The Muslims are like one hand against all those who are outside the community. Their blood and wealth are equal (in terms of inviolability). The protection granted by the lowest of them in status is to be honored by all Muslims, and the Muslims return (the spoils of war) to the farthest of them

Explanation

This Hadīth indicates that all Muslims must preserve unity of word and stance as a united front in the face of their enemies. They should never be disunited or let each other down, since they are one community with one stance against their enemies. Allah, the Almighty, says: {And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided} [Sūrat Āl-‘Imrān:103]. Allah also says: {and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 46]. Moreover, this Hadīth states that bloods of Muslims and believers are equal in terms of blood money and retribution, and that none of them is superior to the other because of lineage, race, or school of thought. They are all equal regarding this right and duty. According to the Hadīth, protection granted by a Muslim to a disbeliever is binding on all Muslims, who must respect this pledge of protection and never breach it. Finally, the Hadīth states that in the distribution of the spoils of war, seized by a detachment with the support of the army, not only the actual captors (soldiers of a detachment) but also the joint captors (the whole army) are entitled to share. Likewise, when spoils of war end up in the Muslim treasury, they must be distributed to all Muslims whether they directly participated in seizing them or not.

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