Al-Wāqidī relates: When the Messenger of God ﷺ distributed the spoils at al-Jiʿrānah, each man received four camels and forty sheep.

Salamah transmitted—from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr—that a man who had been present at Ḥunayn said:

“By God, I was riding my she-camel beside the Messenger of God ﷺ, wearing a pair of thick sandals. My camel pressed against his, and the edge of my sandal struck the Messenger’s shin and hurt him. He tapped my foot with his whip and said, ‘You have hurt me; keep back.’ So I drew aside.

“The next morning the Messenger of God ﷺ was looking for me. I thought, ‘This must be because of what I did to his leg yesterday.’ I went to him, apprehensive. He said, ‘Yesterday you struck my leg and caused me pain; I hit your foot with my whip, and I have summoned you to compensate you for that.’ He then gave me eighty sheep for the single lash he had dealt me.”

The point here is that the Messenger of God ﷺ returned the captives of Hawāzin after the division of spoils, as this and other accounts show. The outward sense of the report of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb—cited by Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq from his father, from his grandfather—is that he returned the captives before the division. Thus, when he had returned them and mounted, the Bedouins clung to him saying, “Distribute our booty to us!” They pressed him until they forced him to a samurah tree and snatched off his cloak. He said, “Return my cloak to me, people! By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you had livestock as numerous as these thorn trees, I would divide it among you; you would never find me stingy, cowardly, or untruthful,” as al-Bukhārī has narrated on the authority of Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim in similar wording.

It seems they feared that he might restore to Hawāzin their wealth just as he had restored their women and children, so they pressed him for a division. Accordingly, he ﷺ distributed it at al-Jiʿrānah, as God—exalted is He—had commanded. He showed favor to certain individuals in the apportionment and sought to win over others from among the tribal chiefs and notables. Some of the Anṣār objected until he addressed them and explained the wisdom behind his action, soothing their hearts. Others who lacked understanding—ignorant people and some of the Khārijites such as Dhū’l-Khuwaysirah and his like, may God disgrace him—voiced their criticisms, as will be detailed in the forthcoming ḥadiths; and God’s help is sought.

Imām Aḥmad said: ʿĀrim narrated to us; al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān narrated to us; I heard my father say: al-Sumayṭ al-Sadūsī narrated to us, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, who said:

“We conquered Mecca, and then we undertook the campaign of Ḥunayn. The idolaters came in the finest battle formation I have ever seen: first they arrayed the cavalry, then the infantry, then the women behind them, followed by the sheep, and finally the camels. We were a great multitude—our numbers had reached six thousand—and Khālid ibn al-Walīd was commanding the flank of our cavalry. Our horses began to wheel back behind us, and before long our cavalry broke and fled; the Bedouins and many of the people we knew likewise took to flight.”