Arrival of the Hawazin Delegation

hawazin’s delegation arrived a muslims just after the distribution of spoils. they were fourteen men headed by zuhair bin sard. the messenger’s foster uncle was one of them. they asked him to bestow upon them some of the wealth and spoils. they uttered so touching words that the messenger of allâh [pbuh] said to them: "you surely see who are with me. the most desirable speech to me is the most truthful. which is dearer to you, your wealth or your women and children?" they replied: "nothing whatsoever compares with kinship." then when i perform the noon prayer, stand up and say: "we intercede with the messenger of allâh [pbuh] to exhort the believers, and we intercede with the believers to exhort the messenger of allâh [pbuh] to forego the captives of our people fallen to their lot." so when the messenger of allâh [pbuh] performed the noon prayer, they stood up and said what they had been told to say. the messenger [pbuh], then, said: "as for what belongs to me and to the children of abdul muttalib, you may consider them, from now on, yours. and i will ask my folksmen to give back theirs." upon hearing that the emigrants and the helpers said: "what belongs to us is, from now on, offered to the messenger of allâh [pbuh]." but al-aqra‘ bin habis said, "we will grant none of what belongs to me and to bani tamim,"; so did ‘uyaina bin hisn, who said: "as for me and bani fazarah, i say ‘no’." al-‘abbas bin mirdas also refused and said: "no" for bani saleem and him. his people, however, said otherwise: "whatever spoils belong to us we offer to the messenger of allâh ([pbuh].)" "you have undermined my position." said al-‘abbas bin mirdas spontaneously. then the messenger of allâh [pbuh] said: "these people have come to you as muslims. for this i have already tarried the distribution of the booty. besides, i have granted them a fair option but they refused to have anything other than their women and children. therefore he who has some of theirs and will prefer willingly to give them back, let them do. but those who favours to keep what he owns to himself, let them grant them back too, and he will be given as a recompense six times as much from the first booty that allâh may provide us." people then said, "we will willingly offer them all for the sake of the messenger of allâh." the messenger of allâh [pbuh] said: "but in this way we are not able to find out who is content and who is not. so go back and we will be waiting for your chiefs to convey to us your decisions." all of them gave back the women and children. the only one who refused to comply with the messenger’s desire was ‘uyaina bin hisn. he refused to let an old woman of theirs go back at first. later on he let her go back. the messenger of allâh [pbuh] gave every captive a garment as a gift.