he dies; the wife receives it until she marries again, and the children until they are able to provide for themselves.
If the four fifths exceed the needs of the salaried troops, the surplus is distributed among them according to their individual requirements. The sounder view permits spending part of that surplus on strengthening frontier fortresses, procuring weapons, and maintaining mounts. This is the ruling for movable fayʾ; as for real estate acquired as fayʾ, the authoritative position is that it is made a waqf (endowment) and its revenues are apportioned in the same way.

Section
Ghanīmah is property taken from unbelievers through actual combat and the deployment of cavalry or camels. From it the first allocation is the personal spoil (salab) for the soldier who killed the enemy. The salab consists of the slain man’s clothing, boots, rān (greaves), and instruments of war such as a coat of mail, weapon, mount, saddle, and bridle. It likewise includes any bracelet, belt, ring, provisions he carried, and—on the stronger view—a led horse that accompanied him, though not, according to the authoritative opinion, a saddle-bag tied to the horse. A soldier becomes entitled to this salab only by undertaking a hazardous assault that is sufficient to ward off the harm of an enemy combatant during the battle itself. Hence, if he merely shoots from a fortress or from the line, or kills a sleeping enemy, a captive, or someone after the unbelievers have already fled, he is not entitled to the salab. Repelling the enemy’s harm means neutralizing his resistance, for example by gouging out his eyes or severing his hands and feet; the same ruling, according to the preponderant view, applies if he captures him or cuts off one or both of his hands or feet.

According to the well-known position, the salab itself is not subject to the khums (one-fifth levy). After the salab is set aside, the costs of safeguarding, transport, and the like are deducted; the remainder is then subjected to the khums, whose fifth is given to those entitled to the khums of fayʾ, in the manner previously described.

The sounder opinion is that any nafal promised from booty anticipated in this engagement is paid out of the fifth of the fifth that is earmarked for public interests; it is also permissible to fund it from other public-interest monies already in the imam’s possession. A nafal is an additional share stipulated by the imam or commander for anyone who undertakes an action that inflicts significant damage on the unbelievers, and he exercises discretion regarding its amount.

The remaining four fifths—whether movable goods or real estate—belong to the combatants: those who were present at the engagement with the intention of fighting, even if they did not actually fight. Nothing is due to anyone who arrives after the battle has ended.