remained. There the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) began to distribute the spoils. From the allotment set aside for al-muʾallafah qulūbuhum—that is, the chieftains of the great tribes whom he wished to win over to Islam—he gave them lavish gifts, awarding some of them one hundred camels apiece.
A man from the crowd then cried out, “By Allah, this is a division in which no justice has been shown, and the Face of Allah was not sought!” We seek refuge in Allah—such words about a share apportioned by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Yet love of this world and Satan can drive a person to ruin; we ask Allah for safety. Uttering this sentence is outright disbelief, for it imputes injustice to Allah and His Messenger and alleges that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not seek the Face of Allah in what he did. Beyond doubt, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) aimed by this distribution to please Allah, to attract the leading figures of the tribes and clans so that Islam might be strengthened; when the leaders embrace Islam and their faith is bolstered through such generosity, much good ensues, their people follow them, and Islam grows in honour. But ignorance—may Allah protect us—casts its possessor into destruction.
When ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) heard these words directed at the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he reported them to the Prophet. He told him that the man had said such-and-such, whereupon the Prophet’s face changed until it became like ṣarf—a yellowish-red dye—because of its colour and alteration. He then declared, “Who will act justly if Allah and His Messenger do not?” How true his words! If the judgement of Allah is not just, and the judgement of His Messenger is not just, then who remains to be just? He further said, “May Allah have mercy on Moses; he was harmed with worse than this, yet he remained patient.”
The lesson drawn from the hadith lies in this very statement: that the prophets—peace be upon them