The Book of Endowments

Qutaybah ibn Sa'id reported to us: Abu al-Ahwas narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from 'Amr ibn al-Harith, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left neither a dinar nor a dirham, nor a male or female slave. He left only his grey mule, which he used to ride, his weapons, and land that he had designated for the cause of Allah. Qutaybah said on another occasion: ‘as charity.’

'Amr ibn 'Ali reported to us: Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: Abu Ishaq narrated to me, saying: I heard 'Amr ibn al-Harith say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) left only his white mule, his weapons, and land that he left as charity.

'Amr ibn 'Ali reported to us: Abu Bakr al-Hanafi narrated to us: Yunus ibn Abi Ishaq narrated to us, from his father, who said: I heard 'Amr ibn al-Harith say: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He left only his grey mule, his weapons, and land that he left as charity.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Abu Dawud al-Hafari—'Umar ibn Sa'd—from Sufyan ath-Thawri, from Ibn 'Awn, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, from 'Umar, who said: I acquired some land at Khaybar and came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I said, ‘I have acquired land, and I have never acquired wealth dearer or more precious to me than it.’ He said, ‘If you wish, you may give it in charity.’ So he gave it in charity, stipulating that it was not to be sold or given away, and that it be used for the poor, relatives, the emancipation of slaves, guests, and travelers. There is no blame on its administrator if he eats from it reasonably, without amassing wealth, and feeds others.

Harun ibn 'Abdullah informed me: Mu'awiyah ibn 'Amr narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq al-Fazari, from Ibn 'Awn, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), with a report similar to the preceding one.

Humayd ibn Mas'adah reported to us: Yazid—meaning Ibn Zuray'—narrated to us: Ibn 'Awn narrated to us, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, that 'Umar acquired land at Khaybar and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said, ‘I have acquired land, and I have never acquired wealth more precious to me than it. What do you advise me to do with it?’ He replied, ‘If you wish, you may preserve its principal and give its yield in charity.’ So 'Umar endowed it on condition that it not be sold, given away, or inherited, and that it benefit the poor, relatives, the emancipation of slaves, the cause of Allah, guests, and travelers. The administrator bears no blame if he takes from it reasonably and feeds a friend, without accumulating wealth from it.

Isma'il ibn Mas'ud reported to us: Bishr narrated to us, from Ibn 'Awn. Humayd ibn Mas'adah also informed us: Bishr narrated to us: Ibn 'Awn narrated to us, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: 'Umar acquired land at Khaybar and went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for his advice. He said, ‘I have acquired a large tract of land, and I have never acquired wealth more precious to me than it. What do you advise me to do with it?’ He replied, ‘If you wish, you may preserve its principal and give it in charity.’ So he endowed it on condition that it not be sold or given away, and gave its benefits to the poor, relatives, the emancipation of slaves, the cause of Allah, travelers, and guests. There is no blame on its administrator—meaning—if he takes from it or feeds a friend, without accumulating wealth from it. These are Isma'il's words.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Azhar as-Samman narrated to us, from Ibn 'Awn, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, that 'Umar acquired land at Khaybar and went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek his advice. He said, ‘If you wish, you may preserve its principal and give it in charity.’ So he retained its principal, stipulating that it not be sold, given away, or inherited, and gave its benefits to the poor, relatives, the emancipation of slaves, the needy, travelers, and guests. The administrator bears no blame if he takes from it reasonably or feeds a friend, without accumulating wealth from it.

Abu Bakr ibn Nafi' reported to us: Bahz narrated to us: Hammad narrated to us: Thabit narrated to us, from Anas, who said: When this verse was revealed—‘You will never attain righteousness until you spend from that which you love’—Abu Talhah said, ‘Our Lord will surely ask us about our wealth. Messenger of Allah, I call you to witness that I have dedicated my land to Allah.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Assign it to your relatives: Hassan ibn Thabit and Ubayy ibn Ka'b.’

Sa'id ibn 'Abd al-Rahman reported to us: Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah narrated to us, from 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Umar, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, who said: 'Umar said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), ‘The one hundred shares of land I have at Khaybar—I have never acquired any wealth more precious to me than it, and I wish to give it in charity.’ The Prophet said, ‘Retain its principal and dedicate its yield to charity.’

Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah al-Khalanji reported to us in Bayt al-Maqdis: Sufyan narrated to us, from 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Umar, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: 'Umar came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have acquired wealth unlike anything I have ever acquired before. I had one hundred head of livestock and bought with them one hundred shares of land at Khaybar from its people. I wish to draw near to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, through it.’ He said, ‘Retain its principal and dedicate its yield to charity.’

Muhammad ibn Musaffa ibn Bahlul reported to us: Baqiyyah narrated to us, from Sa'id ibn Salim al-Makki, from 'Ubaydullah ibn 'Umar, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar, from 'Umar, who said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about a plot of land of mine at Thamgh. He said, ‘Retain its principal and dedicate its yield to charity.’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: Al-Mu'tamir ibn Sulayman informed us: I heard my father narrate, from Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, from 'Amr ibn Jaw'an—a man from Banu Tamim. I said to him, ‘Tell me about al-Ahnaf ibn Qays's withdrawal; what was the story?’ He said: I heard al-Ahnaf say: I came to Madinah while performing Hajj. As we were settling in our lodgings and unloading our baggage, someone came and said, ‘The people have gathered in the mosque.’ I looked out and saw the people gathered, with a group sitting among them: 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, az-Zubayr, Talhah, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas—may Allah have mercy on them. When I stood among them, it was said, ‘'Uthman ibn 'Affan has arrived.’ He came wearing a yellow cloak. I said to my companion, ‘Wait here until I see what has brought him.’ 'Uthman said, ‘Is 'Ali here? Is az-Zubayr here? Is Talhah here? Is Sa'd here?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah, besides whom there is no god: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever buys the mirbad of Banu so-and-so, Allah will forgive him”?’ I bought it, then came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘I have bought the mirbad of Banu so-and-so.’ He said, ‘Make it part of our mosque, and its reward will be yours.’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah, besides whom there is no god: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever buys the well of Rumah, Allah will forgive him”?’ I went to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘I have bought the well of Rumah.’ He said, ‘Make it a water source for the Muslims, and its reward will be yours.’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah, besides whom there is no god: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever equips the army of hardship, Allah will forgive him”?’ I equipped them until they lacked not even a rope or a camel's bridle. They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘O Allah, bear witness! O Allah, bear witness! O Allah, bear witness!’

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us: 'Abdullah ibn Idris informed us: I heard Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Rahman narrate, from 'Amr ibn Jaw'an, from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, who said: We set out as pilgrims and arrived in Madinah intending to perform Hajj. While we were in our lodgings unloading our baggage, someone came and said, ‘The people have gathered in the mosque, and there is alarm.’ We went and found the people gathered around a group in the middle of the mosque. There were 'Ali, az-Zubayr, Talhah, and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. While we were there, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan arrived, wearing a yellow mantle with which he had covered his head. He asked, ‘Is 'Ali here? Is Talhah here? Is az-Zubayr here? Is Sa'd here?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah, besides whom there is no god: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever buys the mirbad of Banu so-and-so, Allah will forgive him”?’ I bought it for twenty thousand—or twenty-five thousand—then went to the Messenger of Allah and told him. He said, ‘Make it part of our mosque, and its reward will be yours.’ They said, ‘By Allah, yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah, besides whom there is no god: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever buys the well of Rumah, Allah will forgive him”?’ I bought it for such-and-such an amount, then went to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘I have bought it for such-and-such an amount.’ He said, ‘Make it a water source for the Muslims, and its reward will be yours.’ They said, ‘By Allah, yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah, besides whom there is no god: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah looked at the people and said, “Whoever equips these men—meaning the army of hardship—Allah will forgive him”?’ I equipped them until they lacked not even a rope or a camel's bridle. They said, ‘By Allah, yes.’ He said, ‘O Allah, bear witness! O Allah, bear witness!’

Ziyad ibn Ayyub informed me: Sa'id ibn 'Amir narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Abi al-Hajjaj, from Sa'id al-Jurayri, from Thumamah ibn Hazn al-Qushayri, who said: I was present at the residence when 'Uthman looked out over them. He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah and by Islam: Do you know that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, its only source of sweet drinking water was the well of Rumah, and he said, “Who will buy the well of Rumah and put his bucket into it alongside the Muslims' buckets, in return for something better for him in Paradise?” I bought it with my own money and put my bucket in it alongside the Muslims' buckets. Yet today you prevent me from drinking from it, so that I have to drink sea water.’ They said, ‘O Allah, yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah and by Islam: Do you know that I equipped the army of hardship with my own wealth?’ They said, ‘O Allah, yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah and by Islam: Do you know that the mosque had become too small for its people, and the Messenger of Allah said, “Who will buy the plot belonging to the family of so-and-so and add it to the mosque, in return for something better for him in Paradise?” I bought it with my own money and added it to the mosque. Yet you prevent me from praying two units there.’ They said, ‘O Allah, yes.’ He said, ‘I adjure you by Allah and by Islam: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah was on Thabir—the mountain of Makkah—with Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and me, and the mountain shook? The Messenger of Allah struck it with his foot and said, “Be still, Thabir! Upon you are a Prophet, a man of truth, and two martyrs.”’ They said, ‘O Allah, yes.’ He said, ‘Allah is greatest! They have borne witness for me, by the Lord of the Ka'bah’—meaning, that I am a martyr.

'Imran ibn Bakkar ibn Rashid reported to us: Khattab ibn 'Uthman narrated to us: 'Isa ibn Yunus narrated to me: My father narrated to me, from Abu Ishaq, from Abu Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, that 'Uthman looked out at them when they had besieged him and said: I adjure, by Allah, anyone who heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say on the day the mountain shook and he struck it with his foot, ‘Be still! Upon you are only a Prophet, a man of truth, and two martyrs’—I was with him then. Some men testified to this. He then said: I adjure, by Allah, anyone who witnessed the Messenger of Allah on the day of the Pledge of Ridwan say, ‘This is the hand of Allah, and this is the hand of 'Uthman.’ Some men testified to this. He then said: I adjure, by Allah, anyone who heard the Messenger of Allah say on the day of the army of hardship, ‘Who will make an expenditure that will be accepted?’ I equipped half the army from my own wealth. Some men testified to this. He then said: I adjure, by Allah, anyone who heard the Messenger of Allah say, ‘Who will enlarge this mosque in return for a house in Paradise?’ I bought it with my own wealth. Some men testified to this. He then said: I adjure, by Allah, anyone who witnessed Rumah being sold. I bought it with my own wealth and made it available to travelers. Some men testified to this.

Muhammad ibn Wahb informed me: Muhammad ibn Salamah informed me: Abu 'Abd ar-Rahim informed me: Zayd ibn Abi Unaysah narrated to me, from Abu Ishaq, from Abu 'Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulami, who said: When 'Uthman was besieged in his house, the people gathered around it. He looked out at them—and he recounted the rest of the hadith.