Sunan Abi Dawud

Abu Qatadah said “We went out with the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) in the year of Hunain. And when the armies met, the Muslims suffered a reverse. I saw one of the polytheists prevailing over a Muslim, so I went round him till I came to him from behind and struck him with my sword at the vein between his neck and shoulder. He came towards me and closed with me, so that I felt death was near, but he was overtaken by death and let me go. I then caught upon on “Umar bin Al Khattab and said to him “What is the matter with the people?” He said “It is what Allaah has commanded. Then the people returned and the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ)sat down and said “If anyone kills a man and can prove it, he will get his spoil. I stood up and said “Who will testify for me? I then sat down.” He said again “If anyone kills a man and can prove it, he will get his spoil. I stood up and said “Who will testify for me? I then sat down.” He then said the same for the third time. I then stood up. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “What is the matter with you, Abu Qatadah? I told him the story. A man from the people said “He has spoken the truth, and I have this spoil with me, so make him agreeable (to take something in exchange). Abu Bakr said “In that case I swear by Allaah that he must not do so. One of the Allaah’s heroes does not fight for Allaah and his Apostle and then give you his spoil. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “He has spoken the truth, hand it over to him. Abu Qatadah said “he handed it over to me, I sold the coat of mail and brought a garden among Banu Salamh. This was the first property I acquired in the Islamic period.

Anas reported the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) as saying “He who kills and infidel gets his spoil.” Abu Talhah killed twenty men that day meaning the day of Hunain and got their spoils. Abu Talhah met Umm Sulaim who had a dagger with her. He asked “What is with you, Umm Sulaim”? She replied “I swear by Allaah, I intended that if anyone came near me I would pierce his belly with it. Abu Talhah informed the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ)about it. Abu Dawud said “This is good (hasan) tradition." Abu Dawud said “By this was meant dagger. The weapon used by the Non – Arabs in those days was dagger.”

‘Awf bin malik Al Ashja’I said “I went out with Zaid bin Harith in the battle of Mutah. For the reinforcement of the Muslim army a man from the people of Yemen accompanied me. He had only his sword with him. A man from the Muslims slaughtered a Camel. The man for the reinforcement asked him for a part of its skin which he gave him. He made it like the shape of a shield. We went on and met the Byzantine armies. There was a man among them on a reddish horse with a golden saddle and golden weapons. This Byzantinian soldiers began to attack the Muslims desperately. The man for reinforcement sat behind a rock for (attacking) him. He hamstrung his horse and overpowered him and then killed him. He took his horse and weapons. When Allah, Most High, bestowed victory on the Muslims. Khalid bin Al Walid sent for him and took his spoils. ‘Awf said “I came to him and said “Khalid, do you know that the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) had decided to give spoils to the killer? He said “Yes, I thought it abundant. I said “You should return it to him, or I shall tell you about it before the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ). But he refused to return it. ‘Awf said “We then assembled with the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ). I told him the story of the man of reinforcement and what Khalid had done. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “Khalid, what made you do the work you have done?” He said “Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ), I considered it to be abundant. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “Khalid, return it to him what you have taken from him.” ‘Awf said “I said to him “here you are, Khalid. Did I not keep my word? The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) said “What is that? I then informed him.” He said “The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) became angry and said “Khalid, do not return it to him. Are you going to leave my commanders? You may take from them what is best for you and eave to them what is worst.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by ‘Awf bin Malik Al Ashja’I through a different chain of narrators.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave judgement that the killer should have what was taken from the man he killed, and did not make this subject to division into fifths.

At the battle of Badr the Messenger of Allah gave me AbuJahl's sword, as I had killed him.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent AbuSa'id ibn al-'As with an expedition from Medina towards Najd. Aban ibn Sa'id and his companions came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at Khaybar after it had been captured. The girths of their horses were made of palm fibres. Aban said: Give us a share (from the booty), Messenger of Allah. AbuHurayrah said: I said: Do not give them a share, Messenger of Allah. Aban said: Why are you talking so, Wabr. You have come to us from the peak of Dal. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Sit down, Aban. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not give any share to them (from the booty).

Abu Hurairah said “I came to Madeenah when the Abu Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) was in Khaibar, after it was captured. I asked him to give me a share from the booty. A son of Sa’id bin Al ‘As spoke and said “Do not give him any share, Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ). I said “This is the killer of Ibn Qauqal.” (The son of) Sa’id bin Al ‘As said “Oh, how wonderful! A Wabr who came down to us from the peak of Dal blames me of having killed a Muslim whom Allaah honored at my hands and did not disgrace me at his hands. Abu Dawud said “They were about ten persons. Six of them were killed and the remaining returned.

Abu Nusa said “We arrived just at the moment when the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) conquered Khaibar and he allotted us a portion (or he said he gave us some of it). He allotted nothing to anyone who was not present at the conquest of Khaybar, giving shares only to those who were present with him except for those who were in our ship, Ja’far and his companions to whom he gave (a portion) something along with them.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up, i.e. on the day of Badr, and said: Uthman has gone off on the business of Allah and His Apostle, and I shall take the oath of allegiance on his behalf. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then allotted him a share, but did not do so for anyone else who was absent.

Yazid ibn Hurmuz said: Najdah wrote to Ibn Abbas asking him about such-and-such, and such-and-such, and he mentioned some things; he (asked) about a slave whether he would get something from the spoils; and he (asked) about women whether they used to go out (on expeditions) along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and whether they would be allotted a share, Ibn Abbas said: Had I not apprehended a folly, I would not have written (a reply) to him. As for the slave, he was given a little of the spoils (as a reward from the booty); as to the women, they would treat the wounded and supply water.

Yazid bin Humruz said “Najdah Al Hururi wrote to Ibn ‘Abbas asking him whether the women participated in battle along with the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) and whether they were allotted a share from the spoils. I (Yazid bin Hurmuz) wrote a letter on behalf of Ibn ‘Abbas to Najdah. They participated in the battle along with the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ), but no portion (from the spoils) was allotted to them, they were given only a little of it.

Hashraj ibn Ziyad reported on the authority of his grandmother that she went out with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for the battle of Khaybar. They were six in number including herself. (She said): When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was informed about it, he sent for us. We came to him, and found him angry. He said: With whom did you come out, and by whose permission did you come out? We said: Messenger of Allah, we have come out to spin the hair, by which we provide aid in the cause of Allah. We have medicine for the wounded, we hand arrows (to the fighters), and supply drink made of wheat or barley. He said: Stand up. When Allah bestowed victory of Khaybar on him, he allotted shares to us from spoils that he allotted to the men. He (Hashraj ibn Ziyad) said: I said to her: Grandmother, what was that? She replied: Dates.

I was present at Khaybar along with my masters who spoke about me to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He ordered about me, and a sword was girded on me and I was trailing it. He was then informed that I was a slave. He, therefore, ordered that I should be given some inferior goods. Abu Dawud said: This means that he (the Prophet) did not allot a portion of the spoils. Abu Dawud said: Abu 'Ubaid said: As he (the narrator Abi al-Lahm) made eating meat unlawful on himself, he was called Abi al-Lahm (one who hates meat).

I supplied water to my companions on the day of Badr.

A’ishah said (this is the version of narrator Yahya). A man from the polytheists accompanied the Prophet (ﷺ) to fight along with him. He said “Go back. Both the narrators (Musaddad and Yahya) then agreed. The Prophet said “We do not want any help from a polytheist.”

Ibn ‘Umar said “The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) allotted three portions for a man and his horse, one for him and two for his horse.

We four persons, came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and we (i.e. each one of us) had horses. He therefore, allotted one portion for each of us, and two portions for his horse.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Abu ‘Umrah through a different chain of narrators to the same effect. But this version has “Three Persons” and added “To the horseman three portions.”

Mujammi' was one of the Qur'an-reciters (qaris), and he said: We were present with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) at al-Hudaybiyyah. When we returned, the people were driving their camels quickly. The people said to one another: What is the matter with them? They said: Revelation has come down to the Prophet (ﷺ). We also proceeded with the people, galloping (our camels). We found the Prophet (ﷺ) standing on his riding-animal at Kura' al-Ghamim. When the people gathered near him, he recited: "Verily We have granted thee a manifest victory. A man asked: Is this a victory, Messenger of Allah? He replied: Yes. By Him in Whose hands the soul of Muhammad is, this is a victory. Khaybar was divided among those who had been at al-Hudaybiyyah, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) divided it into eighteen portions. The army consisted of one thousand five hundred men, of which three hundred were cavalry, and he gave two shares to a horseman and one to a foot-soldier. Abu Dawud said: Abu Mu'awiyah's tradition is sounder, and it is one which is followed. I think the error is in the tradition of Mujammi', because he said: "three hundred horsemen." when there were only two hundred.