Sahih al-Bukhari 3015
Sahih
Sahih al-Bukhari — Hadith 3015
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
وُجِدَتِ امْرَأَةٌ مَقْتُولَةً فِي بَعْضِ مَغَازِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَنَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ قَتْلِ النِّسَاءِ وَالصِّبْيَانِ
Translation
A woman was found killed in one of the battles of the Messenger of Allah, so the Messenger of Allah forbade the killing of women and children.
Commentary
This hadith establishes one of the fundamental rules of engagement in Islamic law of war (siyar): the prohibition of killing non-combatants. This principle was later codified by scholars and became foundational to Islamic jurisprudence on warfare, predating the Geneva Conventions by over a millennium.