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Ghanimah
-
Fai
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General Rules Regarding Spoils
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Treatment of Lands
“To the victor
belongs the spoils” was a popular slogan not only among the
heathen Arabs of the pre-Islamic period but also among many other
nations of the world. So the common practice before the advent of
Islam was that the entire booty obtained in a war was either
divided by the victorious army or was usurped by the tribal chief
or the king for his own benefit. Islam brought about a great
change in this outlook. It restricted the claim of the conquering
soldiers to four-fifth of the booty while one-fifth of it was
reserved for the Islamic state to be used for the common benefit
of the nation. During the reign of Caliph Umar this division of
the spoils between the Islamic state and the conquering army was
further restricted to chattels and movable assets. It was decided
by consensus that the lands conquered from the enemy should be
kept in the ownership of the state for the common benefit of the
existing and future generations instead of dividing the same among
the soldiers who took part in the fight.
Islam divides
spoils or booty into two categories, namely : ‘Ghanimah’ and
‘Fai’. If the spoils are obtained by actual fighting, the same are
called Ghanimah. But if they are obtained without fighting i.e.
the enemy surrenders or flees away, then they are called Fai.
Different rules and regulations govern the treatment of Ghanimah
and Fai and hence the same are dealt with separately as under :
I-
Ghanimah
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Following are the
verses of the Qur’an and the Traditions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
which lay down the law regarding treatment of Ghanimah :
1.
They ask thee (O Muhammad) of the spoils of war.
Say: The spoils of war belong to Allah and the messenger, so keep
your duty to Allah, and adjust the matter of your difference, and
obey Allah and His messenger, if ye are (true) believers.
–—(Al-Anfal 8:1)
2.
And know that whatever ye take as spoils of war,
lo! a fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the messenger and for
the kinsman (who hath need) and orphans and the needy and the
wayfarer, if ye believe in Allah and that which We revealed unto
Our salve on the Day of Discrimination, the day when the two
armies met. And Allah is Able to do all things.
–––(Al-Anfal 8:41)
3.
Abdullah-b-Amr reported that when the Holy Prophet
gained a booty, he used to order Bilal who proclaimed among men.
Then they used to come with their booties. He used then to take
out the one-fifth share therefrom, and divide them (the rest). One
day a man arrived after that with a reign of hair and said: O
Messenger of Allah! This is what we acquired from the booty. He
asked: Have you heard Bilal proclaim thrice? ‘Yes’, said he. Then
he said: What prevented you to come therewith? He offered an
excuse. He said: Be (so); you will thus come therewith on the
Resurrection Day but I shall never accept it from you.
–––(Abu Daud)
4.
Abu Sayeed reported that the Messenger of Allah
prohibited the purchase of booties till they were divided.
–––(Tirmizi)
5.
Auf-b-Malik and Khalid-b-Walid reported that the
Messenger of Allah gave decision of the goods of the killed for
one who killed. He did not include the goods for charging fifth
share.
–––(Abu Daud)
6.
Mujamme-b-Jariyah reported : The booty of Khaiber
was divided by the Messenger of Allah…… He gave two shares to each
horseman and one share to each footman.
–––(Abu Daud)
7.
Ibn Umar reported : We used to take honey and
grapes in our fights and eat them, but we did not take them (for
division).
–––(Bukhari)
So, in the reign
of the Holy Prophet, the procedure followed for the division of
the spoils was : After the war had come to an end, somebody used
to proclaim on behalf of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace be upon
him) and all the belongings of the enemy were gathered at one
place. Then one – fifth was taken by the Prophet (PBUH) as share
of Allah and His Messenger (Islamic state) and remaining
four-fifth was divided among the soldiers who participated in
the war. Two shares were given to the horseman and one share to
the footman. It was a tradition that the soldier killing a
particular enemy was given his (enemy’s) belonging in addition
to his fixed share, as a reward. If the slaves, minors,
non-Muslims or women had helped the Muslim army, they were not
assigned any regular share. Instead, they were given some gift
for their services.
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II- Fai
According to
encyclopedia of Islam, “by the word Fai scholars in general
understand all things taken from the unbelievers “without
fighting” and further very often the lands in conquered
territories”.
Muhammad Asad,
quoting Taj-al-Arus, writes. “The term fai, a noun derived from
the verb fa’a ‘he returned something or ‘turned it over’, is
applied in the Quran and the traditions exclusively to war
gains-whether consisting of lands or tribute or indemnities-which
are obtained as a condition from an enemy who has laid down arms
before actual fighting has taken place"”
The following
verses of the Qur’an and the Ahadith of Muhammad (PBUH) regulate
the treatment of Fai booty acquired from the enemy :
1.
And that which Allah gave as spoil unto His
messenger from them, ye urged not any horse or riding-camel for
the sake thereof, but Allah giveth His messenger lordship over
whom He will. Allah is Able to do all things. That which Allah
giveth as spoil unto His messenger from the people of the
township, it is for Allah and His messenger and for the near of
kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, that it become
not a commodity between the rich among you. And whatsoever the
messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth,
abstain (from it). And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is stern
in reprisal. And (it is) for the poor fugitives who have been
driven out from their homes and their belongings, who seek bounty
from Allah and help Allah and His messenger. They are the loyal.
–––(59:Al-Hashr : 6-8)
2.
Malik-b-Aus reported from Umar that there were the
properties of Banu Nazir out of Fai which Allah gave to His
Messenger on the ground that the Muslims did not acquire them on
horse-back or any conveyance, so it was special for the Holy
Prophet who was to spend it over his family maintenance of a year
and then to spend what remained for armours and conveyances as
ammunitions in the way of Allah.
–––(Bukhari and Muslim)
3.
Auf-b-Malik reported : When Fai came to the
Prophet, he used to divide it on that very day and give two shares
to a man with family and own share to a bachelor.
–––(Abu Daud)
4.
Ayesha reported that a bag containing shells was
brought to the Prophet. He divided them among the free women and
slave girls. Ayesha said : My father used to distribute to free
men and slaves.
–––(Abu Daud)
5.
Malik-b-Aus reported that the matter about which
Umar procured proof was this: The Holy Prophet had three special
properties-Banu Nazir, Khaiber and Fedak. As for Banu Nazir, it
was reserved for his adverse turns, and as for Fedak it was
dedicated for the travellers; and as for Khaiber, the Holy Prophet
divided it into three shares-two shares for the Muslims and one
share for the expenses of his family. What remained in excess
after expenses of his family, he distributed among the poor
refugees.
–––(Abu Daud)
So according to the
Qur’an Fai means such of the properties of the unbelievers as are
‘returned’ to the Muslims without war. It is not to be distributed
like booty among the soldiers. But the whole of it is for Allah
and His apostle. Such property is to be spent on the heads of
expenditure mentioned in the Quran, namely :
1.
Allah and his Messenger.
2.
Near of kin.
3.
The orphans.
4.
The needy.
5.
The wayfarer or travelers.
The messenger of
Allah used to spend it like that. After his death, it is indeed
the responsibility of the Islamic state to decide the ways and
means how it could be expended for the common weal.
From the Ahadith
quoted above it is evident that the Prophet (PBUH) himself managed
Fai as the head of the Islamic republic. The Fai was state
property and the revenue proceeds therefrom were to be applied to
the general good like Khums on the spoils of war (Ghanimah).
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III- General Rules Regarding Spoils
The jurists of
Islam have laid down the following rules and regulations regarding
spoils of war in the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah :
1.
Spoils of war, as stated above, are of two types :
Ghanimah and Fai. The Ghanimah is the booty which is obtained from
the enemy by actual war against him, whereas the Fai is the booty
which is acquired from the enemy who peacefully surrenders and
concludes a treaty or flees away due to the fear of Islamic army.
Khaibar was conquered by the Prophet and so the spoils found there
were treated as Ghanimah. The inhabitants of Fedak got frightened
at the fate of Khaibar and surrendered, so the spoils found there
were treated as Fai.
2.
Both Ghanimah and Fai may include movable property
such as cattle, household and personal effects, gold and silver,
money, etc. and immovable property like lands, buildings and
houses, and also slaves.
3.
The whole of Fai belongs to the state, but in case
of Ghanimah the share of the state is one-fifth only while the
rest four-fifth is distributed among the soldiers who participate
in war.
4.
The booty is to be distributed in the Islami
territory and not in the enemy area where it is brought and then
distributed by the commander or the leader of the army.
5.
Four-fifth of the Ghanimah is distributed among the
conquering troops in equal shares without any distinction between
an officer and ordinary soldier or between a volunteer and a
regular paid soldier. However a footman or infantryman gets one
share whereas a horseman or cavalry man gets two shares (according
to some jurists the latter gets three shares but this is not the
current view).
6.
Women, minors, slaves and non-Muslim soldiers are
rewarded in the form of a gift for their services but are not
given equal share with Muslim soldiers. However, when the
non-Muslim soldiers form a formidable force in Islamic army or
without whose sport the Islamic army would not be strong enough to
counter the enemy, in such case non-Muslim soldiers would have
equal shares with Muslim soldiers in the war booty.
7.
Besides their regular shares in the Ghanimah some
warriors are given special prizes or rewards for their
extraordinary services and valour. Such prizes are ‘Tanfil’ and ‘Salab’.
‘Tanfil’ is a prize which is given to a soldier who performs an
act which generally demands higher risk of life. ‘Salab’ stands
for the spoil which belongs to the slain and which is given to the
victorious person who has killed him in the personal combat or
hand-to-hand fight. ‘Salab’ includes the arms and personal effects
of the slain.
8.
If anything possessed by a Muslim was captured by
the enemy and was again taken back by the Muslim army, it would be
given back to the ex-owner upon production of evidence before the
distribution of the booty.
9.
Lands of the conquered countries would belong to
the Islamic state whose head or leader would put such lands to any
appropriate use which he decides in consultation with his council
or Shura. Whether such lands fall under the category of Ghanimah
or Fai would not make any difference. This rule was made by the
second caliph of Islam Umar after exhaustive deliberations with
his Shura.
10.
On the basis of its fundamental principle that “in
the sufferings of this world, the Muslims and non-Muslims are
equal”, the Islamic law allows the same rights to the enemy in
respect of captured property as are possessed by Muslims. For
example, if the enemy captures a thing from the Muslims, he
becomes rightful owner of it so much so that he may sell it to
Muslims.
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IV- Treatment of Lands
After the death of
the Prophet, when
Iraq, Iran and Egypt were conquered by
Muslim armies, there arose a controversy among the people
concerning the lands of these countries. Some of the leading
companions of the Prophet at request of Caliph Umar held meetings
to discuss and deliberate upon the issue. Imam Abu Yusuf in his
book Kitab-ul-Kharaj gives a lengthy and interesting account of
these debates. Abdul Rahman, Zubair and Bilal backed by the army
generals were of the view that the conquered lands should be
divided among the soldiers just like other categories of booty
from which one-fifth is taken out for the Muslim community and
four-fifth is distributed among the participating soldiers. On the
other hand Umar backed by Ali-b-Abi Talib and Muadh-b-Jabal was of
the opinion that these lands should be retained in state control
and should not be distributed among the soldiers. Letter written
by Umar to Saad bin Abi Waqqas, the commander of Islamic forces in
Iraq and Persia, thows light on the views of the Caliph : “You urge in
your letter that whatever property God has given you in booty
should be distributed. On receipt of my letter you should
distribute all the chattels including animals among the army after
deducting one-fifth provided the booty has been obtained after the
actual warfare, and allow the lands and the camels to remain in
the hands of the original owners so that they may be used in
support of the allowances of the Muslims. If you distribute (the
latter) among the present generation, there would be left nothing
for the posterity”.
Caliph Umar
addressed the companions, in order to persuade them to accept his
view, as follows :
You heard the
people who say I am depriving them of their right. I think that
after the land of
Kisra (Chosroe)
no lands will be left for conquest. God has granted us their
wealth and lands. I have distributed wealth among Muslims, but I
wish that lands be left with their tillers and I should impose
Kharaj and Jizyah which they would be paying us to meet the
expenses of the army, children of Muslims and generations to come.
You have seen the borders, we need the army to protect them; you
have seen the big cities and to protect them a regularly paid army
is necessary, and if I distribute the lands, how will they be
paid?”
So on the basis of
these arguments Umar tried to press his point but was not
successful due to strong opposition of Bilal and others who were
not ready to concede anything for future generations. At last he
did Ijtihad for some days and then convinced the companions of the
Holy Prophet relying on the verses 7 to 10 of Surah Al Hashr of
the Holy Quran. In these verses, Allah declares that Fai belongs
to the poor among the Muhajreen and the Ansar––and to “those who
come after them”. Umar laid emphasis on the clause “to those who
come after them” and carried his point through. In this way, with
the consensus of Majlis-e-Shura, it was declared that the
conquered lands in these countries would be considered Fai
property and would be kept under state control for the benefit of
all Muslim Ummah including future generations.
Soon after taking
over the conquered lands in the state control, Caliph Umar applied
his best administrative abilities to reorganize the administrative
system of these areas. He entrusted the work of survey of land in
Iraq to Usman-b-Hanif who was an expert in this field. Usman-b-Hanif
carried out the survey very efficiently. Imam Abu Yusuf writes
that the area of swad of Iraq amounted to 3,60,00,000 Jaribs (one
Jarib equal to almost 3000 square yards of these days). Kharaj was
imposed on these lands. Total Kharaj collected from these lands of
Iraq rose before the death of the great caliph to impressive
figure of 12,80,00,000 Dirhams. Similarly lands of Egypt and Syria
placed under state control brought Kharaj of 1,20,00,000 and
1,40,00,000 Dinars respectively to Muslim treasury.
With this
considerable amount of funds in Bait-ul-Mal, the great caliph
introduced a widespread network of social security unparalleled in
the hitherto history of the mankind.
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