Ghazw means "to raid," with the understanding of gaining spoils thereby (the English "razzia" is a derivative). The term is used extensively in pre-Islamic poetry as the standard term for raiding, especially of camels and other domestic animals, a favourite Bedouin activity. The root is mentioned only once in the Qurʾān (3:156), where the implication is of an activity associated with unbelievers (alladhīna kafarū) rather than believers. The term soon gained an Islamic connotation and was used, in the first centuries of Islam, for the battles and raids