muhammad sent to madinah `abdullah ibn rawahah and zayd ibn harithah to bring news of. the victory to the people of madinah. he and his companions returned to madinah accompanied by the captives and carrying the booty of war. he had appointed `abdullah ibn ka'b as the guardian of it. after reaching the valley of al safra', muhammad camped on a hill and there began to divide the booty among the muslims in equal parts. some historians claim that muhammad had divided the booty after he had appropriated one-fifth of it in accordance with the qur'anic command: "and know that whatever you take as spoils in war, a fifth thereof shall go to god, his prophet, the kindred, the orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer. if you believe in god and in what we send down to our servant and the day of decision [the day of badr] when the two armies met, you will accept this division. god has power over all things."[qur'an, 8:41] most biographers, especially the earlier among them, believed that this verse was revealed after the battle of badr as well as after muhammad's division of its booty. they hold that muhammad had divided the booty in equal parts, giving to the fighter with a horse twice the amount he gave to the fighter on foot, and allowing the share of the muslims who were killed at badr to go to their heirs. they also hold that muhammad had assigned a share to the muslims who were left behind in madinah on assignment to work for the muslim cause there during the absence of the army in badr, or who had remained in madinah for good reason. muhammad divided the booty justly. not only did he include in his division the soldier but also everyone who worked for the cause and helped achieve this victory, whether on the battlefield or far from it.