Prophet Muhammad ordered the killing of elderly captives in certain cases, particularly when they were deemed incapable of performing useful labor as slaves or when selling them would yield no financial return. Keeping them alive was seen as an unnecessary burden on their captors.
Sunan al-Tirmidhi (Book of Battles) records: Samurah ibn Jundab reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Kill the elderly men among the polytheists and spare their Sharkh (young boys who have not yet grown pubic hair).” (Abu ‘Isa said: This is a Hasan Sahih hadith – good and authentic.)
Musnad Ahmad preserves a similar narration with explanation from Imam Ahmad himself: Samurah ibn Jundab reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Kill the elderly among the polytheists and spare their Sharkh.” Abdullah (son of Imam Ahmad) asked his father about the meaning. He explained: “The elderly are unlikely to accept Islam, while the young are more likely to embrace it.”
Ibn Qudamah in Al-Mughni states: “Al-Shafi‘i (in one opinion) and Ibn al-Mundhir said: It is permissible to kill the elderly based on the Prophet’s statement: ‘Kill the elders of the polytheists and spare their young boys.’ This is narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi, graded Hasan Sahih. Additionally, Allah says: ‘So kill the polytheists’ [Quran 9:5]—a general command that includes the elderly. Ibn al-Mundhir said: I know of no proof exempting the elderly from this general order. Since they are disbelievers and their lives offer no benefit, they are killed like young men.”
This ruling was applied in practice. After the conflict with the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayzah, all adult males—including the elderly—were executed. Only non-adult boys (those without pubic hair) were spared and enslaved (Sahih Bukhari 4028; Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 1584).
Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab followed the same principle. Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah records: Umar wrote to the commanders of the armies: “Do not kill women or children—kill whoever has pubic hair.” (Graded Sahih by al-Albani)
These directives meant that elderly captives—unable to work, fight, or be sold profitably—were often killed rather than kept or ransomed. The reasoning centered on their perceived lack of future utility and low likelihood of conversion to Islam.
Can we still hear the silent cries of those elderly men—innocent of war in many cases—who were slaughtered simply because they were too old to be useful as slaves?
