Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1818
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَفَّانَ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ آدَمَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ، عَنْ عَاصِمِ بْنِ أَبِي النَّجُودِ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ، قَالَ بَعَثَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ وَأَمَرَنِي أَنْ آخُذَ مِمَّا سَقَتِ السَّمَاءُ أَوْ سُقِيَ بَعْلاً الْعُشْرَ وَمَا سُقِيَ بِالدَّوَالِي نِصْفَ الْعُشْرِ . قَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ آدَمَ الْبَعْلُ وَالْعَثَرِيُّ وَالْعَذْىُ هُوَ الَّذِي يُسْقَى بِمَاءِ السَّمَاءِ . وَالْعَثَرِيُّ مَا يُزْرَعُ لِلسَّحَابِ وَلِلْمَطَرِ خَاصَّةً لَيْسَ يُصِيبُهُ إِلاَّ مَاءُ الْمَطَرِ . وَالْبَعْلُ مَا كَانَ مِنَ الْكُرُومِ قَدْ ذَهَبَتْ عُرُوقُهُ فِي الأَرْضِ إِلَى الْمَاءِ فَلاَ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى السَّقْىِ الْخَمْسَ سِنِينَ أَوِ السِّتَّ يَحْتَمِلُ تَرْكَ السَّقْىِ فَهَذَا الْبَعْلُ . وَالسَّيْلُ مَاءُ الْوَادِي إِذَا سَالَ . وَالْغَيْلُ سَيْلٌ دُونَ سَيْلٍ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Affan narrated to us; Yahya ibn Adam narrated to us; Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash narrated to us, from Asim ibn Abi al-Najud, from Abu Wa’il, from Masruq, from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to Yemen and instructed me to collect one-tenth from what is watered by rain or grown as ba‘l, and half of one-tenth from what is irrigated by water-lifting devices.
Yahya ibn Adam said: ‘Ba‘l, athari, and adhya are what is watered by rainwater. Athari is what is planted for clouds and rain alone; it receives nothing but rainwater. Ba‘l consists of grapevines whose roots have reached water beneath the ground, so they need no irrigation; they can go five or six years without irrigation. This is ba‘l. A flood is the water of a valley when it flows. Ghayl is a lesser flow than a flood.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source gives its own explanations for ba‘l, athari, and adhya. The final definition of ghayl is translated close to the wording ‘a flow less than a flow.’
وَالْغَيْلُ سَيْلٌ دُونَ سَيْلٍ .
The source defines ghayl only as ‘a flow less than a flow,’ leaving the exact hydrological distinction unstated.
Should ghayl remain as a transliterated term, or is there a more precise English term for the source’s definition?