The occasion of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: “By Allah, if the Ansar had taken a valley, I would have taken the valley of the Ansar”

Question:
Shaykh, this questioner, Abu 'Abdullah, asks: What is the occasion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, “By Allah, if the Ansar had taken a valley, I would have taken the valley of the Ansar”? May Allah have mercy on the Ansar, the children of the Ansar, and the children of the children of the Ansar.

Answer:
This was when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) distributed the spoils of Hunayn and gave them to those whose hearts were to be reconciled, who had recently embraced Islam, so that their faith would be strengthened and they would be won over by this. Those whose hearts are to be reconciled have a share of the zakah, and likewise of the spoils. So he gave them and distributed the spoils, leaving the Ansar without giving them anything. It seemed that some of them felt upset about this. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought to please them by saying that he would go with them, instead of their being motivated by greed for worldly things, he would go with them out of respect for them and loyalty to them, may Allah be pleased with them, for having sheltered the Messenger and his Companions during the migration. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to please them. Yes.