Loot and raid in the context of Islam means attacking the kafirs' for a Moslem is not supposed to attack a fellow Moslem. The Arabic word for raid is 'ghazzua' and it also implies killing and enslaving the kafirs. This is the word from which is derived the very honorable term 'ghazi' meaning a warrior of Islam that has killed many kafirs.

The loot taken from the kafir is legal for a Moslem. The distribution of the loot or booty, which includes the men, women and children, is done according to well-defined regulations described in the Koran and the Hadis. The first fifth of the loot goes to the prophet or the caliph and in their absence to the mullah who is in charge. The balance four-fifths are shared by the rest of the fighters who took part in the raid.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, such raids were considered shameful acts. However, the prophet had explained to his followers that since he was the last prophet for all time to come, such raids had now been sanctioned by Allah. Thus the property taken from the kafirs now was quite in order.