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After the battle of Hunayn a great spoil of camels, sheep and captives gathered at al-Ji'rana near Mecca. The Prophet divided it among the fighters and gave Mecca's new chiefs generous gifts so that Islam would soften their hearts; some Ansar wondered, and he answered them with his famous words asking them to be content with God and His messenger.
In Dhu al-Qa'da of year 8 AH the Prophet ﷺ divided the spoil of Hunayn at al-Ji'rana near Mecca: one fifth for God and the messenger and four fifths for the fighters — enormous numbers of camels, sheep and captives as Ibn Hisham reports. He gave large gifts to the new Muslim chiefs of Quraysh and the Najd tribes — Abu Sufyan and his sons, Safwan ibn Umayya (may God be pleased with him), Uyayna ibn Hisn and al-Aqra' ibn Habis — some receiving a hundred camels, the group known as 'those whose hearts were to be reconciled'. Some young Ansar spoke among themselves that the Prophet had favored his own people; when it reached him he gathered them and said the famous words: are you not content that people go home with sheep and camels while you return with God and His messenger? They wept and were content. The sources also relate the freeing of the captives when Hawazin came to ask for them.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
The distribution of the Hunayn spoil at al-Ji'rana in Dhu al-Qa'da 8 AH is the political scene Ibn Hisham records (4/135-138) with its figures: 24,000 camels, 40,000 sheep, 4,000 uqiyya of silver and 6,000 captives on the reports. The Prophet set aside the fifth — for God, the messenger, near kin, orphans, the poor and the wayfarer under the fay' rules of al-Anfal — and divided four fifths among the fighters, then gave singled-out gifts to the great men of the Arabs: Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and his sons Mu'awiya and Yazid, Safwan ibn Umayya (may God be pleased with him), Uyayna ibn Hisn al-Fazari (may God be pleased with him), al-Aqra' ibn Habis al-Tamimi and Abbas ibn Mirdas, some receiving hundreds of camels. Historians name them 'those whose hearts are reconciled' (al-mu'allafa qulubuhum) and the scholars differ on the description and the ruling, reading the Prophet ﷺ's calculus as political benefit toward people new to Islam. Some young Ansar murmured among themselves until it reached him; he gathered them and spoke the famous words — 'are you not content that people go back with sheep and camels while you return to your homes with God and His messenger?' — and they said 'we are content with God and His messenger as our portion' and wept until their beards were wet, as Ibn Hisham tells it. Its aftermath: the Ansar asked him for homes and wealth and he answered that nothing of his remained with them; and the captives were returned to Hawazin when they came asking, freed for ransom and pardon.
Summary
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 of the wealth among the fighters. He gave the chiefs of Quraysh and the tribes of Najd great gifts, reaching a hundred camels each, to win their hearts and to secure their Islam 4.
The amounts given
The Prophet gave Abu Sufyan ibn Harb a hundred camels and forty uqiyya of silver. He gave his two sons Mu'awiya and Yazid a hundred camels each, Suhayl ibn Amr a hundred, Hakim ibn Hizam (may God be pleased with him) a hundred, and then, when he asked for more, another hundred. He gave Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza (may God be pleased with him) a hundred, and al-Harith ibn Hisham (may God be pleased with him) a hundred 5. Among the chiefs of Najd, he gave Uyayna ibn Hisn al-Fazari (may God be pleased with him) a hundred, al-Aqra' ibn Habis al-Tamimi a hundred, and Malik ibn Awf a hundred 6.
When al-Abbas ibn Mirdas al-Sulami (may God be pleased with him) reproached him in verse for the smallness of his gift, the Prophet ordered his share completed with a hundred camels, until he was content 7.
The protest of Dhu al-Khuwaysira
During the division, Harqus ibn Zuhayr al-Sa'di al-Tamimi (Dhu al-Khuwaysira) came forward and said boldly: "Muhammad, be just, for by God you have not been just!" The Prophet said to him: "Woe to you! Who would be just if I were not? You would have failed and been lost if I were not just." He told his Companions that a people would come from his descendants who would pass out of the religion 8.
The speech about the hair and the fighters' shares
The Bedouin crowded around the Prophet demanding wealth, until they pressed him against a tree that snatched away his cloak. He said: "O people, return my cloak to me. By Him in whose hand my soul is, if I had as many camels as there are trees in Tihama, I would have divided them among you; then you would not have found me miserly, cowardly or a liar" 9. Then he took a tuft of hair from his camel's hump, raised it and said: "O people, by God, nothing of your spoils belongs to me, not even this hair, except the fifth, and the fifth is returned to you" 9.
He ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to bring the spoils and the people together and fixed the shares: a foot-soldier received four camels and forty sheep, and a horseman received twelve camels and a hundred and twenty sheep 9.
The Ansar's resentment and the Prophet's speech to them
When none of these gifts reached the Ansar, they were aggrieved, to the point that one of them said: "The Messenger of God has met his own people." Sa'd ibn Ubada gathered them in an enclosure, and the Prophet addressed them in a famous speech. He reminded them of the guidance, wealth and unity he had brought them, then said: "Are you not content that people go away with the sheep and the camels, while you go back with the Messenger of God to your homes?" They wept until their beards were wet, and they said: "We are content with the Messenger of God as our share and our portion" 10.
For young visitors
At al-Ji'rana the Prophet distributed thousands of camels and great wealth. He gave the new tribal chiefs large amounts to win their goodwill and to keep them away from war, showing that true justice lies in bringing peace and love.
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Connections
- Had participant
- al-Ala ibn Jariya al-Thaqafi· al-Aqra' ibn Habis al-Tamimi· al-Harith ibn Hisham· al-Nadir ibn al-Harith al-Thaqafi· Dhu al-Khuwaysira al-Tamimi· Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza· Safwan ibn Umayya· Uyayna ibn Hisn al-Fazari· Muhammad· Abu Sufyan ibn Harb· Suhayl ibn Amr· Zayd ibn Thabit· Hakim ibn Hizam· Al-Harith ibn al-Harith ibn Kalada· Mas'ud ibn Amr al-Ghifari
- Led to
- The Prophet's address to the Ansar at al-Ji'rana
- Occurred at
- al-Ji'rana
- Part of
- The Battle of Hunayn
- Basis for
- Reconciliation of hearts (al-mu'allafa qulubuhum)· Prohibition of misappropriating spoils (ghulul)
- Has part
- Abbas ibn Mirdas's verses of reproach on the Ji'rana division· Malik ibn Awf's eulogy of the Prophet at al-Ji'rana
- Mentioned in
- Bukhari 2539 — Hawazin's deputation chooses the captives· Bukhari 4330 — The Ansar are the inner garment, the people the outer· Bukhari 4331 — The Prophet gathers the Ansar in a leather tent
People and things also explored
The Battle of Hunayn· Muhammad· The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)· Quraysh· The Hawazin delegation and the amnesty of captives· Mecca· al-Ji'rana· Thaqif
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari , 4330
- Sahih al-Bukhari , 4331
- Sahih al-Bukhari , 2539
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/135-138
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/135-136
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/136
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/137
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936) , 4/139-140
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.281
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , pp.281-282
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The distribution of Hunayn spoils at al-Ji'rana”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/distribution-of-hunayn-spoils/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.