He excused himself, so he said: "You be the one to bring it on the Day of Resurrection, for I will never accept it from you (7)." Abu Dawud recorded it (8). Furthermore, burning possessions is a form of wasting them, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the wasting of wealth. Our argument is what Salih ibn Muhammad ibn Za'idah (9) narrated, saying: I entered the land of the Byzantines with Maslamah, and a man was brought who had stolen from the spoils (ghalla). He asked Salim about him, and he said: I heard my father narrating from Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "If you find a man who has stolen from the spoils, burn his belongings and beat him." He said: We found a Mushaf among his belongings, so he asked Salim about it, and he said: Sell it and give its price in charity (11). Sa'id, Abu Dawud, and al-Athram (12) recorded it. Amr ibn Shu'ayb also narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr, and Umar burned the belongings of the one who stole from the spoils (13). As for their tradition, there is no proof for them in it, for the man did not admit that he took what he took by way of theft (ghulul), nor did he take it for himself; rather, he was merely tardy in bringing it, and there is no disagreement regarding that. Furthermore, the man came forward with it on his own initiative, repenting and apologizing, and repentance wipes away what came before it and erases the sin. As for the prohibition against wasting wealth, it is only prohibited when there is no benefit in it. However, if there is a benefit, then there is no harm in it, and it is not considered a waste, such as casting cargo into the sea when there is fear of drowning, or cutting the hand of a slave who steals, despite the fact that wealth can hardly be served except through its expenditure. Consuming it is destroying it, and spending it is causing it to vanish, and none of that is considered...