Imam Sadiq's Treatise on the Spoils of Wars and the Obligation of Khums

Imam Sadiq's Treatise on the Spoils of Wars and the Obligation of Khums
... I understand what you have mentioned concerning your interest in having knowledge of the conditions of Allah's satisfaction and how the share of the Prophet's relatives was withheld. Now, listen attentively and consider intelligently, then be fair with yourself. This will surely be saving you before your Lord whose instructions and warnings have been presented to you. May Allah prosper you and us.
You should know that Allah, your and my lord, has missed nothing. Your Lord is not forgetful.(Holy Qur'an 19:64).
He has neglected nothing in the Book and He has provided everything in details. Allah the exalted explained the obtaining of His riches as clearly as explaining the shares of these riches and the ways of expending them. Whenever Allah refers to the obligatory rules of this issue, He follows up with mentioning the ways without making any distinction between the rules and their ways. He made the shares oblibatory for those to whom He referred.
These shares will not become invalid or inoperative. The shares of the old men, the destitute and the wayfarers will be canceled when they become senile, rich, or return home, respectively. The obligation of the hajj was confirmed by means of instructions and this obligation was canceled for them who cannot perform it out of hardship or any other barrier.
The alms were the first thing whose ways were manifested in details. Allah, the Majestic the Powerful, said: Welfare funds (zakat) are only for the poor, the destitute, the tax collectors, those whose hearts are inclined (towards Islam), the slaves, those who cannot pay their debts, for the cause of Allah, and for those who have become needy on a journey. Paying zakat is an obligation that Allah has decreed. Allah is All-knowing and All-wise. (Holy Qur'an 9:60).
Through the previous Verse, Allah informed His Prophet(S.A.W.) of the proper places of the alms and instructed him not to give them to anyone other than the above-mentioned classes. Meanwhile, Allah the Majestic saves His Prophet and his relatives from receiving the alms and dirt of people. This is for the alms.
Regarding the spoils of war, before the waging of war of Badr, the Prophet(S.A.W.) promised his army of precious gifts that would be taken as spoils for any killing or captivity. He also declared: "Allah has promised me to give my conquests over them and make me seize their equipments as spoils."
When Allah defeated the polytheists and their spoils were gathered together, a man from Ansar stood up and said to the Prophet(S.A.W.): "O Allah's messenger, you ordered us to fight the polytheists importunately and promised to give certain gifts, from the spoils, to everyone who captures or kills one of their army. I killed two of them and took one as captive and I can prove it. Now, we demand with that which you promised us, Allah's messenger."
When the man sat down, Sa'd-bin-Ubada raised himself and said: O Allah's messenger, it was not a matter of cowardice at confronting the enemy or neglignce of the money or the spoils that prevented us from gaining what those individuals had gained. In fact, we anticipated that the army of the polytheists might have attacked you if we would take positions that are away from you or that they might have injured you if they noticed that you were alone. If you give such individual the shares that you have promised, the other Muslims will return without gaining anything of the spoils."
When he sat, the first man stood up and repeated his saying. When he finished, Sa'd stood up again and repeated his saying, each three times.
The Prophet (S.A.W.) was turning his face away from them. After a while, Allah the Majestic revealed: They (the believers) ask you [Muhammad(S.A.W.)] about Al-Anfal: the booty captured (from the enemies) during a war. (Holy Qur'an 8:1) Al-Anfal is a name comprising everything that the believers gained on that day, such as the things that are meant in Allah's sayings:
Whatever Allah grants to His Messenger (out of the property)... (Holy Qur'an 59:6).
Know that whatever property you may gain... (Holy Qur'an 8:41) and
Tell them, "It belongs to Allah and the Messengers. If you have faith, have fear of Allah. Settle the disputes among yourselves and obey Allah and His Messengers.(Holy Qur'an 8:1).
On that acoount, Allah took the spils from their hands and put it in the hands of His Messenger and His. He then said: If you have faith, have fear of Allah. Settle the disputes among yourselves and obey Allah and His Messengers. (Holy Qur'an 8:1).
As soon as the Prophet (S.A.W.) arrived in Madinah, Allah revealed to him: "Know that whatever property you may gain, one fifth belongs to Allah, the Messenger, the kindred, orphans, the needy and those who need money while on a journey. (This is the law) if you believe in Allah and what We revealed to Our Servant on the Day of Distinction (Badr) when the armies confronted each other.(Holy Qur'an 8:41) Allah's saying, 'belongs to Allah,' Is similar to the ordinary saying, "This thing belongs to Allah and to you,' but he does not dedicate anything to Allah.
The messenger of Allah(S.A.W.) divided the spoils into five shares. He took the share of Allah for himself and dedicated it to the reference of Allah, yet it would be inherited after him. A share was given to the Prophet's relatives, namely sons of Abdul-Muttalib. Two shares were given to the Muslim orphans, one share to the poor, and one to the Muslim wayfarers whose journeys were not intended for commerce. These were the shares of the spoils in the battle of Badr, and this is the way of the spoils that are gained by fighting.
Regarding the spoils for the gaining of which neither horses nor camels were exhausted, when Muhajirs, who were about one hundred individuals, arrived in Madinah, Ansar gave them half of their properties,including houses.When the Prophet(S.A.W.) was given triumph against the clans of Quraizah and Annazheer and he could seize their properties,he(S.A.W.) said to Ansar: "You may take Muhajirs out of your properties and houses and I will distribute these spoils among them exclusively. If not, I may distribute them among you all."
Ansar suggested; "You may give them these spoils exclusively and leave them enjoying our properties and houses." Hence, Allah, the Blessed the Exalted, revealed: Whatever Allah grants to His Messenger (out of the property) of the people of the towns..." This is an indication to the clans of Quraizha and Annazheer." Since you did not have to exhaust your horses and camels... (Holy Qur'an 59:6). They were living in Madinah; hence, they were too near to need for horses and camels for invading them. Allah then says: The poor immigrants who were deprived of their homes and property, who seek favors and pleasures from Allah, and help Him and His Messenger will also have (a share in the said property). These people are the truthful ones. (Holy Qur'an 59:8).
Thus, Allah dedicated these spoils to the Qureishites who emigrated with the Prophet (S.A.W.) and showed sincerity.
Moreover, Allah excluded the emigrants of the other Arab clans. This is clear in His saying: "The immigrants who were deprived of their homes and property." The Qureishite chiefs used to confiscate the properties and homes of those who emigrated, but the other Arab clans did not do so with their members who emigrated.
Then Allah praised Muhajirs to whom He dedicated the khums and acquitted them of hypocrisy for they had believed in him. This is clear in His saying: "These people are the truthful ones."
After that, Allah praised Ansar as He referred to their distinctive deeds, affection to the emigrants whom they preferred to themselves without showing any sort of envy or malice towards them. Thus, Allah praised them so highly in His saying: Those who established a community center and embraced the faith before the arrival of the immigrants love those who have come to their town. They are not jealous of what is given to the immigrants. They give preference to them over themselves - even concerning the things that they themselves urgently need. Whoever controls his greed will have everlasting happiness. (Holy Qur'an 59:9).
After the conquest of Makkah, some men were very malicious for the Muslims who overcame them in the battles and seized their properties, but when they converted to Islam with full loyalty, they sought Allah's forgiveness for their previous polytheism. They also prayed to Him to clean their heart from such feelings of malice against those who preceded them to faith. They also supplicated to Allah to forgive those believers so that their hearts will be thoroughly clean and the two became brothers.
Allah, accordingly, praised those people exclusively. He said: Those who came later say: Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in the faith, and clear our hearts of any ill will against the believers. Lord, You are Compassionate and All-merciful. (Holy Qur'an 59:10).
The Prophet(S.A.W.) gave the Qureishite muhajirs each according to his need that he estimated, because the spoils were not divided into five shares equally. He (S.A.W.) gave all the spoils to the Qureishite muhajirs and two men of the Ansar, namely Sahl-bin-Hunayf and Simak-bin-Kharasha (Abu-Dudgana) for their urgent need. He gave them out of his own share. He also dedicated seven gardens from the spoils of the clans of Quraizha and Annazheer, that no horses or camels were exhausted for capturing them, to himself. Fadak was one of these gardens which no horses or camels were exhausted for capturing it.
Khaybar was a city three-day walk away from Madinah. It was within the properties of the Jews, but it was seized after a war. Therefore, the Prophet(S.A.W.) divided its properties as same as the distribution of the spoils of the battle of Badr. In this regard, Allah says: Whatever Allah grants to His messenger (out of the property) of the people of the towns, belongs to Allah, the Messenger, the kinsfolk, the orphans, the destitute and to those who may become needy while on a journey, so that it will not circulate only in the hands of rich ones among them. Take only what the Messenger gives to you and desist from what he forbids you. Have fear of Allah; Allah is severe in His retribution. (Holy Qur'an 59:7).
These were the ways of the distributions of the other kind of spoils.
Ali-bin-Abi Talib(A.S.) related: We were receiving our shares that are decided in this Verse, which begins with instructions and ends with refraining, until the khums of Shush and Jundishapur came to Omar. The Muslims, Al-Abbas, and I were there when Omar said to us: "You have received many shares of Khums. Today, you are not in need for them while the Muslims are in urgent need. Borrow us your shares of this property and we will give it back to you as soon as Allah issues for the Muslims (additional) spoils.
I did not want to answer him because I was afraid he, if we dispute with him about it, would say about our shares of khums the same thing that he had said about that which was greater than khums, namely the heritage of our Prophet(S.A.W.) when we insisted on receiving it.
Al-Abbas said: O Omar, do not violate our shares, because Allah confirmed it to us in a way more manifest than the shares of heritage."
Omar said; You are the foremost in showing kindness to the Muslims." He also sought my intercession in this question so importunately until he could seize our shares. After that, we did not receive anything as settlement of that loan until Omar was dead. After him, we could not demand with our shares.
Then Imam Ali(A.S.) said: Allah forbade His messenger(S.A.W.) to receive the alms. As compensation, He gave him a share in the khums. In like manner, it was illegal for the Prophet's family exclusively to receive the alms. Therefore, their little and big, male and female, poor, attendant, and absent-all these have shares in the khums, because their kinship to the Prophet(S.A.W.) will not change or vanish.
All praise is due to Allah Who made the Prophet from us and made us from him. The Prophet (S.A.W.) did not give anyone any share of the khums except us, our allies, and our adherents. This is because they are from us. He also gave some people a part of his share for the covenants that were concluded between them.
Previously, I have shown the ways of the four anfal (spoils of wars) that Allah manifested, ordered, and clarified by means of healing wording and luminous proof that was provided by the descended revelation and the Prophet(S.A.W.) applied.
He who distorts the words of Allah after he listened and understood, the sin will be afflicting only those who distort and Allah will be their adversary party in this regard.
Peace and Allah's mercy and blessings be upon you.
Source:Tuhaf al-Uqool

Reference: ImamReza.net