Azami 5588

Ibn Hibban (4685) narrated it from Ahmad bin Hasan bin Abdul-Jabbar, who said, Yahya bin Main narrated to us, Ali bin Ayyash narrated to us, Shuayb bin Abu Hamza narrated to us, from Abu Zinad, from Araj, from Abu Hurairah, and he mentioned it. Its chain of transmission is sahih.His words, "There is no protected reserve except for Allah and His Messenger," mean that no one is permitted to set aside a protected reserve for himself, as the people of the Age of Ignorance used to do. A powerful man, or the chief of a tribe, would reserve for himself whatever he wished and prevent others from using it. His words "except for Allah and His Messenger" mean that Allah, His Messenger, and after the Messenger those who take his place, that is, the caliphs, kings, and provincial governors acting with the ruler's permission, may set aside reserves for the Muslims as they see fit, according to the public interest.Malik related in Muwatta (2/1003), and Bukhari (3059) related through his route, from Zayd bin Aslam, from his father, that Umar bin Khattab appointed a freed slave of his named Hunay over the protected pastureland, and said, "Hunay, fold in your wing away from the Muslims, and beware of the prayer of the wronged, for the prayer of the wronged is answered. Let in the owner of the small herd of camels and the owner of the small flock of sheep, but beware of admitting the livestock of Ibn Awf and the livestock of Ibn Affan, for if their herds perish they can return to date palms and crops. But if the herds of the owner of the small herd and the owner of the small flock perish, he will come to me with his children and say, 'Commander of the Faithful, will you leave them destitute?' No father have you. Water and pasture are easier for me to provide than gold and silver. By Allah, they may well think that I have wronged them. These are indeed their lands. They fought for them in the Age of Ignorance, and they embraced Islam while holding them. By the One in whose hand my soul rests, were it not for the animals which I mount for the cause of Allah, I would not have reserved a single span of their land from them."His words "fold in your wing away from the Muslims" mean, restrain your hand from wronging them. His words "let in the owner of the small herd and the small flock," here "let in" is spelled with a fatha on the hamza, and "small herd" and "small flock" are diminutive forms in the unvoweled letter sin, meaning the owners of a small number of camels and sheep. What they are to be let into is left unstated, and the intended meaning is the pastureland. His words "will you leave them" form a rhetorical question expressing denial, meaning, I will not leave them in need. His words "were it not for the animals which I mount for the cause of Allah" refer to the camels on which he used to mount those who had no riding animal.This hadith shows the strength, sound judgment, and compassion that Umar bin Khattab had toward the Muslims in looking after their interests.