Al-Isra, 26
- This is a sub-article to Al-Isra.
Al-Isra is the 17th chapter or sura of the Qur'an, and this article is about its 26th verse, a verse related to the controversies of the land of Fadak.
The verse is also known as the "verse of Dhul Qurba" [1]
Overview
Sunni view
Suyuti, a 16th century Sunni Islamic scholar writes: A hadith attributed to Abu-Sa'id al-Khudri and `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas reports:[citation needed]
This has hadith is also included in:
- Kanz al-Ummal, v2, p158
- Lababul Naqool, p137, Sura Isra
- Tafsir al-Mazhari, in Tafseer of above mentioned verse
- Ruh al-Ma'ani
Shi'a view
Mahdi Puya, a 20th century Shi'a twelver Islamic scholar writes regarding this verse:
Refer to the commentary of Anfal: 41 and Nahl: 90.
Bazaz, Abu Yula, Abu Hatim and Ibn Marduwayh relate on the authority of Abu Sa-id Khudhri that as soon as this verse was revealed the Holy Prophet at once gave the garden of Fadak to his daughter, Bibi Fatimah Zahra.
Ibn Jarir reports that once Imam Ali bin Husayn al Zayn al Abidin said to a Syrian:
"We are the near of kin referred to in this verse."
Aqa Mahdi Puya says:
As stated above, after the revelation of this verse, the Holy Prophet gave the garden of Fadak to Bibi Fatimah.
Abd ibn Salih, a courtier, had reported that Mamun al Rashid wrote a letter to Abdullah ibn Musa to know his opinion about the issue of Fadak. Ibn Musa quoted the above noted tradition. Then Mamun returned the land of Fadak to the children of Bibi Fatimah. The land the Jews left without a heir was distributed by the Holy Prophet, as commanded by Allah (see Anfal: 1), with the consent of the ansar, among the muhajirin who had abandoned their properties in Makka and were almost living on dole. Many gardens and tracts of land, Bibi Fatimah inherited from her mother, Bibi Khadijah, were in and around Makka. Through this verse Allah directed the Holy Prophet to give Bibi Fatimah her due rights. So he gave her the garden of Fadak in fulfilment of her share as a muhajir and also included his own share in it. During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet the land of Fadak was in the active possession of Bibi Fatimah, but after the departure of the Holy Prophet from this world, the first caliph seized the land. The evidence of Ali, Hasan and Husayn and her own was rejected, notwithstanding their truthfulness made known to the people by Allah through Ali Imran: 61 and Ahzab: 33. Her claim as the inheritor of the Holy Prophet was also rejected. Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari inform us that Umar used to point out Ali and Abbas as those who branded him and his predecessor as usurpers and liars in connection with the property of Fadak, and neither Ali nor Abbas ever denied it. Bibi Fatimah, after this incident, never talked to Abu Bakr and Umar, and asked Ali not to allow them to attend her funeral prayers and burial. The confiscated property of Fadak was never used for the well-being of the people nor for the maintenance of the Muslim army.
Every Umayyid ruler treated the garden of Fadak as his personal property, except Umar ibn Abdul Aziz who, after making a thorough examination of the case, returned it to the Ahl ul Bayt. The Abbasi rulers again took it away from the Ahl ul Bayt and used it as their property, till Mamun al Rashid again conducted a thorough inquiry by a special court of jurists before which a follower of the Ahl ul Bayt advocated their case and the state attorney opposed his arguments. At the end Mamun wrote the judgement in the form of a royal edict, awarding the land to the Ahl ul Bayt, summary of which has been recorded by Balazuri in his famous book Futuhul Buldan. Ibn Abi Hadid has also given a brief account of the arguments, for and against, in his commentary of the Nahj al Balagha. Bibi Fatimah herself gave the strongest arguments in her favour in her address to the then ruling party. For full details refer to the "Biography of Bibi Fatimah Zahra", published by Peermahomed Ebrahim Trust. [3]
