Najda wrote to Ibn Abbas asking him about five matters. Ibn Abbas said, "Were it not that I would be concealing knowledge, I would not have written back to him."Najda had written to him, "To proceed. Inform me whether the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to take women on military campaigns, and whether he allotted them a share of the spoils. Did he kill children? When does an orphan's orphanhood come to an end? And to whom does the fifth belong?"Ibn Abbas wrote back to him, "You have written asking me whether the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to take women on military campaigns. He did indeed take them along, and they would tend to the wounded and be given a small portion from the spoils, but he did not allot them a fixed share. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not kill children, so do not kill children.You have written asking me when an orphan's orphanhood ends. By my life, a man's beard may grow while he is still weak in managing his own affairs, weak in giving from his wealth. But once he can handle his own matters soundly, as people generally do, then his orphanhood has passed.You have written asking me about the fifth, to whom it belongs. We used to say it belongs to us, but our people refused to grant us that."
حدثنا عبد الله بن مسلمة بن قعنب حدثنا سليمان يعني ابن بلال عن جعفر بن محمد عن أبيه
أن نجدة كتب إلى ابن عباس يسأله عن خمس خلال فقال ابن عباس لولا أن أكتم علما ما كتبت إليه كتب إليه نجدة أما بعد فأخبرني هل كان رسول الله ﷺ يغزو بالنساء وهل كان يضرب لهن بسهم وهل كان يقتل الصبيان ومتى ينقضي يتم اليتيم وعن الخمس لمن هو فكتب إليه ابن عباس كتبت تسألني هل كان رسول الله ﷺ يغزو بالنساء وقد كان يغزو بهن فيداوين الجرحى ويحذين من الغنيمة وأما بسهم فلم يضرب لهن وإن رسول الله ﷺ لم يكن يقتل الصبيان فلا تقتل الصبيان وكتبت تسألني متى ينقضي يتم اليتيم فلعمري إن الرجل لتنبت لحيته وإنه لضعيف الأخذ لنفسه ضعيف العطاء منها فإذا أخذ لنفسه من صالح ما يأخذ الناس فقد ذهب عنه اليتم وكتبت تسألني عن الخمس لمن هو وإنا كنا نقول هو لنا فأبى علينا قومنا ذاك