378 – ‘Abdullāh said: My father narrated to me: ‘Attāb ibn Ziyād narrated to us: ‘Abdullāh—meaning, Ibn al-Mubārak—narrated to us: Jarīr ibn Hāzim narrated to us, saying: I heard Nāfi‘, the freedman of ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, say:

The people achieved a conquest in Syria. Bilāl was among them—and I think he mentioned Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal. They wrote to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb: “Of these spoils we have acquired, one-fifth is yours, and the remainder is ours; no one else has any share in it. This accords with what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did at Hunayn.”

‘Umar wrote back: “It is not as you say. Rather, I shall reserve it for the Muslims.” They wrote back to him, and he replied; neither side would yield. When they persisted in their refusal, ‘Umar stood and supplicated against them, saying: “O Allah, relieve me of Bilāl and Bilāl’s companions.” Before a year had passed, they had all died. May Allah be pleased with them.