The Attack on Endowments

Transgressing against the public and private wealth of Muslims is a major crime. Islamic law has issued severe warnings, both in this life and in Hereafter, for anyone who dares to encroach upon these assets in any way. The story of the young man who took a share from the spoils of war on the day of Khaybar, before it was divided, illustrates the gravity of such offenses. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “We accompanied the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Khaybar, where Allah granted us victory.

We did not acquire gold or silver but instead gained possessions, food, and clothes. We then proceeded to the valley, where the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had a servant gifted to him by a man from the tribe of Judham named Rifa’ah bin Zayd from the Banu al-Dubaib. When we arrived at the valley, the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was unpacking his belongings when he was struck by an arrow, leading to his death.

We exclaimed: Congratulations to him on his martyrdom, The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) responded: ‘No, by the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the share he took from the spoils of Khaybar, before the shares were divided, is now burning on him in fire.’ The people were shocked, and a man came forward with a shoelace, or two shoelaces, saying: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I took these on the day of Khaybar.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ‘A shoelace of fire, or two shoelaces of fire.’” [Narrated by Muslim]