MuhammadProphetof War
:25). Another revelation from Allah emphasized that it was piety, not
military,' might, that brought victory at Badr: "There has already been for
you a Sign in the two armies that met in combat one was fighting in the
causeof All ah, the oth er res ist ing All ah; the se saw wit h the ir own
eye stwice their number, But Allah doth support with His aid whom He
pleaseth, In this is a warning for suchashave eyes to see" (Qur'an 3:13).
Another Qur'anic passage asserts that theMuslims were merely passive
instruments at Badr: "It is not ye who slew them: it was Allah" (Qur'an
a17). And Allah would grant such victories to pious Muslims even though
they faced odds even more overwhelming than those they had at Bad r:
"0 Pro phe t! Rouse th e Bel ie ver s to th e fi ght. If th ere are twenty
amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a
hundred, they will vanquishathousand of the unbelievers: for these are a
people without understanding" {Qur'an 8:55).
Allah rewarded those he had granted victory at Badr: There was great
booty—so much, in fact, that it became a bone of contention. So divisive
didthis become that Allah himself spoke about it in a chapter (sura) of
theQur'an devoted entirely to reflections on the battle of Badr: the eighth
chapter. titled Al-Anfal, "The Spoils of 'War" or "Booty.' Allah warns the
Muslims not to consider booty won at Badr to belong to anyone hut
Muham mad: "The y ask thee conce rning thing s taken as spoil s of war.
Say`(Such) spoils areat the disposal of Allah and. the Messenger: so fear
Allah, and keep stra ight the relat ions betwe en yours elve s. Obey Allah
and His Messe nger. if ye do belie ve"" (Qur'a n 5:1). Ultima tely
Muham mad
distributed the booty among the Muslims equally, keeping a fifth for
himse lf : "A nd kno w th at wh at eve r ye ta ke as spo il s of war , lo! a
fi ft h
th er eo fis for Allah, and for the messenger and for the kinsman (who hath
need) and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if ye believe in Allah
andthat which We revealed unto Our slave on the Day of Discrimination,
theday when the two armies met" (Qur'an 8:41.), Allah emphasized that
it was a reward for obedience to him: "Now enjoy 'what ye have won, as