(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashta, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to Questions from Visitors to His Facebook Page "Fiqhi")
Answer to a Question
To: Mohamad Sukker
Question:
We know that our master Muhammad (saw) granted the noble Companion Tamim ad-Dari land in Hebron (Al-Khalil), which is now known as the land of Al-Maskubiya. We are confused about the classification of this land: is it Ushri land or Kharaji land? We note that the cases for considering land as Ushri mentioned in the book Al-Amwal (The Funds) do not include a provision that land granted to an individual becomes Ushri; rather, grants (Iqta') can occur in both Ushri and Kharaji lands. However, some brothers have information that the land of Tamim ad-Dari is Ushri. Does this claim have a specific basis not mentioned in the book Al-Amwal? May Allah reward you on our behalf and on behalf of all Muslims with goodness. May Allah delight your eyes and the eyes of all Muslims with victory and empowerment under the shadow of a Khilafah (Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood soon, by the will of Allah.
Answer:
(Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
It is true that the topic of the land granted by the Messenger of Allah (saw) to Tamim ad-Dari before its conquest was not detailed in the book Al-Amwal. While it mentions types of Ushri land, these types are discussed more clearly and in greater detail in The Islamic Personality (As-Shakhsiyya Al-Islamiyya), Volume 2, in the chapter "The Lands of Ushr, Kharaj, and Sulh" (pages 235-237). Regarding the types of Ushri land, it states:
"...As for Ushri land, it is the land from which the Ushr (one-tenth) or half-Ushr is taken as Zakat on its produce; it is called Ushri in reference to the Ushr taken as Zakat.
It includes every land whose inhabitants embraced Islam from the beginning, such as the land of Medina al-Munawwarah and Indonesia...
It also includes the entire Arabian Peninsula, whether its people embraced Islam initially like Medina, or it was conquered by force (anwatan) like Makkah...
Also categorized as Ushri land is any land conquered by Muslims by force of arms and divided by the Imam among the fighters, such as the land of Khaybar, or if the Imam allows them to keep a portion of it...
Similarly, the land allotments (Qatai) that the Imam grants to people from lands conquered by force (anwatan) are considered Ushri land...
Likewise, what the Imam grants from land that has not yet been conquered, after Allah opens it for the believers, is considered Ushri land and is a gift (nafl) for the one to whom it is granted. This is like the Messenger of Allah’s (saw) granting of the lands of Habra, Hebron, Al-Marhun, and Aynun in Hebron to Tamim ad-Dari. When Tamim ad-Dari came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) with his group, he requested that the Prophet grant him these places if Allah conquered them for the Muslims, so the Prophet granted them to him. He (saw) wrote a document for him to that effect. Umar was among the witnesses to that document. When Allah opened it for the Muslims during the days of Umar, Tamim requested it from Umar, and Umar handed it over to him in fulfillment of the Messenger of Allah’s (saw) grant...") End quote.
Therefore, the land granted by the Messenger of Allah (saw) to Tamim ad-Dari (ra) is Ushri land. It has been specified in narrations regarding this matter: Abu Ahmad Humayd bin Makhlad bin Qutayba bin Abdullah al-Khurasani, known as Ibn Zanjawayh (d. 251 AH), narrated in his book Al-Amwal from al-Zuhri, and Thawr bin Yazid from Rashid bin Sa’d, who said: Tamim ad-Dari—who was Tamim bin Aws, a man from Lakhm—stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have neighbors from the Romans in Palestine who have a village called Habra and another called Bayt Aynun. If Allah conquers Sham for you, grant them to me." He (saw) said:
هُمَا لَكَ
"They are both yours."
He said: "Then write a document for me to that effect." So he wrote:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ هَذَا كِتَابٌ مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ، لِتَمِيمِ بْنِ أَوْسٍ الدَّارِيِّ، أَنَّ لَهُ قَرْيَةَ حَبْرَى وَبَيْتَ عَيْنُونَ...
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is a document from Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, for Tamim bin Aws ad-Dari, that he possesses the village of Habra and Bayt Aynun..."
Similar accounts were narrated by Abu Ubayd in Al-Amwal and Abu Yusuf in Al-Kharaj.
I hope the answer is clear and sufficient, by the will of Allah.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashta
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