Incident Of Distribution Of War Booty After The Battle With Hawazin
Regarding authenticity of history in general , please refer to the following thread : Discussion 87446 ___ As for this particular incident of War Booty, it has been accepted in general by scholars because there is nothing particularly objectionable as far as the happening of this incident is concerned. Khalid Masud Sahab writes in his book “ Hayat-e- Rasul e Ummi “: Distribution of the Booty : …”The Prophet (sws) went from Taif to Jiranah and started to distribute the booty. One fifth of the war booty was to be kept for God and His messenger: in other words, for the government. The Prophet (sws) gave 100 and 50 camels each to many leaders of tribes from this portion. The leaders included Ghatfan’s ‘Uyaynah ibn Hasan, Tamim’s Aqra ibn Habis and Abu Sufyan, Safwan ibn Umayyah, Hakim ibn Hizam and Suhayl ibn ‘Amr etc. These rewards were meant to send out a message to people that, under an Islamic government, no revenge was taken for the past harmful activities of the non believers. People were treated according to their position and status. Therefore, people could enter the fold of Islam without any fear or apprehension; they would gain safety and respect. At this stage, the Prophet (sws) also said that if Malik ibn ‘Awf were to accept Islam, he would gain from the same benefits. This kindness of the Prophet (sws) created a good impression upon the Quraysh leaders and their followers and helped them to make up their minds about Islam. Thus, all the Quraysh leaders who were still in a state of doubt became Muslims. Safwan ibn Umayyah used to say that the Prophet (sws) was the most objectionable person in his eyes, but the gifts won him over. As he came closer to the Prophet (sws), the latter became his most beloved personality. In reality, years of fighting had led to misunderstandings in the hearts of some people about Islam and Muslims. The generosity and blessings from the Prophet (sws) played a decisive role in overcoming these”…. Complaints by the Ansar : “When the Prophet (sws) was giving away wealth and rewards to the leaders of the Quraysh, some young men from the Ansar considered this to be nepotism. They thought that they were being ignored in comparison to the Prophet’s tribe, despite the fact that their swords were dripping with the blood of the Quraysh. When lives needed to be sacrificed, they were called but when the time came to distribute booty, the Quraysh were in the front. When this was mentioned to the Prophet (sws), he ordered all Ansar to gather in a tent. When they came, he asked about what he had heard. The Ansar replied that although none of their leaders had said anything of the sort, some young men had expressed these thoughts. The Prophet (sws) said: “O’ Ansar! When I had come to you, were you not misguided? Then God gave you guidance. Were you not deprived? Then God gave you wealth. Were you not each other’s enemies? Then God placed love in your hearts.” They admitted that this was so and that God and His messenger were their greatest benefactors. The Prophet (sws) said: “By God, if you had wished, you could have answered and you would have been right, had you said that when you came, you had been declared untruthful; we were the ones who placed our belief in you; you were without any support, we were the ones who helped you; you had been put into exile, we were the ones who gave you refuge; you were in need, we were the ones who consoled you.” This style of talking to them was to explain to them that the sacrifices they had made were very important for him; hence their understanding that their status has been lowered in his eyes because of the Quraysh was wrong. Then he clarified the reasons for giving more to the Quraysh. He asked if they had found any worldliness in him. He had wished to assuage people so that they would accept Islam, and left the matter of the Ansar, trusting them to their faith in Islam. The people of the Quraysh were always being killed and imprisoned. The Prophet (sws) wanted to make some compensation for their losses. He said: “O’ Ansar! Are you not satisfied that other people may return with livestock while you take the messenger of God to your homes? By God! What you take with you is much better than what other people take with them.” At this, the Ansar said with one voice: “O’ Messenger of God! We are happy with your decision.” To express solidarity with them, the Prophet (sws) said: “By the Being who possesses the life of Muhammad, if migration had not happened, I would have been among the Ansar. If the Ansar walk in one valley and other people in another valley, I would take the valley of the Ansar; Ansar are my real garment, others are merely my outer covering.” After this, he prayed: “O’Lord! have mercy upon Ansar, upon Ansar’s sons and upon their grandsons.” This expression of love and endearment for the Ansar affected people so deeply that their beards became wet with tears”…. (English Rendering by Nikhat Sattar) ___ Imam Bukhari has also brought similar narrations on this incident: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4330 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4331 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4334