi indicates in Al-Mabsut (10/111). Thus, when Umm Tamim became one of the captives, Khalid selected her for himself, and once she became lawful for him, he consummated the marriage, as mentioned in Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah.

"Shaykh Ahmad Shakir commented on this issue by saying that Khalid took both her and her son as captives under the ruling of female captives. A captive woman is not required to observe the waiting period ('iddah). Rather, it is categorically forbidden for her owner to have relations with her if she is pregnant until she gives birth, or, if she is not pregnant, until she has menstruated once. Khalid then consummated the marriage with her, and this was a lawful and permissible act that contains no valid point of criticism. However, his enemies and opponents regarded this incident as an opportunity and seized upon it. They began claiming that Malik ibn Nuwayrah had remained a Muslim and that Khalid killed him because of his wife. As for the claim that Khalid married her on the very night Malik was killed, this has not been authentically established. Even if it were established, there would still be an interpretive explanation that would preclude the prescribed punishment. The jurists differed regarding the waiting period after a husband's death: Is it obligatory for a non-Muslim woman? There are two opinions. Likewise, they differed as to whether a dhimmi woman must observe the waiting period after her husband's death. There are two well-known opinions among the scholars. This differs from the waiting period following divorce, since that waiting period is connected to consummation of the marriage and is necessary to establish freedom of the womb. The waiting period after death, however, becomes obligatory merely through the marriage contract."

"If the husband dies before consummating the marriage, is the non-Muslim wife required to observe the waiting period? This is a matter of scholarly disagreement. Likewise, if he had consummated the marriage with her and she had already menstruated once after consummation. This applies when the husband was an original non-Muslim. As for the apostate, if he is killed or dies upon his apostasy, then according to the views of Al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, Abu Yusuf, and Muhammad, the woman is not required to observe the waiting period following death. Rather, she observes the waiting period resulting from an irrevocable separation, because the marriage became invalid due to the husband's apostasy. According to Al-Shafi'i and Ahmad, this separation is not regarded as a divorce, whereas Malik and Abu Hanifah considered it a divorce. Therefore, they did not obligate the waiting period following death but rather the waiting period resulting from an irrevocable separation. If the marriage had not been consummated, then no waiting period is required, just as no waiting period is required after a divorce that occurs before consummation. It is well known that Khalid killed Malik ibn Nuwayrah because he considered him an apostate. Therefore, if Malik had not consummated the marriage with his wife, then according to the majority of the scholars she would not have been required to observe any waiting period. If he had consummated the marriage, then she would only have been required to observe a waiting period consisting of one menstrual cycle, not the full waiting period, according to one opinion, while another opinion holds that she should observe three menstrual cycles. Even if Malik had been an original non-Muslim, one opinion maintains that his wife would not have been required to observe the waiting period following death. If only one menstrual cycle was required for verification of the womb's freedom, then it is possible that she had already menstruated. Some jurists even considered part of a menstrual cycle sufficient for this purpose. Thus, if she was near the end of her menstruation, that would have been sufficient to establish that the womb was free. In summary, we do not know that this incident occurred in a manner that leaves no room for scholarly interpretation. Therefore, criticizing on the basis of such matters is the speech of one who speaks without knowledge, and this is something that Allah and His Messenger have prohibited."