It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah, he says: I saw two men fighting, one of them was a Muslim and the other a disbeliever. A polytheist man wanted to help his polytheist companion against the Muslim, but I came from there and struck his hand and cut it off. He then grabbed me with his other hand as if embracing me. By Allah! He did not let go of me until I sensed the smell of death from him. If his blood had not flowed, he would have killed me. Then he fell, and I struck him and killed him. Then, due to being occupied in the fighting, I could not take his spoils, and a man from the people of Makkah passed by and took his spoils. When we were free and the battle was over, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Whoever kills a person, his spoils will be for him. I said: O Messenger of Allah! I killed a man, but then I got busy in the battle, and now I do not know who took his spoils. A man from the people of Makkah stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah! He is telling the truth, I took his spoils, so please make him pleased with me. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said: You intend to take from one of the lions of Allah, who fights in the way of Allah, and then you distribute his spoils? Return the spoils of his slain to him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Abu Bakr is telling the truth, so return the spoils of his slain to him. Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: I took that property from him and sold it, and with its price I bought a garden in Madinah Munawwarah. This was the first wealth I ever owned.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the occasion of the Battle of Hunayn: Whoever kills someone alone, then his spoils will belong to him alone. Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) brought the spoils of twenty-one individuals.

(Second chain) On the occasion of the Battle of Hunayn, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever kills a disbeliever, his spoils will belong to him. Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) killed twenty disbelievers.

Narrated from Sayyiduna ‘Awf bin Malik Ashja‘i (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We undertook a military expedition towards Syria (this was the Battle of Mu’tah fought in 8 AH), and Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) was our commander. A man from the supporters and helpers of the Himyar tribe joined us; he came to our place of residence and had only a sword with him, no other weapon. A Muslim slaughtered some camels, and that man kept making excuses until he made something like a shield from the skins of those camels. Then he spread it on the ground and lit a fire on it until it dried, then he attached a handle to it like a shield. Then, according to Allah’s decree, our encounter with the enemies began. Our enemy consisted of Romans and members of the Arab tribe of Banu Quda‘ah. They fought us fiercely. Among the Romans was a warrior who rode a red horse with a golden saddle, the bridle of the horse was also covered in gold, and his sword was similarly golden. He began attacking the Muslims and igniting the fire of battle. The man from the Himyar tribe started making excuses for this Roman, until when he passed by him, he followed him, cut the back knee of his horse, so the horse fell, and he attacked the Roman with his sword and killed him. When Allah granted victory to the Muslims, that man began to ask for the spoils (salb), while people were testifying in his favor that indeed he had killed him. But Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) gave him some of the belongings and withheld the rest. Then, when he returned to the residence of Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him about this, he said: Go back to Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him); he should give you the remaining share as well. So he went back, but they refused to give him the rest. So Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) himself went to Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Do you not know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has decreed the spoils for the killer? He said: Yes, of course, I know. He said: Then what is preventing you from giving him the spoils of his slain? Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Actually, I considered this share to be too much (and did not give all of it to him). Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If I see the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I will surely inform him about you. Then, when they reached Madinah, Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) sent that man, and he went and complained about Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) and sought help from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him), while Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was sitting. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Khalid! What prevented you from giving this man his spoils? He said: O Messenger of Allah! I considered the spoils to be too much. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then give it to him. When Sayyiduna Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), he pulled Sayyiduna Khalid’s cloak and said: What I told you, I have now fulfilled it for you. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard this reproach from Sayyiduna ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), he became angry and said: Khalid! Do not give it to him. Will you not leave my commanders for me? The example of me and my commanders is like that of a man who was told to herd camels or goats, so he herded them, then he set a time for them to drink and brought them to the watering place. They began to drink and drank all the clear water, and the muddy water remained. (Understand that) the clear part is for you and the muddy part is upon my commanders.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: We fought Jihad with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) against Hawazin and Ghatafan. We were sitting at a place when a man came riding a red camel. He took something out from the camel’s saddle and tied his camel with it, then came and started eating lunch with us. He observed our people and saw that our horsemen were few and most of the people were on foot. After making this observation, he ran out, went to his camel, mounted it, and started making it run fast. In fact, he was a spy of the disbelievers. A man from the tribe of Banu Salim mounted his blackish she-camel and chased after him. Sayyiduna Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I ran on my feet. The head of that man’s she-camel had reached the hind leg of the spy’s camel, and I was also catching up from behind and had reached level with the hind leg of his she-camel. I went further ahead and became level with the rear part of the spy’s camel. Then I went even further, grabbed the camel’s reins, and commanded it to sit. When the camel placed its knee on the ground, I drew my sword and struck his head, and he fell down. Then I returned with the she-camel. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was coming from the front with some people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Who killed this man? The people said: Ibn Akwa’. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: All his spoils are for him.

Narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever establishes proof over his slain enemy, then his spoils will belong to him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he killed a disbeliever, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave him the spoils and armor of that disbeliever. Then he sold that armor for five awqiyahs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) passed by Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was present by his slain enemy, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Leave him and his spoils.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Awf bin Malik Ashja'i and Sayyiduna Khalid bin Walid (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not take a fifth from the spoils (salb).