weak. Rather, unequal allocations are permissible in the public interest, just as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave preferential allocations in many campaigns.

There are two views concerning the source of what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, gave from the spoils of Khaybar to those whose hearts were to be won over: the first is that it came from the fifth; the second is that it came from the spoils as a whole. The latter is the stronger view.

What he gave them was a considerable amount that the fifth could not have covered. Whoever says that these gifts came from one-fifth of the fifth has not understood what happened. None of the early scholars said this. This is so notwithstanding his statement:

“I am entitled to nothing of what Allah has granted you except the fifth, and that fifth is returned to you.”

This was because those whose hearts were to be won over were members of the army, and he gave them preferential allocations in the public interest, just as he gave them preferential allocations from the fay’ revenues in the public interest.

This demonstrates that the ruler may distribute the spoils of war according to his independent judgment, just as he distributes the fay’ revenues according to his independent judgment, provided he is a just ruler who distributes them with knowledge and justice. Distributing the spoils among those who took them is not like dividing an inheritance among the heirs or distributing zakat among its eight categories of recipients. Hence, he said concerning zakat:

“Allah did not leave its distribution to a prophet or anyone else, but assigned it to eight categories. If you belong to one of those categories, I will give you.”

It is thus clear that the property Allah grants from the unbelievers is different in this respect. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, allotted shares from Khaybar to the people of the ship who arrived with Ja‘far, although he allotted nothing to anyone else who had been absent from it. He also allotted shares from the spoils of Badr to Talhah, al-Zubayr, and ‘Uthmān