Abu 'Ubayd said: 'Iijaf' is 'I'ida' (urging), meaning speeding. Al-Zajjaj said: 'Wajif' is slower than 'taqrib' (trotting) in gait. It is said: 'Wajafa' the horse (moved it), and I 'awjaftuhu' (urged it). Allah the Almighty said: {And whatever Allah restored to His Messenger from them, you did not urge against with horses or mounts}. So, everything taken from the wealth of a polytheist without 'iijaf', such as wealth they abandon in fear of the Muslims and the like, is 'Fai''. Everything that the Muslims mobilized against, marched toward, and fought over is 'Ghanimah' (war booty), whether it was taken by force or its people were made to descend through a guarantee of safety; for the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, conquered the fortresses of Khaybar, some by force and some by having their people descend through a guarantee of safety, yet it was all considered war booty.

1077 - Issue: He said: "The fifth of the Fai' and the war booty is divided into five shares."

There are four sections to this issue:

First: That 'Fai' is subject to the 'khums' (fifth), just as war booty is subject to the fifth, according to one of the two narrations. This is the school of al-Shafi'i. The second narration is that it is not subject to the fifth. Abu Talib reported it, stating: Only war booty is subject to the fifth. Al-Qadi said: I have not found any explicit text from al-Khiraqi that Fai' is subject to the fifth to recount it, rather it was explicitly stated that it is not subject to the fifth. This is the opinion of the generality of scholars. Ibn al-Mundhir said: It is not preserved from anyone before al-Shafi'i that there is a fifth in Fai' like the fifth of war booty. The reports of 'Umar indicate the opposite of what al-Shafi'i said, and because Allah the Almighty said: {Whatever Allah restored to His Messenger from the people of the towns, it is for Allah}, up to His saying: {And those who came after them}, the verse. Thus, He assigned it all to them and did not mention a fifth. When 'Umar recited this verse, he said: This encompasses the Muslims. The basis for the first opinion is the saying of Allah the Almighty: {Whatever Allah restored to His Messenger from the people of the towns is for Allah, and for the Messenger, and for the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, so that it may not circulate only among the rich among you.} The apparent meaning of this is that it is all for these people, who are the people of the fifth, and reports came from 'Umar indicating the participation of all Muslims in it. Therefore, it is necessary to reconcile between them so that the verse and the reports do not contradict or conflict; and in mandating the fifth in it, there is a reconciliation and harmonization between them, for its fifth is for those named in the verse, and the rest of it is diverted to those in the report, like war booty. And because it is communal wealth gained by dominance, it must be subject to the fifth, like war booty and 'rikaz' (buried treasure). Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib reported: I met my uncle, who had the banner, so I asked: Where to? He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent me to a man who had married his father's wife, to strike his neck and take a fifth of his wealth.