The distribution of Hunayn spoils at al-Ji'rana

The division of the great spoils of Hunayn at al-Ji'rana in Dhu al-Qa'da 8 AH: the Prophet set aside the fifth and divided the rest among the fighters, granting the chiefs of Quraysh and the tribes of Najd large gifts — up to a hundred camels each — to conciliate their hearts and steady their Islam ¹.

The Prophet gave Abu Sufyan ibn Harb a hundred camels and forty uqiyya of silver, gave his sons Mu'awiya and Yazid a hundred each, Suhayl ibn Amr a hundred, Hakim ibn Hizam a hundred — who asked for more and was given another hundred — Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza a hundred, and al-Harith ibn Hisham a hundred ². Of the chiefs of Najd he gave Uyayna ibn Hisn al-Fazari a hundred, al-Aqra' ibn Habis al-Tamimi a hundred, and Malik ibn Awf a hundred ³.

When al-Abbas ibn Mirdas al-Sulami reproached him in verse for the smallness of his gift, the Prophet ordered his share made up to a hundred camels until he was satisfied ⁴.

During the division Harqus ibn Zuhayr al-Sa'di al-Tamimi (Dhu al-Khuwaysira) came forward and said boldly: Muhammad, be just — by God, you have not been just! The Prophet said to him: "woe to you — who will be just if I am not? You would be lost and ruined if I were not just," and told his Companions that from his descendants would come a people who pass straight out of the religion ⁵.

The Bedouin crowded upon the Prophet demanding wealth until they pressed him against a tree that tore off his cloak; he said: "people, return my cloak to me — by Him in whose hand my soul is, had I wealth like the trees of Tihama I would divide it among you; then you would not have found me miserly, cowardly or lying" ⁶. Then he took a hair from his camel's hump, raised it and said: "people, by God, nothing of your spoils is mine, not even this hair, save the fifth — and the fifth is returned to you" ⁷.

He ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to muster the spoils and the people and allot the shares: for the foot-soldier four camels and forty sheep, for the horseman twelve camels and a hundred and twenty sheep ⁷.

When nothing of these gifts reached the Ansar they were hurt, one of them saying: the Messenger of God has rejoined his own people. Sa'd ibn Ubada gathered them in an enclosure and the Prophet addressed them in his famous address, reminding them of the guidance, sufficiency and concord he had brought them, then saying: are you not content that people go off with sheep and camels while you return with the Messenger of God to your dwellings? They wept until their beards were wet and said: we are content with the Messenger of God as our share and our portion ⁸.