The spoils: how are they divided?

It is narrated from Abu al-Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him) that when booty came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he would make it into five parts. He would distribute four parts among those who had taken part in the campaign and would take out the khumus (one-fifth). He would then place his hand on it, and whatever came into it he would dedicate to the Ka'bah, and that was the right of Allah Almighty. Then he would make the remainder into five parts: one part for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), one part for close relatives, one part for orphans, one part for the poor, and one part for travellers.

Malik bin Abdullah said: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Uthman said: Who is here from the people of Syria? So I stood up. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Tell Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him): When booty is obtained, make it into five shares, and on one of them write: For Allah. Then cast lots, and wherever that share comes out, take it.

Yahya bin al-Jazzar was asked about the share of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: It is one fifth of the khumus (one-fifth).

Something similar is reported from Yahya bin al-Jazzar.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Shaqiq al-Uqayli that a man stood before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), tell me about the booty. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: One share is for Allah and four shares are for these. I said: Is any person more entitled than another? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Even if you were struck by an arrow in your side, you are still not more entitled than your brother.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in explaining the verse of the Noble Qur'an, 'then one fifth of it belongs to Allah': Everything belongs to Allah.

It is narrated from Ata that the share of Allah and of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the khumus (one-fifth) is one and the same. The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would place that khumus wherever he pleased, would do with it whatever he wished, and would provide mounts from it to whomever he wished.

Al-Sha'bi said concerning the verse of the Noble Qur'an, 'And know that whatever you take as spoils of war, one fifth of it belongs to Allah': The share of Allah and of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the khumus (one-fifth) is one and the same.

Al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Ali (may Allah have mercy on him) said in explaining the verse of the Noble Qur'an, 'And know that whatever you take as spoils of war, one fifth of it belongs to Allah': This is the opening of the speech. Allah has no portion in the booty; this world and the Hereafter are all the property of Allah.

Muhammad (Ibn Sirin) said concerning the booty: In the booty, the khumus (one-fifth) is for Allah, and there is the share of the Prophet of Allah, and in the booty there is the safi for the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). (The safi is the special portion that the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would set apart for himself before the division of the booty.)

Ibn Sirin said: The best captive would be set apart for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then the khumus (one-fifth) would be taken out, then his share would be allotted to him along with the people, whether he was absent or present.

Ibn Sirin said: The safi on the day of Khaybar was Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her).

Al-Sha'bi said: The safi on the day of Khaybar was Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her), whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took in marriage.

Muhammad (Ibn Sirin) (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The khumus (one-fifth) of Allah, the share of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the safi. There would be chosen for him from the booty the best captive, if there were captives, and otherwise something else, after the khumus. Then his share would be allotted to him along with the Muslims, after the safi, whether he was present or absent. He said: And he chose Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Huyayy (may Allah be pleased with her) on the day of Khaybar.

Ash'ath said: Abu al-Zubayr, Amr bin Dinar and al-Zuhri said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) chose his sword Dhu al-Fiqar on the day of Badr.

It is narrated from Abu al-Zinad that on the day of the Battle of Badr, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) chose, as his safi, the sword of al-As bin Munabbih bin al-Hajjaj.

Al-Sha'bi was asked about the share of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the booty and about the safi. Al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The share of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was the same as the share of an ordinary Muslim in the booty. As for the safi, it means the portion that the Prophet of Allah would set apart from the booty of the Muslims, whether it was a slave woman, a horse, or anything else.

Hasan bin Salih said: I asked Ata bin al-Sa'ib about the saying of Allah, 'And know that whatever you take as spoils of war, one fifth of it belongs to Allah' [Al-Anfal: 41], and the other verse, 'And what Allah has given as fay' to His Messenger' [Al-Hashr: 6], asking what is meant by fay' and booty. Ata said: When the Muslims overcome the polytheists and their lands by force of war, the wealth that comes to hand at that time is booty, and their land is fay', and this Sawad of ours (the cultivated land of Iraq) is fay'.

Sufyan said concerning booty: The wealth that the Muslims take by force of jihad belongs to those whom Allah has specified by name, and four fifths are for the fighters.

Ibn Awn said: I read about the safi in a document, then I asked Muhammad (Ibn Sirin) (may Allah have mercy on him) about the safi. Muhammad said: It means the property that was set apart for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) before anything else; then afterwards a share was also taken out for him along with the people.

Mujahid said in explaining the verse of the Noble Qur'an, 'And know that whatever you take as spoils of anything': Even a trifling needle is included in 'of anything'.