Through Force or Faith? — Page 185
Chapter 3 — Holy Prophet and Wars 185 That is, either, preferably, set them free as an act of benevolence or, if they can afford it, free them in exchange for war penalty. Similarly, the Holy Prophet s as made every possible effort to prevent Muslims from coveting bounty and spoils from war. He said that if a victor takes booty, he shall have only one-third reward in the hereafter, but he shall get full reward if he takes no booty. ( Muslim, Kit a bul Am a rah ; The Reward of One Who Fought and Got His Share of the Booty and of One {Who Fought} but did Not Get Any Booty. Tradition No. 3528) He also said that one who fights for wealth or fame, his fight shall not be deemed for God and he shall have no reward. ( Bukh ā r ī , Kit a b Far d l Khams Chapter: If somebody fights for the sake of booty. Tradition No. 2894) He further said that if one fights for the sake of Allah but had even a little desire for the spoils, he would not get any reward either. (Abū D ā wūd, Kit a bul Jihad ; Chapter: Regarding a Person Who Fights for Worldly Gain. Tradition No. 2155) In fact, once during a journey, his companions ran out of food. Some of them captured some sheep from around, slaughtered them and starting cooking the meal. When the Holy Prophet s as found out, he overturned the cooking pans and admonished that it was no better than a rotting corpse of an animal. (Abū D ā wūd, Kit a bul Jihad ; Chapter: Regarding the Prohibition of Plundering When Food is Scarce in the Land of the Enemy. Tradition No. 2330) Then he said, ‘A plunderer is not from among us. ’ ( Tirmidh i , Book on Military Expeditions; Chapter: Narrative About the Abhorrance of Looting. Tradition No. 1527) Thus, in the light of the aforementioned history and authentic narrations, it becomes quite clear that neither the Muslims were strong enough to forcibly take something from others, nor were