Quote · 8 AH, after the ghanima distribution at Ji'ranah
Wallahi, the Prophet ﷺ was the most despised to me. But he continued to give and give and give until he became the most beloved to me.
withMuhammad ﷺ
~Shawwal-Dhul Qa'dah, 8 AH, roughly a month after Hunayn · 8 AH
In brief
After the Siege of Ta'if the Prophet ﷺ returned to Ji'ranah, where the spoils and prisoners of Hunayn were being held, to divide them. He waited more than a week for the defeated Hawazin to come and accept Islam so that their families and property could be returned to them. When they did not come, he distributed the spoils, giving the largest gifts yet seen in Islam, including a hundred camels each, to leading chiefs of the Quraysh and the Bedouin who were new or not yet Muslims, in order to win their hearts to Islam. The Ansar received nothing from that share and some began to murmur. The Prophet ﷺ gathered them alone, explained why he had given to men whose faith was still weak, and asked whether they were not content to go home with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while others went home with sheep and camels; they wept and declared themselves content. A man who accused him of injustice in the distribution was left unpunished, the first sign of what would become the Khawarij. The Hawazin then came and accepted Islam; it was too late for their property, but they chose their families, who were all restored to them, and their chieftain Malik ibn Awf also embraced Islam and was reinstated over his people. The Prophet ﷺ then performed Umrah from Ji'ranah before returning to Makkah.
The episode shows the concept of the muallafati qulubuhum (using wealth to soften hearts newly exposed to Islam) and the principle that true faith, once tasted even for worldly reasons, tends to take root. It also enshrines the special status of the Ansar in Islamic tradition, and gives the origin story, within the Prophet ﷺ's own lifetime, of the ultra-literalist mentality later known as the Khawarij: outward religiosity combined with a readiness to accuse and to shed blood, and a refusal to submit to the Prophet ﷺ's own authority as a matter of theology rather than mere manners.
Other events recorded in 8 AH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.
Wallahi, the Prophet ﷺ was the most despised to me. But he continued to give and give and give until he became the most beloved to me.
Give me some of this money that you are giving to others.
Give him some.
Smiled and said this to the Companions in charge of distributing the ghanima after a Bedouin chieftain grabbed his collar demanding money.
Return my garment to me, for wallahi, if I had as many camels as the shrubs around us, you would have found me to give the last one of them to you. I would not keep anything for myself, and you would have found me to be a generous person, not stingy or miserly.
Surrounded by Bedouins begging for money at Ji'ranah until his back was pressed against a thorny bush and his garment caught on it, after the wealth had already run out.
It's too late now. But choose between your wealth and your families; let's see what I can do for you. After Salat al-Zuhr tomorrow, you will stand up in front of all of the people and ask to have your families given back to you, and ask intercession from me for the Muslims.
The Hawazin finally arrived at Ji'ranah to embrace Islam, but only after the ghanima had already been distributed, hoping to reclaim their families and property.
As for the prisoners in the Banu Abdul Muttalib, I am in charge of them. So all of them are yours. Take them.
Giving up his own tribe's share first, prompting the other Quraysh leaders to return their captives freely as well.
Okay, I will take charge of this. I don't have money now, but as soon as the next wealth comes, you will have the first share.
Said to a few newly Muslim Bedouin tribes who declined to release their captives without payment; in the end all of the Hawazin's families, though not their property, were restored to them.
Give me some more.
Hakim ibn Hizam had just received a share of the ghanima at Ji'ranah, and repeated this request three times in succession, each time given more.
O Hakim, this money is sweet, luscious, and green. And whoever takes it with an open and generous heart, Allah will give him blessings. But whoever takes it wanting more out of greed, this is like the one who eats and is never satisfied. Allah will put you in charge to see what you are doing with your money.
Said after Hakim had asked for and been given more three times in succession.
Ya Rasulullah, I will never ask anybody for any money after this.
He kept this resolve for the rest of his long life, never once asking anyone for anything again.
Be fair in this money.
Approached the Prophet ﷺ during the distribution of the ghanima at Ji'ranah, accusing him of favoritism in how it was being divided.
Woe to you. Who will be just if I am not just on this earth?
This is a distribution that you are not doing for the sake of Allah.
Will you not trust me when the One who is in the heavens trusts me?
Let me execute him.
Asked after the man had walked away, having accused the Prophet ﷺ of injustice in a way that crossed from rudeness into theological error.
Woe to me if the people start saying I kill my own Companions. From his ilk will come a group of people that will recite the Qur'an but it will not leave their throats. You will think their salah is better than your salah, and their zakat is better than your zakat, and their actions of worship are better than your actions of worship; yet they will leave Islam like an arrow leaves the target once it has hit it. These people are the worst of people.
Refused Umar's request for the sake of the community's wellbeing (maslaha), not because the man had any excuse, but so no one could say he killed his own Companions.
Where do you find yourself?
Asked of Sa'd ibn Ubadah, chief of the Ansar, after younger Ansar had begun murmuring that they had been left out of the ghanima given to the Quraysh.
I am one of my people.
Bring all of the Ansar, and make sure no one is in the tent except the Ansar.
If all of mankind were to go in one direction and the Ansar in another, I would go with the Ansar. Were it not for the Hijrah, I would be from the Ansar. I give to some people because I fear for their greed and desires, and I don't give to others because I trust what Allah has given in their hearts is more than what I can give them. The Quraysh is still new to Islam, and I wish to comfort them by bringing them close to me. O Allah, have mercy on the Ansar, and the children of the Ansar, and the children of the children of the Ansar. Are you not happy that people go back with sheep and camels and goats, but you go back home with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
The room wept until their beards were wet, and the Ansar answered together, "We are content with Islam and you, ya Rasulullah!"
Go and tell him that if he comes to me as a Muslim, I shall return his family and property to him, and give him a hundred camels besides.
Said after asking after Malik ibn Awf al-Nasri, chieftain of the Hawazin, who had fled into Ta'if rather than surrender.
Came to the Prophet ﷺ as a Muslim after hearing his offer, and was reinstated as chieftain over his own tribe, with his family, property, and a hundred camels restored to him as promised.
Truly, he is a Prophet: there is no doubt of it.
I have just come from a man who doesn't care about poverty! Wallahi, this man is a prophet, for no king would do what he has done!
Said after witnessing the extent of the Prophet ﷺ's generosity in giving away the Hunayn ghanima and keeping nothing for himself.
إِنَّمَا الصَّدَقَاتُ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْعَامِلِينَ عَلَيْهَا وَالْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَالْغَارِمِينَ وَفِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ ۖ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
“Zakat is only for the poor and the needy, for those employed to administer it, for those whose hearts are attracted [to the faith], for [freeing] slaves, for those in debt, for Allah's cause, and for [needy] travelers. [This is] an obligation from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
Defines the 8 zakat categories, revealed answering the man with the straggly beard (Dhu al-Khuwaysira) who accused the Prophet ﷺ of injustice in this ghanima/sadaqah distribution -- same incident as the adjacent verses 9:58-59 already linked to this event.
وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ فَإِنْ أُعْطُوا مِنْهَا رَضُوا وَإِن لَّمْ يُعْطَوْا مِنْهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَ
“There are some of them who are critical of your distribution of charity [O Prophet]. If they are given some of it they are pleased, but if not they are enraged.”
This is the asbab al-nuzul: this ayah addresses exactly the accusation of unfairness in distributing wealth that the post responds to ("Be fair in this money").
وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ رَضُوا مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَقَالُوا حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ سَيُؤْتِينَا اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَرَسُولُهُ إِنَّا إِلَى اللَّهِ رَاغِبُونَ
“If only they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger had given them and said, "Allah is sufficient for us! Allah will grant us out of His bounty, and so will His Messenger. To Allah [alone] we turn with hope."”
Part of the same passage revealed over the fairness dispute at this distribution, addressed in the post ("Who will be just if I am not just on this earth?").