Sunan Abi Dawud — Tribute, Spoils, and Rulership (Kitab Al-Kharaj, Wal-Fai' Wal-Imarah)

The Prophet (ﷺ) gave az-Zubayr the land as a fief up to the reach of his horse when he runs. He, therefore, made his horse run until it stopped. He then threw his flog. Thereupon he said: Give him (the land) up to the point where his flog has reached.

The Prophet (ﷺ) gave him a dinar to buy a sacrificial animal or a sheep. He bought two sheep, sold one of them for a dinar, and brought him a sheep and dinar. So he invoked a blessing on him in his business dealing, and he was such that if had he bought dust he would have made a profit from it.

This is his recompense. If Allah wishes to disregard him, He may do do.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The Caliphate of Prophecy will last thirty years; then Allah will give the Kingdom of His Kingdom to anyone He wills. Sa’id told that Safinah said to him: Calculate Abu Bakr’s caliphate as two years, ‘Umar’s as ten, ‘Uthman’s as twelve and ‘Ali so and so. Sa’id said: I said to Safinah: They conceive that ‘Ali was not a caliph. He replied: The buttocks of Marwan told a lie.

This man with the crippled hand was on that day with us in the mosque. We would sit with him by day and by night, and he was a poor man. I saw him attending the meals of ‘Ali (ra) which he took with the people, and I clothed him with a cloak of mine. Abu Maryam said: The man with the crippled hand was called Nafi` Dhu al-Thadyah (Nafi`, man of nipple). He had in his hand something like a female breast with a nipple at it ends like the nipple of the female breast. If had some hair on it like the whiskers of cat. Abu Dawud said: He was known among the people by the name of Harqus.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked: Messenger of Allah! What is back-biting? He replied: It is saying something about your brother which he would dislike. He was asked again: Tell me how the matter stands if what I say about my brother is true? He replied: If what you say of him is true, you have slandered him, and if what you say of him is not true, you have reviled him.