8/18. Chapter:
Sunan Ibn Majah 1820 — Fair Produce Assessment
Assessment of date palms and grapevines
Fair Produce Assessment at Khaibar
Sunan Ibn Majah : 1820
Sunan Ibn MajahHadith Number 1820
حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ مَرْوَانَ الرَّقِّيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ بُرْقَانَ، عَنْ مَيْمُونِ بْنِ مِهْرَانَ، عَنْ مِقْسَمٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ حِينَ افْتَتَحَ خَيْبَرَ اشْتَرَطَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنَّ لَهُ الأَرْضَ وَكُلَّ صَفْرَاءَ وَبَيْضَاءَ . يَعْنِي الذَّهَبَ وَالْفِضَّةَ . وَقَالَ لَهُ أَهْلُ خَيْبَرَ نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِالأَرْضِ فَأَعْطِنَاهَا عَلَى أَنْ نَعْمَلَهَا وَيَكُونَ لَنَا نِصْفُ الثَّمَرَةِ وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُهَا . فَزَعَمَ أَنَّهُ أَعْطَاهُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكَ فَلَمَّا كَانَ حِينَ يُصْرَمُ النَّخْلُ بَعَثَ إِلَيْهِمُ ابْنَ رَوَاحَةَ فَحَزَرَ النَّخْلَ وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَدْعُونَهُ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ الْخَرْصَ فَقَالَ فِي ذَا كَذَا وَكَذَا . فَقَالُوا أَكْثَرْتَ عَلَيْنَا يَا ابْنَ رَوَاحَةَ . فَقَالَ فَأَنَا أَحْزُرُ النَّخْلَ وَأُعْطِيكُمْ نِصْفَ الَّذِي قُلْتُ . قَالَ فَقَالُوا هَذَا الْحَقُّ وَبِهِ تَقُومُ السَّمَاءُ وَالأَرْضُ . فَقَالُوا قَدْ رَضِينَا أَنْ نَأْخُذَ بِالَّذِي قُلْتَ .
Ibn 'Abbas Narrated from:
When the Prophet conquered Khaibar, he stipulated that the land, and all the yellow and white, meaning gold and silver belonged to him. The people of Khaibar said to him: “We know the land better, so give it to us so that we may work the land, and you will have half of its produce and we will have half.” He maintained that, he gave it to them on that basis.When the time for the date harvest came, he sent Ibn Rawahah to them. He assesses the date palms, and he said: “For this tree, such and such (amount).” They said: “You are demanding too much of us, O Ibn Rawahah!” He said: “This is my assessment and I will give you half of what I say.” They said: “This is fair, and fairness is what haven and earth are based on.” They said: “We Agree to take (accept) what you say.”
Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 1820In-book reference : Book 8, Hadith 38English translation : Vol. 3, Book 8, Hadith 1820
Summary of Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith 1820
This Hadith describes the agreement after Khaibar. The land was worked by the people of Khaibar, with half the produce for them and half for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. When date harvest time came, Ibn Rawahah was sent to assess the date palms. When they said he had demanded too much, he replied that he would assess the palms and give them half of what he had stated. They then said this was fair and agreed to accept his assessment. The Hadith shows fairness in produce assessment and shared harvest dealing. It is often searched as Khaibar date palms hadith, Ibn Rawahah assessment, and fair crop sharing in Islam.
What we learn from this hadith
- Produce sharing was based on an agreed half-and-half arrangement.
- Ibn Rawahah assessed the date palms at harvest time.
- When challenged, he offered a fair way to apply the assessment.
- The people accepted the assessment after seeing its fairness.
