JIHAD SECTION · 158 – The Arguments of Those Who Say One-Fifth of the Booty Should Be Taken Before Departure from Nefl
Habib bin Mesleme al-Fihri reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would give an extra third of what remained from the fifth of the spoils of war.
According to the narration of Habib bin Mesleme, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would give an extra one-quarter for every one-fifth. And when returning from war, he would give an extra one-third for what remained after the one-fifth.
According to a narration from Makhul (whose given name is Abdullah ibn as-Sami), he said:
I was the slave of a woman among the Banu Huzaifa in Egypt. She freed me. I did not leave there until I had acquired the sciences present in Egypt, and according to my estimation, I left having attained them. Then I came to Hijaz, and I did not leave until I had acquired the sciences present there, and according to my estimation, I obtained those sciences as well. Then I went to Iraq, and I did not leave until I had acquired the sciences present there, and according to my estimation, I also attained the sciences of that place. Then I came to Syria, and I thoroughly investigated it. I inquired about *nafla* (the extra portion given apart from the share in war booty). I could not find anyone who would inform me about it. I arrived at an elderly man named Ziyad ibn Jariyah at-Tamimi. I said to him, "Did you hear anything about *nafla*?" He replied, “I heard Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri say: I witnessed the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, giving one-quarter of the war booty at the beginning of a campaign and two-thirds of it upon return as an extra portion.” [499]
**EXPLANATION:**
One-fifth of the war booty is given to the state. From the remainder, one-quarter was given at the start of the campaign and two-thirds were given upon the return from the campaign as an extra portion.