Non-Arab horses: what do they get and how is it allotted?

It is narrated from Amr bin Maymun that Ju'unah bin al-Harith, who was in charge of the frontier post of Malatya, wrote to Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him): "Some men go on campaign with weak horses, jadha' or thani in age, which provide no defence for the Muslims; and a man goes on campaign with a strong Turkish-bred (birdhawn) horse which is in no way inferior to the Arab horse, except that it is called a birdhawn. O Commander of the Faithful, what is your view on this?" Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote back: "As for those weak horses which provide no defence for the Muslims, inform their owners that you will not assign them a share, whether they take them along or leave them behind. And as for those Turkish-bred horses which are excellent in running and appearance, give them the same share as you give to Arab-bred horses."

Al-Hasan said: The Turkish-bred (birdhawn) horse has the same status as the ordinary horse.

Al-Hasan said: The owner of a Turkish-bred (birdhawn) horse has a share in the spoils.

It is narrated from Khalid bin Ma'dan that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave two shares to the Arab-bred horse and one share to the non-Arab horse.

Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "When we conquered the place called Tustar, we obtained some birdhawn horses as spoils." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote back: "Among the birdhawn horses, give a share to those that are excellent; those other than them are useless, and there is no share for them."

It is narrated from Ibn al-Aqmar that the cavalry made a raid in Syria. The Arab horses caught up (with the enemy) the same day, and the Turkish-bred (kawadin) horses caught up the next day in the forenoon. Ibn Abi Khamisah said: "I will not treat the one who caught up like the one who did not." A letter was written to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "May al-Wadi'i's mother lose him! She has given birth to a true man. Carry it out as he said."

Al-Sha'bi said: Al-Mundhir bin al-Dahr bin Khamisah went out in pursuit of the enemy. The fine Arab-bred horses caught up, and the Turkish-bred horses fell behind. So he assigned two shares to the Arab horses and one share to the Turkish-bred horses. Then he wrote to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) about it, and he approved of it, and after that this became the established practice for horses.

Something similar is narrated from Kulthum bin al-Aqmar, except that it adds that he did not assign a share to the Turkish-bred horses. In the version of one of the two narrators, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "May al-Wadi'i's mother be bereaved of him! She has given birth to a true man."

Al-Hasan said: A muqrif horse has one share (a horse of mixed breed), and its rider has one share.

Something similar is also narrated from al-Zubayr bin Adi.

Makhul said: A hajin horse also has a share in the spoils.

Sufyan said: Arab and non-Arab (Turkish-bred) horses are equal.

Al-Awza'i said: None of our scholars used to assign a share to a Turkish-bred horse.