مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 2685

It was narrated that Yazeed bin Hurmuz said: Najdah wrote to Ibn 'Abbas asking him about the share of the kinsmen of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and who it is for; when the orphan is no longer regarded as such; what happens if women or slaves are present when the booty is shared out; and about killing the children of the mushrikeen. Ibn 'Abbas (RA) said: Were it not that I want to stop him doing what he may fall into, I would not have answered him. And he wrote to him (saying): You wrote to me asking about the share of the kinsmen of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and who it is for. We used to think that it was for the relatives of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), but our people denied that to us. With regard to the orphan and when he is no longer regarded as such, he said: It is when he reaches the age of puberty or attains maturity of mind. With regard to women and slaves, and whether they had any share of the booty if they were present in battle, they have no known share, but they are to be given something from the booty. With regard to killing the children of the mushrikeen, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) did not kill any of them, so you should not kill any of them, unless you know about them what al-Khadir knew about the boy whom he killed.

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020