Explanation

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that they were at the battle of Hunayn, which is the battle of At-Tā’if that took place after the Conquest of Makkah. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) fought them, and gained from them a large amount of booty i.e, camels, sheep, dirhams, and dinars. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) went to Al-Ji‘rānah, which is a place located at the farthest end of the Sacred Precincts of Makkah to the direction of At-Tā’if, and divided the booty between those who participated in this battle. He gave Al-Aqra‘ ibn Hābis 100 camels, and gave ‘Uyaynah ibn Hisn 100 camels. He also gave to some of the nobles among the Arabs in order to attract their hearts towards Islam, because if those people embrace Islam due to the gifts and wealth they received, their followers would embrace Islam, and this would give more strength and might to Islam. As for those who were strong in faith, he left them, trusting the faith that they had. After seeing the attitude of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in dividing the booty among the heads of tribes and nobles, and leaving some others (without giving them), a man said: "By Allah! This is a distribution in which justice is not observed, and it is not intended for pleasing Allah." When Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this statement, he rushed towards the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and swore before that if he heard something like that, he would inform him. When Ibn Mas‘ūd informed the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) of the man's statement, his anger intensified and his face changed in color until it was like a pure red dye. Then he said: "Who will observe justice if Allah and His Messenger do not?"; disapproving of the man's statement. Then he said: "May Allah have mercy upon Mūsa; he was hurt more than this but he remained patient.'' When Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the Prophet's condition (i.e. his anger), he said: "If I hear any kind of improper statement from those people, I will not inform the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) of it, because of what I saw of his intense anger, as long as it does not cause any harm to Islam or the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him)."