(D) The Interpretation Of The Qur'ān
“Asmentionedearlier,theinterpretationoftheQur'ānmustbebasedon
theteachingsoftheAhlu'l-bayt.Thewordghanīmahintheverseunder
discussionhasclearlybeeninterpretedas`al-fā'idatu'l-muktasabah—the
earned profit' by our Imams.
“Toconclude,we cansaythatthe wordghanīmahwasnevertreated
asbeingconfinedtothe`spoilsofwar'byanysectofIslam;andasfaras
ourImamsareconcerend,itmeantmanythingsbesidesthespoilsofwar
rightfrom the dayof Imam ‘Ali(peacebe uponhim),asthe authentic
traditions show.”[35]
Whathasbeenquotedabovecanalsobesubstantiatedfromtheprac-
ticeoftheProphetofIslamhimself.Forexample,whentheProphetsent
`Amr bin Hazm to Yemen, he wrote instructions for him in which,
amongotherthings,hesays,“...togatherthekhumsofAllāhfromthe
gains[ofYemenis].”[36]AndwhenthetribeofBaniKilālofYemensent
itskhums tothe Prophet,the latter acknowledged itby saying,“Your
messengerhasreturnedandyouhavepaidthekhumsofAllāhfromthe
gains (al-ghanā'im).”[37] It is interesting to note that the Bani Kilāl
obeyedtheProphet'sorderandsentthekhumsofitsgainstohimwhile
nowarhadtaken placebetween the Muslimsof Yemenandthe unbe-
lievers. Thisis a clearindication that khumswas not restricted bythe
Prophet to the spoils of war.
TheimportancegivenbytheProphettotheissueofkhumscanalsobe
seeninhisadvicetothedelegationofBaniAbdu'l-Qays.Itseemsthat BaniAbdu 'l-Qays (which was a branch of Rabiah) was not a very strongtribe.Moreover,inordertotraveltoMedina,theyhadtocrossan areainhabitedbytheMuzartribewhichwasagainsttheMuslims.Con- sequently,the BaniAbdu'l-Qays couldnot travelsafelytoMedinaex-
ceptduringthemonthsinwhichwarfarewasforbiddenaccordingtothe
Arab custom.
OnceadelegationfromBani`Abdu'l-QayscametoMedinaandsaid
to the Prophet, “Wecannot come to you except in the harām months
[whenwarfareisforbidden],andtherearebetweenusandyoutheunbe-
lieversofMuzar.Therefore,pleasegiveussomeadvicethatwemaygive
tothosewhomwehaveleftbehindandthatwemayentertheParadise