Wāthila ibn al-Asqaʿ
وَاثِلَة بْن الْأَسْقَعWāthila ibn al-Asqaʿ
Read the full storyBiography
A Companion who, having no camel and unable to find a rider to take him, went daily to the market until the last day before departure, when he offered his whole share of the coming spoils to whoever would carry him. An elder of the Anṣār accepted, on the terms that they would take turns riding and share their food, and Wāthila called him the finest travelling companion he ever had. When Wāthila returned and brought the promised camels, the old man refused them: "Take your camels, nephew, I never meant to keep them." A famous narrator of ḥadīth in later life.
Significance
His story grounds the fiqh that combining a worldly incentive (a share of the spoils) with jihād fī sabīlillāh is permitted, and displays the generosity of the Anṣār who would not profit from a poorer brother's zeal.