The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 74
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 74 deprived of spiritual reward. It is absolutely unlawful for a warrior to hope for spoils and worldly wealth and riches. Then, it is narrated: ِ مَا مِن ْ غَازِیَة ٍ تَغْزُو ْ فِی ْ سَبِیْل ِ اللّٰه ِ فَیُصِیْبُوْن َ غَنِیْمَة ً اِلَّا تَعَجَّلُوْا ثُلُثَی ْ اَجْرِھِم ْ مِن َ الْاٰخِرَة ْ وَیَبْقٰی لَھُم ُ الثُّلُث ُ فَاِن ْ لَم ْ یُصِیْبُوْا غَنِیْمَة ً تَم َّ لَھُم ْ اَجْرُھُم “Those warriors who set out to fight in the cause of God and they acquire spoils as a result of war, two-thirds of their reward in the hereafter is decreased, and they shall receive only a third portion of their reward. However, if they do not attain any spoils then they shall receive their full reward in the hereafter. ” 1 This Ḥadīth is more clear than the previous Ḥadīth because it has mentioned that if a person participates in fighting, purely with the intention of Jihād in the cause of Allāh and there is no trace of worldly desires, and then he consequently receives the wealth of spoils as well, without having any such thought or expectation, since he has received a portion of the wealth of this world, for this reason his reward in the hereafter is decreased. However, a person who goes forth purely with the intention of Jihād , but does not receive the wealth of spoils at all, he shall be worthy of a complete and full reward. As such, where the previous Ḥadīth merely fosters a distaste in the hearts of the Companions for worldly wealth, this second Ḥadīth instills a distance and a kind of hatred. In the presence of such a teaching, not only would a true Muslim abstain from even bringing the thought of spoils, etc. to heart, rather, he would even avoid, insofar as possible, occasions of the acquisition of spoils. His true desire and effort would be that in one way or another, he did not receive spoils, so that his spiritual reward of Jihād was not decreased. Therefore, aside from those people who were weak, the existence of whom can be found in more or less every nation, but who definitely existed in far less a number among the community of the Companions, this verity was understood well by the Companions, and they would strive to act accordingly. Hence, we have already 1 * Ṣaḥīḥu Muslim, Kitābul-Imārah, Bābu Bayāni Qadri Thāwabi Man Ghazā Fa-Ghanima…. . , Ḥadīth No. 4925 * Sunanu Abī Dāwūd, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Fis-Sariyyati Tukhfiqu, Ḥadīth No. 2497 * Sunanun-Nasa’ī, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Thawābis-Sariyyatillatī Tukhfiqa, Ḥadīth No. 3125 Note: The text quoted above is according to the narration as it appears in Abū Dāwūd, Kitābul- Jihād