What was Fadak?
Quoting Sunni scholar Imam Nawawi:
“Half of the Land of Fadak, which was given by the Jews following the peace treaty, was purely the property of Rasool Allah (s).”
Nawawi in Sharh Sahih Muslim, Volume 2, p92
Sunni scholars agree that Fadak was not public property.
It was the private property of the Prophet (s).
When Allah revealed the verse:
{Quran 17:26} And give to the near of kin their due …
Prophet Muahmmad (s) gifted Fadak to his daughter Fatimah (a).
Imam Suyuti reports:
"Abu Saeed al Khudri and Abdullah Ibn Abbas narrate that when the verse relating to giving rights to kindred was revealed, the Prophet called Fatima Zahra (a) and gifted the land of Fadak to her."
Tafseer Dur al-Manthur v4, p177
When verse 17:26 was revealed the Prophet declared: “O Fatimah, Fadak is yours”
Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz ummal Vol 2 p 108
So during the lifetime of the Prophet (s) Fadak was already the Property of Fatimah (a).
When the Prophet died,
Abu Bakr usurped it from her.
"When the Prophet died, Abu Bakr took Fadak from Fatima, she went to him and said "Restore the land of Fadak to me, as my father the Prophet (s) gave it to me".
Sunni reference: Riyadh al Nadira Volume, 4 page 231
Abu Bakr responded by saying:
“I don't know if you are telling the truth”
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Tafseer Kabeer, Volume 8 page 125
He demanded witnesses.
Fatimah (a) brought Imam Ali (a) and others to testify for her.
Abu Bakr rejected their testimony.
Prophet Muhammad (s) said:
“Ali is with the truth and the truth is with Ali, and they shall never separate from one another till they reach me at the Pool (al-Kawthar) on the Day of Judgement”
Al-Haithami Majma vol 7, p 235. Kanz al-Ummal, vol 6, p 157. al-Razi's Tafsir Vol 1, p 111. Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-Ummal, Vol. 5, p. 30. Ibn Asakir, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 119, Vol. 3.
Abu Bakr had no right to disbelieve Fatimah (a). He had no right to demand witnesses.
The onus of proof does not lie on the person with possession. The onus of proof lies with the person filing a counter claim, because possession itself constitutes proof.
Fatimah (a) possessed Fadak. Abu Bakr had no right to ask for witnesses. He himself should have produced witnesses to prove that Fadak was not the property of Fatimah (a).
During his life, Abu Bakr displayed double standards.
He accepted a similar claim by Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (r).
Quoting Sahih al-Bukhari:
Jabir bin Abdullah said, "When the Prophet died, Abu Bakr received some property from Al-Ala bin Al-Hadrami. Abu Bakr said to the people, "Whoever has a money claim on the Prophet, or was promised something by him, should come to us (so that we may pay him his right)."
Jabir added, "I said (to Abu Bakr), Allah's Apostle promised me that he would give me this much, and this much, and this much." Jabir added, "Abu Bakr counted for me and handed me five-hundred (gold pieces), and then five-hundred, and then five-hundred."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 848
Why did Abu Bakr accept the claim of Jabir without asking for a single witness?
Why did he reject the testimony of Ahlulbayt regarding Fadak?
Why did Abu Bakr have double standards?
Why did he usurp Fadak from Fatimah (a)?
Two Reasons:
One: Because Fadak produced a lot of wealth.
Two: The rulers wanted to break the morale of AhlulBayt. To stop them from reclaiming their position.
What happened next?
… … …
Abu bakr had refused Fatimah’s (a) claim that fadak was a GIFT from her
She (a) went back to abu bakr and asked him to give Fadak to her as INHERITENCE, since Muslim children inherit from their parents.
He responded by saying:
“Prophets do not leave inheritance”
These words are untrue!!
Why should we reject the words of Abu Bakr?
Several reasons
………
Reason one:
None of the Ahlulbayt knew that the Prophet (s) would leave no inheritance. Why would the greatest man on earth hide this fact from his Family and other Sahabah? Did he want his daughter to dispute with others?
Reason two:
There is no evidence in all recorded history to show that Prophets (a) left no inheritance. There is only the word of Abu Bakr.
Reason three:
The words of Abu Bakr are irrational. How would the wives and children of all Prophets (a) survive after their death? Should they become beggars?
Reason four:
Sunni scholars admit that previous prophets left inheritance.
The famous Imam Qurtubi says:
“Sulayman inherited one thousand horses from his father”
Tafseer Qurtubi, Volume 15 page 192
“Hadhrat Jibrael (a) had brought a silk shirt for him from the heaven, the shirt remained with Hadhrat Ibrahim [as], after his death the shirt was inherited by Hadhrat Isaac [as] and it went to Hadhrat Yaqub [as] afterwards.”
Tafseer Mazhari, Volume 6, page 135-136
Reason Five:
Abu bakr was untrustworthy.
He allowed Khalid ibn Walid to murder the famous companion of the prophet, Malik ibn Nuwayarah.
Khalid was then allowed to forcibly marry Maalik’s widow against her will just hours after her husband was brutally killed.
Reason six:
Abu Bakr contradicts the Quran.
Prophet Zakariyah (a) prayed to Allah for a son that will inherit him:
{Quran 19:5 – 6} … I fear my cousins after me, and my wife is barren, therefore grant me from Thyself an heir, Who should inherit me …
Allah accepted this prayer and blessed him with Nabi Yahya(a).
Reason Seven:
The anger of the infallible Fatimah (a).
The History of Tabari:
"Ali buried her at night and did
not permit Abu Bakr to attend."
Tabari, vol 9 p 196.
- The End -
Article by www.AbuBakr.org
