The Distribution of the Booty at Al-Ji‘ranah

upon returning and lifting the siege in ta’if, the messenger of allâh [pbuh] had stayed over ten nights at al-ji‘ranah before starting to distribute the booty. distribution delay was due to the prophet’s hope that hawazin’s delegation might arrive and announce their repentance and consequently reclaim their loss. seeing that none of them arrived, he started dividing the booty so as to calm down the tribes’ chiefs and the celebrities of makkah. the first to receive booty and the ones who obtained the greatest number of shares were the people who had recently embraced islam.

abu sufyan bin harb was given a hundred camels and forty (gold) ounces and yet he said, "what about my son, yazeed’s share?" so he was given the same quantity for his son as well. but yet he exclaimed: "and what about the share of mu‘âwiyah, my second son?" so the prophet [pbuh] gave mu‘âwiyah as much as he gave his father and brother. hakeem bin hizam was given a hundred camels, but he was given a hundred more when he demanded. safwan bin omaiyah was given three hundred camels - a hundred camels at each time. it is thus mentioned in shifâ’ [ash-shifa 1/86], book by qadi iyadh. the prophet [pbuh] gave al-harith bin harith bin kilda a hundred camels. he also gave some chiefs of quraish and other clans a hundred camels; he gave others fifty and some others had forty.

eventually it was spread among people that "muhammad grants generously and fears not to grow poor." this made bedouins gather around him expecting to be given some wealth. they were so many that they forced the prophet [pbuh] to seek refuge against a tree and they even took away his garment, "o people!" he said, "give me back my garment! for i swear by the one in whose hand is muhammad’s soul, that if i had as many numerous camels as the number of tihama trees, i would distribute them among you. you know quite well that i am neither mean nor coward or a liar." standing by his camel he plucked out a hair of his camel’s hump and held it between his two fingers, lifted it up and said: "o people, i swear by allâh that i get nothing but one-fifth of your booty, and this very fifth goes back to you."

as soon as he had given the new converts, the messenger of allâh [pbuh] ordered zaid bin thabit to fetch the booty and summon people. then he ordained shares to people. a footman’s share was four camels and forty sheep, and a horseman would take twelve camels and a hundred and twenty sheep. this distribution of booty was based on a wise policy. in this world there are lots of people who know the truth only when it comes through their stomachs and they do not recognize it if it comes through their brains. the similitude of such people is as the guidance of an animal to its herd by means of a bunch of clover held at a constant distance off its mouth. the animal would try all the time to catch it, so it would eventually go into the herd safely. in the same way you have to do various kinds of temptations to make certain kind of people familiarize islam and be pleased with. [fiqh as-seerah p.298,299]