Maximum number of horses for which a single warrior receives spoils shares?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Jihad

Book 54 · Issue 6 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

A warrior is allotted shares for a maximum of two horses; four shares for the horses (two each) and one share for the owner, totaling five shares. This is supported by narrations from Al-Awza'i citing the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and a letter from Umar ibn al-Khattab to Abu Ubaydah directing this distribution, with any additional horses being considered auxiliary mounts (jana'ib).

Supporting text

Abu Hanifa, Malik, and Al-Shafi'i hold that shares are given only for one horse, as a person cannot fight effectively with more than one.