said: “May Allah forgive the Messenger of Allah! He gives to Quraysh and leaves us with nothing, while our swords are still dripping with their blood.”’

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘I give to men who have only recently left unbelief in order to win their hearts. Are you not content that others should depart with wealth while you return to your homes with the Messenger of Allah? By Allah, what you return with is better than what they return with.’

They replied, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, we are content.’

He said, ‘After me, you will encounter severe favoritism, so remain patient until you meet Allah and His Messenger, for I shall be at the Cistern.’

They said, ‘We will be patient.’”

In another narration:

“‘If the people followed a valley or a mountain pass, and the Ansār followed another valley or mountain pass, I would follow the valley and mountain pass of the Ansār. Other people are like an outer garment, while the Ansār are like the garment next to the skin. Were it not for the Hijrah, I would have been one of the Ansār.’ He continued speaking to them until they wept—may Allah Most High be pleased with them.”

All this was generosity and giving intended to bring people to Islam, which is the purpose of jihad.

Whoever says that the ruler must distribute immovable and movable property without exception holds an exceedingly weak view, contrary to the Book of Allah and the mass-transmitted Sunnah of His Messenger. He has not a single proof establishing such an obligation. The Prophet’s distribution of Khaybar, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, establishes that what he did was permissible, not that it was obligatory, since an action does not in itself establish an obligation. He did not distribute Mecca, and there is no doubt that it was conquered by force. Anyone who reflects on the hadiths will necessarily recognize this. Likewise, regarding movable property, whoever says that all of it must be distributed equally among those who took the spoils in every campaign holds a view that is