17/28. Chapter:
Jami at-Tirmidhi 1461 — Warning Against Stealing Spoils
What Has Been Related About The One Who Steals From The Spoils Of War, And What Is To Be Done To Him
Hadith About Stealing From Spoils of War
Jami at-Tirmidhi : 1461
Jami at-TirmidhiHadith Number 1461
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو السَّوَّاقُ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زَائِدَةَ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنْ عُمَرَ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَنْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُ غَلَّ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَاحْرِقُوا مَتَاعَهُ " . قَالَ صَالِحٌ فَدَخَلْتُ عَلَى مَسْلَمَةَ وَمَعَهُ سَالِمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فَوَجَدَ رَجُلاً قَدْ غَلَّ فَحَدَّثَ سَالِمٌ بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ فَأَمَرَ بِهِ فَأُحْرِقَ مَتَاعُهُ فَوُجِدَ فِي مَتَاعِهِ مُصْحَفٌ فَقَالَ سَالِمٌ بِعْ هَذَا وَتَصَدَّقْ بِثَمَنِهِ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ . وَالْعَمَلُ عَلَى هَذَا عِنْدَ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ وَهُوَ قَوْلُ الأَوْزَاعِيِّ وَأَحْمَدَ وَإِسْحَاقَ . قَالَ وَسَأَلْتُ مُحَمَّدًا عَنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ فَقَالَ إِنَّمَا رَوَى هَذَا صَالِحُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زَائِدَةَ وَهُوَ أَبُو وَاقِدٍ اللَّيْثِيُّ وَهُوَ مُنْكَرُ الْحَدِيثِ قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِي غَيْرِ حَدِيثٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الْغَالِّ فَلَمْ يَأْمُرْ فِيهِ بِحَرْقِ مَتَاعِهِ . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ .
'Umar Narrated from:
The Messenger Of Allah (ﷺ) Said: "Whomever You Find Stealing From The Spoils Of War While In The Path Of Allah, Then Burn His Belongings." Salih (One Of The Narrators) Said: "I Entered Upon Maslamah And With Him Was Salim Bin 'Abdullah. There Was A Man There Who Had Stolen From The Spoils Of War, So Salim Narrated This Hadith. So He Ordered Accordingly, And His Belongings Were Burnt. There Was A Mushaf In His Belongings, So Salim Said: 'Sell This And Give Its Proceeds As Charity.'"
[1] Meaning, they abandoned narrating from him.Reference : Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1461In-book reference : Book 17, Hadith 45English translation : Vol. 3, Book 15, Hadith 1461
Summary of Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 1461
This Hadith speaks about ghulul, meaning stealing from the spoils of war before they are rightly handled. The main message is about honesty with shared property. The report says that the belongings of a person who stole from the spoils were burned. When a Mushaf was found among those belongings, Salim said it should be sold and its price given in charity. So the Hadith keeps two ideas clear: taking from war booty wrongly is treated as a serious breach of trust, and the Mushaf was not burned with the rest. The supplied Arabic text also records that Abu Isa called this report gharib and mentioned discussion about its chain.
What we learn from this hadith
- Taking from shared war spoils without right is treated as a serious breach of trust.
- Sacred items like the Mushaf must be handled with special care.
- Charity can be used as a clean way to redirect value from an item that should not be destroyed.
