The Gains
وَ قَالَ ع أَلَا إِنَّ الْأَيَّامَ ثَلَاثَةٌ يَوْمٌ مَضَى لَا تَرْجُوهُ وَ يَوْمٌ بَقِيَ لَا بُدَّ مِنْهُ وَ يَوْمٌ يَأْتِي لَا تَأْمَنُهُ فَالْأَمْسِ مَوْعِظَةٌ وَ الْيَوْمَ غَنِيمَةٌ وَ غَداً لَا تَدْرِي مَنْ أَهْلُهُ أَمْسِ شَاهِدٌ مَقْبُولٌ وَ الْيَوْمَ أَمِينٌ مُؤَدٍّ وَ غَدٌ يَجْعَلُ بِنَفْسِكَ سَرِيعَ الظَّعْنِ طَوِيلَ الْغَيْبَةِ أَتَاكَ وَ لَمْ تَأْتِهِ
And (the 6th Imam-asws said: ‘Indeed! The days are three (types) – a day past, not returning, and a day remaining, there is no escape from it, and a day which has to come, you cannot trust it. The yesterday is a preaching, and today is a ‘غَنِيمَةٌ ’ gain, and tomorrow you don’t know who are its people. Yesterday is an accepted witness, and today is a fulfilled trust, and tomorrow make a quick departure for yourself of prolonged absence. It will come to you, and you will not go to it’ (an extract).[1]
Also, ‘غَنِيمَةٌ ’ refers to the war booty, i.e.,
عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ وَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ جَمِيعاً عَنِ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ عَنْ حَفْصِ بْنِ غِيَاثٍ قَالَ كَتَبَ إِلَيَّ بَعْضُ إِخْوَانِي أَنْ أَسْأَلَ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ( عليه السلام ) عَنْ مَسَائِلَ مِنَ السُّنَنِ فَسَأَلْتُهُ أَوْ كَتَبْتُ بِهَا إِلَيْهِ فَكَانَ فِيمَا سَأَلْتُهُ أَخْبِرْنِي عَنِ الْجَيْشِ إِذَا غَزَا أَرْضَ الْحَرْبِ فَغَنِمُوا غَنِيمَةً ثُمَّ لَحِقَهُمْ جَيْشٌ آخَرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْرُجُوا إِلَى دَارِ السَّلَامِ وَ لَمْ يَلْقَوْا عَدُوّاً حَتَّى خَرَجُوا إِلَى دَارِ السَّلَامِ هَلْ يُشَارِكُونَهُمْ فَقَالَ نَعَمْ
Ali Bin Ibrahim, from his father and Ali Bin Muhammad, altogether from Al Qasim Bin Muhammad, from Suleyman Bin Dawood, from Hafs Bin Giyas who said,
‘One of my brothers wrote to me that I should ask Abu Abdullah-asws certain questions from the Sunnah. So I asked him-asws, or wrote to him with it. So among what I asked him-asws was, ‘Inform me about the army when it battles in a battlefield, so they acquire war booty. Then another army meets them (to join it) before they go out to the house of Al-Islam, and they (the second army) did not face an enemy until they all go out to the house of Al-Islam. Would they (the second army) be their participants (in the war booty)?’ So he-asws said: ‘Yes’.
وَ عَنْ سَرِيَّةٍ كَانُوا فِي سَفِينَةٍ وَ لَمْ يَرْكَبْ صَاحِبُ الْفَرَسِ فَرَسَهُ كَيْفَ تُقْسَمُ الْغَنِيمَةُ بَيْنَهُمْ فَقَالَ لِلْفَارِسِ سَهْمَانِ وَ لِلرَّاجِلِ سَهْمٌ فَقُلْتُ وَ إِنْ لَمْ يَرْكَبُوا وَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوا عَلَى أَفْرَاسِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَ رَأَيْتَ لَوْ كَانُوا فِي عَسْكَرٍ فَتُقَدَّمُ الرُّجَّالُ فَقَاتَلُوا وَ غَنِمُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ يُقْسَمُ بَيْنَهُمْ أَ لَمْ أَجْعَلْ لِلْفَارِسِ سَهْمَيْنِ وَ لِلرَّاجِلِ سَهْماً وَ هُمُ الَّذِينَ غَنِمُوا دُونَ الْفُرْسَانِ
And about a battalion in a ship and the owner of the horse did not ride his horse, how would ‘الْغَنِيمَةُ’ the war booty be distributed between them?’ So he-asws said: ‘For the horse-rider would be two shares, and for the infantry would be one share’. So I said, ‘And if they did not ride and did not fight upon their horses?’ So, he-asws said: ‘What is your view if they had been in an army, so the infantry had preceded and they had fought and acquired war booty, how would that have been distributed between them? Would there not be two shares for the cavalry and one share for the infantry, they had acquired the war booty without the cavalry?’’[2]
[1] Bihar Al-Anwaar V 75 – The book ‘Al Rawza’ – Ch 16 a H 137
[2] Al Kafi – V 5 – The Book of Jihaad Ch 16 H 2