The sanctuary of Madinah and its virtue

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Taymi that Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) found a disobedient woman cutting (trees in) the protected pasture, so he took her axe and her cloak. She complained against him to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: "Return her axe and her cloak to her!" Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "By Allah, I will never return them; this is booty that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) granted me!" The narrator said: Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) had a spade made from that axe and kept working with it until he died. I (Ibn Hajar) say: Imam Muslim and others narrated it through another route with different wording and context; this narration has the addition of the complaint to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Umar's (may Allah be pleased with him) upholding of Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) in it. Moreover, Muhammad bin Ibrahim did not hear directly from Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him).

Ishaq narrated through Abd al-Aziz bin Muhammad, and he through Zayd bin Aslam, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whomever you find to have cut anything from the protected pasture, beat him and take away his belongings."

Abu Bakr (Ibn Abi Shaybah) narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When we returned from the expedition of Tabuk, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is Taybah (Madinah), in which my Lord has settled me. It removes the impurity and filth of its inhabitants just as the furnace removes the dross of iron. So whoever of you meets any of those who stayed behind (from the expedition), let him not speak to him nor sit with him!"

Abu Ya'la narrated through Urwah that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "All other cities were conquered by the sword, while Madinah was conquered by the Qur'an." Muhammad bin al-Hasan is alone in narrating this report, and he was an extremely weak narrator. In fact, this is the saying of Imam Malik himself, which Muhammad bin al-Hasan made into a marfu' hadith and produced a chain for it. Others besides Muhammad bin al-Hasan have also narrated it, and they added the name of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) to the chain.

Imam Abu Ya'la narrated with his chain from Sayyidah Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is able to die in Madinah, let him die there, for no one will die there except that I will be his intercessor or his witness on the Day of Resurrection." This hadith is known through this route, but in it Sayyidah Sumaytah al-Laythiyyah is mentioned instead of Sayyidah Subay'ah al-Aslamiyyah, and Imam al-Nasa'i recorded it.

Al-Harith narrated from Yahya bin Abi Bukayr, he from Shu'bah, and he through Amr bin Murrah, that Abu al-Bakhtari al-Ta'i narrated that some people were living in Kufah; then he mentioned an account in which it is stated that those people came to Madinah, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed, Allah Almighty chose Madinah for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), although it is the land with the least grain (produce) and the saltiest water, except for these dates (that grow here); and, if Allah Almighty wills, neither the Dajjal nor the plague will enter it."