The spoils of warare the gains taken by the warriors from the enemy's property and goods after attaining victory over them. The Prophet ﷺ clarified the Islamic rules and provisions regarding the spoils of war and made it clear that nothing may be taken from the spoils of war before they are duly divided (among the rightful recipients). In this hadeeth, Raafi‘ ibn Khadeej(may Allah be pleased with him) stated that they were in the company of the Prophet ﷺ at Dhul-Hulayfah, a land in Tihaamah between Al-Taa’if and Makkah, and not the one near Al-Madeenah. It was said that it was a village about fourteen kilometers from the Prophet’s Mosque, and it is the Miqaat (i.e., appointed place for assuming Ihraam in Hajj and 'Umrah) for the people of Al-Madeenah. People suffered from hunger there and had seized some camels and sheep (as spoils of war) from the disbelievers, and the Prophet ﷺ was still behind with the people to provide the needed help for the weak who needed a ride and urge those who were moving slowly. People hurried and put the cooking pots on the fire to cook the meat of these camels and sheep without seeking the permission of the Prophet ﷺ. When he ﷺ came, he ﷺ ordered that the cooking pots should be turned upside down, as a punishment for them, because the spoils of war had not been divided yet. However, the meat in these pots was not destroyed, but was rather collectedand given back to the rightful recipients of the spoils of war. It is inconceivable that the Prophet ﷺ should command them to dispose of it, for he ﷺ forbade wasting property, and this meat was the property of the rightful recipients of the spoils of war. Moreover, the mistake was committed by some of the rightful recipients of the spoils of war and not all of them; some of them did not partake in the cooking, and others were entitled to one-fifth of the spoils of war. Afterwards, the Prophet ﷺ distributed the spoils of war (amongst the Muslims); ten sheep as equal to one camel. Meanwhile, a camel fled and people chased it till they got tired, and were not able to catch it, as they had few horses (for chasing it) and given their exhaustion. So, a man shot an arrow at its leg and caused it to stop (with Allah's Permission). On that, the Prophet ﷺ said, 'Some of these animals behave like wild beasts, so, if any animal flees from you, deal with it in the same way," meaning shoot an arrow at it to slow it down or stop it from moving, and thus you would be able to catch it. Then, Raafi‘ (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Prophet ﷺ, “We hope (or are afraid) that we may meet the enemy tomorrow and we have no knives. Can we slaughter our animals with canes?" The Arabic word used in the hadeeth is Madaa, which refers to sharp canes used as knives. They feared to use their own swords and blades to slaughter animals lest they should become blunt for the battlefield. The Prophet ﷺ replied, "If the instrument used for killing causes the animal to bleed profusely and if Allah's Name is mentioned on killing it, then eat its meat (i.e., it is lawful) but do not use a tooth or a nail,” meaning that the meat is lawful whenever any tool is used to slaughter the animal causing it to bleed profusely and the name of Allah is mentioned during the slaughter, except when the animal is slaughtered using a tooth or nail, being the slaughtering instruments used by the Ethiopians, who were disbelievers; Muslims are enjoined to avoid resembling the disbelievers. They would stick their nails in the animal’s throat and suffocate it, so it would be strangled, not slaughtered. The hadeeth highlights the Prophet’s humbleness, as he ﷺ marched behind the army, taking care of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and their needs, checking on them, and taking their advice. The hadeeth also underlines the Companions’ swift compliance with the Prophet’s commands. It is also deduced from the hadeeth that it is impermissible for Muslims to take anything from the spoils of war before their division. It also highlights that Islam promotes facilitation regarding slaughtering instruments. .