Al-Hashr, 6

And whatever Allah restored to His Messenger from them you did not press forward against it any horse or a riding camel but Allah gives authority to His messengers against whom He pleases, and Allah has power over all things.— translated by M. H. Shakir

Transliteration: Wama afaa Allahu AAala rasoolihi minhum fama awjaftum AAalayhi min khaylin wala rikabin walakinna Allaha yusallitu rusulahu AAala man yashao waAllahu AAala kulli shay-in qadeerun

Arabic: وَمَا أَفَاء اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْهُمْ فَمَا أَوْجَفْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍ وَلَا رِكَابٍ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُسَلِّطُ رُسُلَهُ عَلَى مَن يَشَاء وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Ghanimah is that property (or money), in which Muslims had worked to get it, while Fay is that property (or money), in which Muslims didn't have to ride the horses and camels. ^[1]

This verse was revealed with regard to Fadak, which the Prophet (s) acquired as it was conquered without any fighting.^[2]

after the conquest of Syria and Iraq Omar addressed the companions, he declare on the basis of the Holy Qur'an that the conquered territories were not the property of any man, but that they were a national trust, as has been discussed under Fay. However, from the verse of the Qur'an it appears that the lands of Fadak were the Holy Prophet's own property, and that Omar himself understood the verse to imply so: "What Allah has made this people (i.e. Bani Nadir) deliver to his Apostle, to conquest which you did not lead any camels or horses, but Allah empowers his Apostles over who, he pleases". On reading this verse Omar declared that the land was reserved for the Holy Prophet. The matter is mentioned in Sahih al Bukhari in detail in the chapters on Khums al Maghazi and al Mirath ^[6]

As has been asserted in several verses of the Quran whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth and between them belongs to Allah. They are made available to people as a trust. When disbelieving possessors turn hostile and aggressive against Allah and His Prophet, then, if their possessions are returned to the prophet of Allah without any effort or exertion on the part of the believers, such possessions become the property of His prophet. In this way it is distinguished from anfal (spoils), taken after fighting. Even in the case of anfal the authority of the prophet of Allah is unchallengeable. See commentary of Anfal: 1.

The voluntary submission of the enemy in verse 2 has been referred to here.

The Jews of Madina had come from outside and seized the lands of the original inhabitants. Since then they had been scheming and plotting to retain the usurped properties by hook or by crook. Seeing the growth of Islam they became more active and aggressive against the people of Madina. It was a just and wise decree of the Lord of the worlds to restore the lands to their original owners and thus bring peace and order in the region.

Fa-i is derived from afa which means "returned to". The warriors are not entitled to any share in the property of fa-i as stated above. It belongs to Allah and His Prophet and is to be distributed among the relatives of the Holy Prophet (see commentary of Anfal: 41; Nahl: 90; Rum: 38), orphans, the needy and the wayfarer, so that it does not concentrate in the hands of a few rich-this serves as a basis for the socio-economic system of Islam.

After the Holy Prophet his share has to be given to the Imam of his Ahl ul Bayt in addition to the share of his relatives. To know the real and genuine relatives (Ahl ul Bayt) of the Holy Prophet see commentary of Baqarah: 124; Ali Imran: 61; Ahzab: 33 and Shura: 23.

Also see commentary of Bani Isarail: 26; Naml: 15, 16; Nahl: 90 and Maryam: 2 to 15 for the unjust, unislamic and unquranic deviation of the so-called followers of the Holy Prophet resorted to for depriving the Ahl ul Bayt from their rightful share decreed by Allah. They began to misappropriate the share of the Holy Prophet in the name of "baytul mal" (public treasury), which is an open transgression of the explicit ordinance of Allah. ^[7]