Surah al-Anfal

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent out a detachment, and Allah Almighty granted it help and it was given victory. It was his (peace and blessings be upon him) practice that whichever fighter brought something, he (peace and blessings be upon him) would give it to him as a reward (nafl) after taking out the khumus (one-fifth). Then some men returned who had been at the very front of the battlefield; they had taken enemies captive and killed them, but they had left the spoils behind them and had not obtained anything of that wealth. They said to the Messenger of Allah: "O Messenger of Allah! What is the matter with those of us who went forward and took captives (and exerted themselves), while some people stayed behind who could not take part in the fighting, yet you gave them a reward from the spoils?" On hearing this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent until Jibril (peace be upon him) came down with this verse: "They ask you about al-anfal (the spoils of war). Say: The spoils belong to Allah and the Messenger, so fear Allah and set right the relations between yourselves" [Surah al-Anfal: 1].
After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) summoned them and said to them: "Return what you have taken (as a reward), and divide it among yourselves with justice and equality." They said: "O Messenger of Allah! We have already spent it and eaten it." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then count that as something for which you hope for reward from Allah (ihtisab)."

It is narrated from al-Qasim bin Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man asked Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) about nafl (that is, the additional grant from the spoils of war). He replied: "The horse used in fighting is part of the nafl, and the salab (that is, the personal belongings and weapons of a slain enemy) is also part of the nafl." The narrator said that the man repeated the same question again, so Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said (expressing his displeasure at this needless repetition): "This conduct of yours is exactly like the act of Sabigh (bin Isl) whom Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) beat (as a penalty for similar needless and mischief-making questions)."
The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic). Imam Abu Dawud recorded it (hadith no. 2741) and Imam Ahmad (hadith no. 3067). This narration points to the blameworthiness of needless repetition and excessive questioning in gatherings of knowledge.

It is narrated from the grandfather of al-Mulayki (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said concerning this saying of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: "and others besides them whom you do not know, but Allah knows them" [Surah al-Anfal: 60]: "What is meant by them is the jinn." And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Satan does not afflict anyone with mental torment or derangement in a house in which there is a pure-bred, excellent horse."
Al-Harith bin Abi Usamah narrated this hadith. Its chain contains Sa'id bin Sinan and Amr bin Malik al-Mulayki, both of whom are weak narrators, which is why this narration is weak in its chain.

Uqbah bin Suhban and Abu Raja' al-Utaridi narrate from Sayyiduna al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him) that he recited this saying of Allah Almighty: "And beware of a trial that will not strike only those among you who did wrong" [Surah al-Anfal: 25], and said: "I kept reciting this verse for a long time, and I never thought that I would be among those afflicted by this trial, but now we ourselves have come within the reach of this trial."
Imam Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi narrated it in his Musnad. Its chain contains al-Salt bin Dinar, who is weak; however, its meaning is also established from Sayyiduna al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) through other reliable chains.