Allah the Exalted explains the regulations for Fai', the booty that the
Muslims acquire from the disbelievers, without fighting them or using cavalry
and camelry in war against them. For instance, the booty collected from Bani
An-Nadir was not acquired because of fighting them using horses and camels. The
Muslims did not fight Bani An-Nadir in battle, but Allah forced them out of
their forts on account of the fear that He placed in their hearts for Allah's
Messenger . Therefore, it was Fai' that Allah awarded His Messenger, with his
discretion to spend it however he sees fit. Indeed, the Prophet spent the Fai'
on righteous causes and for the benefit of Muslims in the areas that Allah
mentioned in this Ayat,
[وَمَآ أَفَآءَ
اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْهُمْ]
(And what Allah gave as booty (Fai') to His Messenger from them) meaning,
from Bani An-Nadir,
[فَمَآ أَوْجَفْتُمْ
عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍ وَلاَ رِكَابٍ]
(for this you made no expedition with either cavalry or camelry.) refering to
using camels,
[وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ
يُسَلِّطُ رُسُلَهُ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ
قَدِيرٌ]
(But Allah gives power to His Messengers over whomsoever He wills. And Allah
is Able to do all things.) mean, Allah is powerful and cannot be resisted or
opposed; He is the Compeller over all things. Allah the Exalted said,
[مَّآ أَفَآءَ
اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى]
(What Allah gave as booty (Fai') to His Messenger from the people of the
townships) meaning, from all the villages and areas that are conquered in this
manner; the booty collected from them falls under the same ruling as the booty
acquired from Bani An-Nadir. This is why Allah the Exalted said,
[فَلِلَّهِ
وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِى الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَـكِينِ وَابْنِ
السَّبِيلِ]
(it is for Allah, His Messenger, the kindred, the orphans, the poor, and the
wayfarer,) until its end and the following Ayah. mentioning the ways the Fai'
should be spent. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Umar said, "The wealth of Bani
An-Nadir was of the Fai' type that Allah awarded His Messenger and for which the
Muslims did not have to use cavalry or camelry. Therefore, it was for the
Messenger of Allah , and he used it for the needs of his family for a year at a
time, and the rest was used to buy armors and weapons used in the cause of Allah
the Exalted and Most Honored.'' Ahmad collected the short form of this story.
The Group, with the exception of Ibn Majah, collected this Hadith. Abu Dawud
recorded that Malik bin `Aws said,"While I was at home, the sun rose high and it
got hot. Suddenly the messenger of `Umar bin Al-Khattab came to me and I went
along with him and entered the place where `Umar was sitting on a bedstead made
of date-palm leaves and without a mattress. He said when I went in, `O Malik!
Some of your people's families came to me due to their famine, and I have
ordered that relief aid should be given to them, so take it and distribute it
among them.' I said, `I wish that you ordered someone else to do it.' He said,
`Take it.' Then Yarfa (the servant of `Umar) came saying, `O Commander of the
faithful! May I admit `Uthman bin `Affan, `Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf, Az-Zubayr bin
Al-`Awwam and Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas' `Umar said, `Yes,' and they came in. After a
while Yarfa came again and said, `O Commander of the faithful! May I admit
Al-`Abbas and `Ali' `Umar said, `Yes.' So, they were admitted and Al-`Abbas
said, `O Chief of the believers! Judge between me and this one (i.e., `Ali).'
The group (being `Uthman and his companions) said, `O Chief of the believers!
Judge between them and relieve both of them from each other.' I (Malik bin Aws)
thought that they asked the four men to come in before them for this purpose.
`Umar said, `Be patient!' He then asked the group (`Uthman and his companions),
`I ask you by Allah by Whose permission the heaven and the earth exist, do you
know that Allah's Messenger said,
«لَا نُورَثُ، مَا
تَرَكْنَا صَدَقَة»
(Our (the Prophet's) property will not be inherited. Whatever we leave, is
charity)' The group said, `He said so.' `Umar then turned to `Ali and Al-`Abbas
and said, `I beseech you by Allah by Whose permission the heaven and the earth
exist, do you know both that Allah's Messenger said,
«لَا نُورَثُ، مَا
تَرَكْنَا صَدَقَة»
(Our (the Prophets`) property will not be inherited. Whatever we leave, is
charity)' They replied, `He said so.' `Umar then said, `Allah bestowed on His
Messenger a special favor unlike what he gave all other people. Allah the
Exalted said,
[وَمَآ أَفَآءَ
اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْهُمْ فَمَآ أَوْجَفْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍ وَلاَ
رِكَابٍ وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ يُسَلِّطُ رُسُلَهُ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى
كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ]
(And what Allah gave as booty (Fai') to His Messenger from them -- for this
you made no expedition with either cavalry or camelry. But Allah gives power to
His Messengers over whomsoever He wills. And Allah is Able to do all things.)
Therefore, this property, the booty collected from Bani An-Nadir, was especially
given to Allah's Messenger . However, by Allah, neither did he take possession
of it and leave you, nor did he favor himself with it to your exclusion. Allah's
Messenger took the yearly expenses from it for himself and his family and left
the rest in the Muslim Treasury.' He then asked the group, `I ask you by Allah
with Whose permission the heavens and earth exist, do you know this' They
replied, `Yes.' `Umar then said to `Ali and Al-`Abbas, `I ask you by Allah, with
Whose permission that heavens and earth exist, do you know this' They said,
`Yes.' `Umar added, `When Allah took His Prophet unto Him, Abu Bakr said: I am
the successor of Allah's Messenger ! Then you both came to Abu Bakr asking for
your (Al-`Abbas') share of inheritance from your nephew, and he (`Ali) asked for
his wife's share from her father's inheritance. Abu Bakr said: Allah's Messenger
said,
«لَا نُورَثُ، مَا
تَرَكْنَا صَدَقَة»
(Our (the Prophets') property will not be inherited. Whatever we leave, is
charity.)'' Allah knows that Abu Bakr was true, pious, rightly guided and a
follower of what was right. So, Abu Bakr assumed the responsibility of that
property. When Abu Bakr died, I said: I am the successor of Allah's Messenger
and the successor of Abu Bakr. So I managed it as long as Allah allowed me to
manage it. Then you both (`Ali and Al-`Abbas) came to talk to me, bearing the
same claim and presenting the same case, asking for that property. I said to
you: I am ready to hand over this property to you if you wish. I will do so on
the condition that you will take a pledge before Allah's that you will manage it
in the same way as Allah's Messenger used to. So, both of you agreed and on that
condition I handed it over to you. Now you come to me to render a different
judgement over the property than the one I made before. By Allah, I will never
give any decision other than what I have already given, until the Last Hour
begins. If you are unable to manage it, then return it to me, and I will do the
job on your behalf.,'' They recorded this from the Hadith of Az-Zuhri. Allah
said,
[كَى لاَ يَكُونَ
دُولَةً بَيْنَ الاٌّغْنِيَآءِ مِنكُمْ]
(in order that it may not become a fortune used by the rich among you.)
means, `We made the expenditures for the Fai' like this, so that the wealth does
not remain among the wealthy, who would spend it as they wish and desire and
give none of it to the poor.'
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