and nothing is due to anyone who arrives after the fighting has ended—though one view does allow a share to someone who comes before the booty has actually been gathered in. If a combatant dies after both the battle and the collection of the spoils, his entitlement passes to his heirs, and the same ruling—according to the soundest opinion—applies when he dies after the fighting but before the spoils have been collected. Should he fall in the midst of the fighting, however, the standard position is that nothing is allotted to him.

The stronger view holds that a hired groom responsible for the mounts, a guard of the baggage, and even a merchant or craftsman are given shares provided they themselves take part in the fighting. A foot-soldier receives one share, while a cavalryman receives three, but only in respect of a single horse, whether of Arabian stock or otherwise; nothing is given for a camel or any other beast, nor for a horse that is emaciated or militarily useless. According to another opinion, a share is still awarded unless the combatant knew that the commander had forbidden bringing such an animal.

A slave, a boy, a woman, or a dhimmi who are present are granted a token gratuity (raḍkh) that is less than a full share; the imam exercises discretion regarding its amount, and—on the sounder view—it is paid out of the combatants’ four fifths. I say: a dhimmi receives this gratuity only if he attended without wages and with the imam’s permission. And Allah knows best.