If war breaks out between the Muslim army and the disbelievers, do the war spoils become the property of the individual soldiers, or are they taken for the public treasury?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Regarding money, some say that the state is at war or being attacked. So, when there is actual war and it is declared, the money belongs to the public treasury or is distributed according to the system of war spoils or *fay'* (booty). It is not taken into the possession of individuals on the grounds that it is the money of a state at war; rather, it is distributed according to the system of war spoils or *fay'* if it is *fay'*.
Another questioner: ...
The Shaykh : Please be patient for a moment; this point is very important, and perhaps it has become clear to you. If war breaks out between the Muslim army and the disbelieving army under a purely Islamic system, does every piece of booty that falls into the hands of any individual soldier become his property? Or are these spoils gathered in one place under a specific system, and after the war is over, the army commander divides these spoils and funds among the soldiers according to the known system in Islam, the system of war spoils? There is no doubt that this is the ruling of Islam. In other words, one person may acquire a great deal of booty, while another person acquires nothing, yet he fought just as hard. In that case, he shares in the booty acquired by the one who gained a large amount. When does this happen? After the division is carried out by the commander of the Muslim army. Perhaps you all know that a Muslim fighting in the path of Allah does not merely acquire money, weapons, horses, combat equipment, and the like; he may also acquire captives from among the disbelievers. These captives may include women and daughters. According to the Islamic system, under certain circumstances and at certain times, as the commander of the Muslim army sees fit, these captives become slaves. The commander divides these captives among the soldiers: this one gets a man, that one gets a young man, this one gets a woman, and that one gets a girl, and so on. Once this fair division is carried out by the army commander, those captives become slaves to their Muslim masters, including the women, whether they are previously married or virgins. Consequently, it becomes permissible for these masters to enjoy these women after they have been distributed to them by the order of the army commander.
The questioner : After the period of waiting.
The Shaykh: If she is previously married and not a virgin, a new ruling becomes clear to us here. A man attacks a disbelieving village along with a group of Muslims, and they take captives. This one takes a man, that one takes a young man, and this one takes a woman. Is he permitted to enjoy her? No, it is forbidden for him. It may be that this woman does not come out of his share in the division; instead, he may get a young man, a man, or nothing at all, or he may get money, according to how the fair division proceeds. Just as it is not permissible for this Muslim fighting in the path of Allah to enjoy the woman or girl who fell into his hands as a captive, so it is not permissible for him to enjoy the money that fell into his hands. Rather, in his current situation—regarding the money in its previous state, and regarding the captive woman in her previous state—he must deposit all of it in the military treasury. When all the spoils, whether money, men, or women, are divided, and for example, a girl is allocated to him, she becomes permissible to him, or if money is allocated to him, it becomes permissible to him after the division is carried out. This is in the case where the Muslim state declares war on the disbelieving state. What about today, when we have no declaration of war against any state, because, unfortunately, we do not have a Muslim state? How can any individual among us justify taking money from the state on the claim that it is seizing the wealth of the Muslim community, so that he benefits from this money? Even if he takes this money... in the path of Allah, it is not permissible for him to dispose of it; rather, he must hand it over to the army commander, who then does with it what he sees fit.
Another questioner: ...
The Shaykh : Please be patient for a moment; this point is very important, and perhaps it has become clear to you. If war breaks out between the Muslim army and the disbelieving army under a purely Islamic system, does every piece of booty that falls into the hands of any individual soldier become his property? Or are these spoils gathered in one place under a specific system, and after the war is over, the army commander divides these spoils and funds among the soldiers according to the known system in Islam, the system of war spoils? There is no doubt that this is the ruling of Islam. In other words, one person may acquire a great deal of booty, while another person acquires nothing, yet he fought just as hard. In that case, he shares in the booty acquired by the one who gained a large amount. When does this happen? After the division is carried out by the commander of the Muslim army. Perhaps you all know that a Muslim fighting in the path of Allah does not merely acquire money, weapons, horses, combat equipment, and the like; he may also acquire captives from among the disbelievers. These captives may include women and daughters. According to the Islamic system, under certain circumstances and at certain times, as the commander of the Muslim army sees fit, these captives become slaves. The commander divides these captives among the soldiers: this one gets a man, that one gets a young man, this one gets a woman, and that one gets a girl, and so on. Once this fair division is carried out by the army commander, those captives become slaves to their Muslim masters, including the women, whether they are previously married or virgins. Consequently, it becomes permissible for these masters to enjoy these women after they have been distributed to them by the order of the army commander.
The questioner : After the period of waiting.
The Shaykh: If she is previously married and not a virgin, a new ruling becomes clear to us here. A man attacks a disbelieving village along with a group of Muslims, and they take captives. This one takes a man, that one takes a young man, and this one takes a woman. Is he permitted to enjoy her? No, it is forbidden for him. It may be that this woman does not come out of his share in the division; instead, he may get a young man, a man, or nothing at all, or he may get money, according to how the fair division proceeds. Just as it is not permissible for this Muslim fighting in the path of Allah to enjoy the woman or girl who fell into his hands as a captive, so it is not permissible for him to enjoy the money that fell into his hands. Rather, in his current situation—regarding the money in its previous state, and regarding the captive woman in her previous state—he must deposit all of it in the military treasury. When all the spoils, whether money, men, or women, are divided, and for example, a girl is allocated to him, she becomes permissible to him, or if money is allocated to him, it becomes permissible to him after the division is carried out. This is in the case where the Muslim state declares war on the disbelieving state. What about today, when we have no declaration of war against any state, because, unfortunately, we do not have a Muslim state? How can any individual among us justify taking money from the state on the claim that it is seizing the wealth of the Muslim community, so that he benefits from this money? Even if he takes this money... in the path of Allah, it is not permissible for him to dispose of it; rather, he must hand it over to the army commander, who then does with it what he sees fit.