Ibn Ḥibbān recorded the report in his Ṣaḥīḥ, and al-Ḥākim in his Mustadrak through the transmission of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Al-Ḥākim remarked, “It is sound according to the criteria of Muslim, yet Muslim did not record it.”(1)
Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-Ḥākim(2) likewise transmitted—through several chains—from Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:
When the Day of Badr arrived, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ announced, “Whoever does such-and-such shall receive such-and-such.” The young men rushed forward, while the elders remained under the standards. When the spoils were gathered, the young men came to claim what had been promised them. The elders said, “Do not keep them to yourselves; we were your support, and had you been routed you would have fallen back upon us.” They disputed, whereupon Allah the Exalted revealed:
“They ask you about the spoils. Say, ‘The spoils belong to Allah and the Messenger, so fear Allah, set matters right among yourselves, and obey Allah and His Messenger if you are true believers.’” (al-Anfāl 1)
We have already cited other reports on the occasion of this verse’s revelation, whose full discussion would be lengthy here. The meaning is that the distribution of the spoils (anfāl) is referred to the judgment of Allah and His Messenger; they decide in them according to what benefits the servants in both this life and the next. For that reason He said: “The spoils belong to Allah and the Messenger; so fear Allah, set matters right among yourselves, and obey Allah and His Messenger if you are true believers.”
The Qurʾān then recounts what took place in the story of Badr until the verse:
“Know that whatever booty you acquire—indeed, one-fifth of it is for Allah and the Messenger, the relatives, the orphans, the needy, and the stranded traveller.” (al-Anfāl 41)
It appears that this verse clarifies Allah’s ruling on the spoils whose disposal was referred back to Him and to His Messenger ﷺ. Allah set it forth and legislated regarding it as He willed. This is the view of Ibn Zayd.(3)(4)
Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām(5)—may Allah have mercy on him—maintained that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ divided the spoils of Badr equally among the people without deducting one-fifth, and that the ruling of the fifth was revealed later, abrogating what preceded. Al-Wālibī transmitted the same from Ibn ʿAbbās, and it was also held by Mujāhid, ʿIkrimah, and al-Suddi. This, however, requires further consideration, and Allah knows best, for the context of the verses before and after the verse of the fifth all relates to the Battle of Badr, indicating that they were revealed together at one time with no interval that would allow one part to abrogate another.
Furthermore, the two Ṣaḥīḥs(7) relate from ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—concerning the incident of his two she-camels whose humps Ḥamzah had cut off, that he said: “Indeed…"