Is beheading permissible in Islam?

Question

Assalamu Alaikum.
My question is, is it permissible according to the Quran or hadith? In contexts such as prisoners of war, non-believers, sharia law and so forth. We've seen that this action has been done by many terrorist organizations, so is it really haram or halal?

Answer 1

Islam prescribes execution for certain crimes such as murder, apostasy, robbery etc. , see Why do Muslims kill other Muslims?. Further, with certain exceptions like women and children, Islam allows for execution of disbelieving prisoners of war, see Does Quran 8:67 say that prisoners of war should be killed and not ransomed? .

Historically, the standard means of execution in Islam has been beheading. Scholars have even recorded that it is the preferred method of execution, because the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

فإذا قتلتم فأحسنوا القتلة

So when you kill, kill in a good way

^{— Muslim}

This hadith prescribes killing in the best possible manner, which causes the least suffering. Commenting on this hadith, Ibn Rajab said:

وأسهل وجوه قتل الآدمي ضربه بالسيف على العنق

And the least painful means of killing a human is striking at the neck with a sword

^{— Jaami’ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam}

Similarly Ibn al-Qayyim wrote:

ضرب العنق بالسيف أحسن القتلات

Striking the neck with a sword is the best of the ways of execution

^{— Kitab al-Salat}

Further, it has been mentioned at least literally as the means of killing in Quranic verses and ahadith such as:

فاضربوا فوق الأعناق

so strike [them] upon the necks

^{— Quran 8:12}

فضرب الرقاب

strike [their] necks

^{— Quran 47:4}

اذهب فاضرب عنقه

Go and strike his neck

^{— Muslim}

فأمرني أن أضرب عنقه وآخذ ماله

(the Prophet) has commanded me to strike his neck and seize his wealth.

^{— Nasai}