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Allâh (peace be upon him) set them all free and entrusted each one of them to a Muslim to care
about their living affairs, which was too hard for the castle folkspeople to bear.
Seeing that the siege lasted too long and that the castle was immune and could stand any siege (for
they had already stored a supply that suffices for over a year) and that the Muslims were suffering
— day by day — from arrow-shots and heated iron hooks, the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon
him) consulted Nawfal bin Mu‘âwiyah Ad-Daili about that. He said: “They are like a fox hiding inside
its burrow. If you stoodfast at it you would catch it, but if you parted with it, no harm would afflict
you.” The Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) decided to lift the siege and depart. ‘Umar bin Al-
Khattab, who was orderedby the Prophet to notify people, said to them “If Allâh will, we are leaving
the castle and going back tomorrow.” As it was too hard for the Muslims to go back and leave the
castle unconquered they complained saying, “Should we go away while the castle is still u nopened?”
His reply was: “Then, start fighting in the morning.” In the morning they fought and were wounded.
So when he repeated this statement: “If Allâh will, we are leaving the castle and going back
tomorrow”, they were pleased and carried out the order submissively and started moving, which
made the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) laugh.
As soon as they mounted and started moving the Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
·
“Say! Here we are returning, repenting, worshipping (Allâh) and to our Lord we offer
praise.”
When the Messenger of Allâh was asked to invoke Allâh against Thaqif, he said:
·
“O Allâh, guide Thaqif and bring them to us as Muslims.”
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE BOOTY AT AL-JI'RANAH:
Upon returning and lifting the siege in Ta’if, the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) had stayed
over ten nights at Al-Ji‘ranah before starting to distribute the booty. Distribution delay was due to
the Prophet’s hope that Hawazin’s delegation might arrive and announce their repentance and
consequently reclaim their loss. Seeing that none of them arrived, he started dividing the booty so
as to calm down the tribes’ chiefs and the celebrities of Makkah. The first to receive booty and the
ones who obtained the greatest number of shares were the people who had recently embraced
Islam.
Abu Sufyan bin Harb was given a hundred camels and forty (gold) ounces and yet he said, “What
about my son, Yazeed’s Share?” So he was given the same quantity for his son as well. But yet he
exclaimed: “And what about the share of Mu‘âwiyah, my second son?” So the Prophet (peace be
upon him) gave Mu‘âwiyah as much as he gave his father and brother. Hakeem bin Hizam was given
a hundred camels, but he was given a hundred more when he demanded. Safwan bin Omaiyah was
given three hundred camels - a hundred camels at each time. It is thus mentioned in Shifâ, Book by
Qadi Iyadh. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave Al-Harith bin Harith bin Kilda a hundred camels.
He also gave some chiefs of Quraish and other clans a hundred came ls; he gave others fifty and
some others had forty.
Eventually it was spread among people that “Muhammad grants generously and fears not to grow
poor.” This made bedouins gather around him expecting to be given some wealth. They were so
many that they forced the Prophet (peace be upon him) to seek refuge against a tree and they even
took away his garment, “O people!“ He said, “Give me back my garment! For I swear by the One in
Whose Hand is Muhammad’s soul, that if I had as many numerous camels as the number of Tihama
trees, I would distribute them among you. You know quite well that I am neither mean nor coward
or a liar.” Standing by his camel he plucked out a hair of his camel’s hump and held it between his
two fingers, lifted it up and said: “O people, I swear by Allâh that I get nothing but one-fifth of your
booty, and this very fifth goes back to you.”
As soon as he had given the new converts, the Messenger of Allâh (peace be upon him) ordered
Zaid bin Thabit to fetch the booty and summon people. Then he ordained shares to people. A
footman’s share was four camels and forty sheep, and a horseman would take twelve camels and a
hundred and twenty sheep. This distribution of booty was based on a wise policy. In this world there
are lots of people who know the truth only when it comes through their stomachs and they do not
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