6 – Hadith 1126 shows that it is permissible to grant a special bonus (tanfil) to a detachment that splits off from the main army, raids the enemy, and brings back booty. Its members may receive an addition to their regular shares in appreciation of the effort they expended and the hardships they bore beyond those of the rest of the fighters. If the detachment’s raid takes place at the beginning of the campaign, while the army is still on its outward march, it is given one-quarter of whatever it captures; if the raid occurs after the army has turned back, it is given one-third of the booty.
7 – The reason the detachment’s members receive a larger bonus on the return journey than at the outset is that, on the way back, they have lost the support that had previously strengthened them—the main army to which they could retreat and the force on which they could rely. During the outward march, by contrast, the army backs, reinforces, and protects them. Moreover, a raid undertaken during the homeward leg comes at a time when every fighter is longing for his family and homeland and keen for a swift return. For these reasons—and Allah knows best—the detachment deserved a higher tanfil when raiding on the return.
8 – The hadith also indicates that the Prophet ﷺ never awarded more than one-third as a bonus.
9 – The procedure for tanfil is this: if a detachment sets out from within the ranks of the army and strikes the enemy, whatever it captures on the outward march is subject to a quarter-share bonus, and whatever it captures on the return is subject to a third-share bonus; the remaining three-quarters or two-thirds are shared with the rest of the army.
10 – Hadith 1127 shows that the Prophet ﷺ did not grant an extra allotment to every detachment he sent. Rather, tanfil is left to the commander’s discretion: if he perceives benefit in granting the detachment an additional share above the rest of the army, he does so; if he judges it better to withhold it, he withholds it.
11 – The principle is that when a servant is offered a choice between two or more options, if the choice concerns his own interest it rests on his personal preference, but if it concerns the interest of others he must exercise ijtihād and select the most beneficial course. The commander’s choice here—whether to award a bonus or not—belongs to this latter category and obliges him to adopt whatever is best.