English translation
2963. It was reported from Mālik bin Aws bin Al-Ḥadathān said: "Umar sent for me when the day rose high, so I came to him. I found him lying on his mattress, reclining on a leather pillow. He said to me when I entered: 'O Māl (Mālik)! Some people of your tribe who have families have come here. I have ordered some things to be given to them, so divide it among them.' I said: 'If you order someone else to do that (it would be better).' He replied: 'Take it.' Then Yarfa' came and said: 'O Commander of the Believers! Will you permit 'Uthmān bin 'Affān, 'Abdur-Raḥmān bin 'Awf, Az-Zubair bin Al-'Awwām and Sa'd bin Abī Al-'Āṣ to enter?' He said: 'Yes.' So he permitted, them and they entered. Then again Yarfa' came and said: 'O Commander of the Believers! Will you permit Al-'Abbās and 'Alī to enter?' He replied: 'Yes.' So he permitted them, and they entered. Al-'Abbās said: 'O Commander of the Believers! Give your ruling between myself and this person,' meaning 'Alī. Some of them said: ‘Yes, O Commander of the Believers! Decide between them and relieve them.’ — Mālik bin Aws said: “It occurred to me that they had sent these two ahead for this purpose. ‘Umar, may Allāh be pleased with him, said: ‘Take it easy and show patience.’ Then he faced towards those who were present there and said: ‘I adjure you by Allāh, the One by Whose order the heaven and the earth stand. Do you know that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: “We have no heirs, whatever we leave behind is Sadaqah (charity)?”’ They said: ‘Yes.’ Then he faced towards ‘Ali and Al-‘Abbās, may Allāh be pleased with them, and he said: ‘I adjure you by Allāh, the One by Whose order the heaven and the earth stand. Do you two know that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: “We have no heirs, whatever we leave is Sadaqah (charity)?”’ Both of them said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Allāh has appointed for the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ a special amount which He has not appointed to anyone. Allāh, Most High said: “And what Allāh gave as Fai’ to His Messenger from them — for this you made no exception with either cavalry or camelry. But Allāh gives power to His Messengers over whomsoever he wills. And Allāh is Able to do all things.[1] Allāh had bestowed on His Messenger the property of Banū An-Nādir. By Allāh! He did not reserve it for himself, neither did he take it and exclude you. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to take expenses for one year from it, or he used to take of the expenses for himself and his family for a year. Then he would take whatever surplus there was and deal with it as the rest of Allāh's property.' Then he turned towards those people and said: 'I adjure you by Allāh, the One by Whose order the heaven and the earth stand. Do you know that?' They said: 'Yes.' Then he faced towards Al-'Abbās and 'Alī, may Allāh be pleased with them, and said: 'I adjure you by Allāh, the One by Whose order the heaven and the earth stand. Do you two know that?' Both of them said: 'Yes.' (He said) 'After the death of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, Abū Bakr said: "I am the Wālī of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ." You and this one ('Alī) came to Abū Bakr, may Allāh be pleased with him; you demanding your share of the inheritance, from your nephew and him demanding the share of the inheritance for his wife, from her father. Abū Bakr said: "The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: 'We (the Messenger's of Allāh) do not have heirs, whatever we leave is Ṣadaqah (charity)?' Allāh knows best that he was sincere, faithful, rightly guided and a follower of the truth. Abū Bakr then administered the property. When he died I said: "I am the Wālī of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and the Wālī of Abū Bakr.” Then I administered whatever Allāh wished me to administer. Then you and this one (‘Ali) came, and both of you are as one, and your matter is the same. You asked me for it (the property) and I said: “If you wish I would give it to you two, on the condition that the covenant of Allāh is binding upon you two; that you will administer it the way the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to do. You two accepted it from me on that condition. Then, now you two come to me so that I can decide between you two other than that. By Allāh! I will not decide between you two with anything else until the Hour is established. If you two cannot fulfill it then return it back to me.”” (Sahih) Abū Dāwūd said: They had requested to divide it equally between them, not that they were ignorant of the fact that the Prophet ﷺ said: “We do not have heirs, whatever we leave is Ṣadaqah (charity).” They were only seeking what is correct. So ‘Umar said: “I do not want to apply the term ‘division’ to it. I will leave it as it is.”