George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English immediately from the original Arabic; with Explanatory Notes, taken from the most approved Commentators. To which is prefixed A Preliminary Discource (1734)

The Preliminary Discourse.

the spoil, rendered it necessary for him to make some regulation therein: he therefore pretended to have received the divine commission to distribute the spoil among his soldiers at his own discretion 1, reserving thereout, in the first place, one fifth part 2 for the uses after mentioned; and in consequence hereof, he took himself to be authorized on extraordinary occasions to distribute it as he thought fir, without observing an equality. Thus he did, for example, with the spoil of the tribe of Hawâzen taken at the battle of Honein, which he bestowed by way of presents on the Meccans only, passing by those of Medina, and highly distinguishing the principal Korashites, that he might ingratiate himself with them, after he had become master of their city 3. He was also allowed in the expedition against those of al Nadîr to take the whole booty to himself, and to dispose thereof as he pleased, because no horses or camels were made use of in that expedition 4, but the whole army went on foot; and this became thenceforward a law 5: the reason of which seems to be, that the spoil taken by a party consisting of infantry only, should be considered as the more immediate gift of God 6, and therefore properly left to the disposition of his apostle. According to the Jews, the spoil ought to be divided into two equal parts, one to be shared among captors, and the other to be taken by the prince 7, and by him employed for his own support and the use of the public. Moses, it is true, divided one half of the plunder of the Midianites among those who went to battle, and the other half among all the congregation 8: but this, they say, being a peculiar case, and done by the express order of God himself, must not be looked on as a precedent 9. It should seem, however, from the words of Joshua to the two tribes and half, when he sent them home into Gilead after the conquest and division of the land of Canaan, that they were to divide the spoil of their enemies with their brethren, after their return 10: and the half which was in succeeding times taken by the king, was in all probability taken by him as head of the community, and representing the whole body. It is remarkable that the dispute among Mohammed’s men about sharing the booty at Bedr 11, arose on the same occasion as did that among David’s soldiers in relation to the spoils recovered from the

1 Kor. chap. 8. p. 139.

2 Ib. p. 144.

3 Abulfed. in rit. Moh. p. 118, &c. V. Kor. c. 9. p. 156. and the notes there.

4 Kor. chap. 59. p. 444. See the notes there.

5 V Abulfed. ubi sup. p. 91.

6 V. Kor. chap. 59. ubi supra.

7 Gemar. Babyl. ad tit. Sanhedr. c. 2. V. Selden, de Jure nat. & gent. sec. Hebr. lib. 6. c. 16.

8 Numb. xxxi. 27.

9 V. Maim. Halach. Melach. c. 4.

10 Job. xxii. 8.

11 See Kor. c. 8. p. 139. and the notes there.

u

Cite this page

George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English immediately from the original Arabic; with Explanatory Notes, taken from the most approved Commentators. To which is prefixed A Preliminary Discource, C. Ackers in St. John’s-Street, for J. Wilcon at Virgil’s Head overagainst the New Church in the Strand., Consulted online at “Quran Archive - Texts and Studies on the Quran” on 29 Mar. 2024: http://quran-archive.org/explorer/george-sale/1734?page=165