Fayʾ in classical legal thought is usually the collective wealth of Muslims derived from the taxation of conquered peoples. Fayʾ revenue is contrasted, on the one hand, with ghanīma , spoils taken through battle, and, on the other, with ṣadaqa (or zakāt ), alms paid by the Muslims themselves. The fayʾ is usually to be redistributed to Muslim fighters as an ʿaṭāʾ (stipend) and sometimes for other public purposes (maṣāliḥ) . The verb fāʾa and associated terms have the basic meaning of "return." The evidence of the Qurʾān and pre-Islamic poetry suggests