What they said on dividing conquered land, and how it was done

Ibn Mudarrib (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) divided the farmland (Sawad) among the people of Kufah, in such a way that three farmers came to the share of each man. Thereupon Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Who will there be for them after them? Then he left them all.

Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The tribe of Bajilah held a quarter of the land of the Sawad. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Were I not a divider who will be called to account, you would have remained upon what was divided for you.

Bashir bin Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from a certain Companion (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Khaybar and all of Khaybar came to belong to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims, they became too weary to work in it. So they gave these lands to the Jews, so that they would work in them and spend on them, on the condition that half of the crop produced would go to them. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) divided it into 36 shares in such a way that each share contained 100 shares. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set apart half of all of that for the Muslims, in such a way that in this half were the shares of the Muslims, and along with them the share of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And the other half the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set apart for visiting delegations, for other affairs, and for the hardships of the people.

Abu Wa'il said that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If I remain alive, I will most certainly take the surplus wealth of the rich and distribute it among the poor Muhajirun.

Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I sat with Sayyiduna Shaybah bin Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), and he said to me: Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) sat in this place of yours and said to me: I have resolved that I will not leave any gold or silver in the Ka'bah but that I will distribute it among the people. I said to him: You have no authority over this. Your two companions have passed on, and neither of them did this. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Yes, those two are personalities who should be followed.

Aslam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: By the One in whose Hand is the soul of Umar! Were it not for the fear that the later people would be left and receive no share, I would divide every one of the towns of the disbelievers that the Muslims have conquered into shares, just as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) divided Khaybar into shares. But I have resolved that a stipend should be established for them, because I dislike that the later people should be left with nothing for them.

Malik bin Aws bin al-Hadathan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I heard Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: Every person among the Muslims has a share in this fay' property, except for a slave. And if I remain alive, even the shepherd living in the mountains of Sana'a will certainly receive his share of this fay' property.

Malik bin Aws bin al-Hadathan (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The wealth of Banu al-Nadir, which Allah granted to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), came to the Muslims without fighting; there was no need for battle in it. And this wealth was exclusively for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) would hold back from it his expenses for the year, and whatever remained he (peace and blessings be upon him) would set apart for horses and weapons, as preparation for using them in the path of Allah.

Aslam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Spoils from the spoils of the place Jalula were brought to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), among which were also gold and silver. He was distributing them among the people when a son of his named Abd al-Rahman came and said: O Commander of the Faithful! Put a ring on me too. He said: Go to your mother, she will give you a drink of sawiq (barley gruel)! Aslam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: By Allah! He did not give him anything.

Abu Hanzalah bin Nu'aym (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): We have taken possession of a region without fighting. What should we do now? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote back to him in reply: If you people wish to divide this region among yourselves, then divide it. And if you wish, leave this region; its inhabitants will cultivate it themselves, and whoever joins you afterwards will have a share in this region. For I fear that you will try to get ahead of one another in this matter and in the turns of water, and then some of you will kill others. Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to him and said: All the Muslims have agreed that their opinion follows your opinion. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) then wrote to him again and said: These people should return the slaves, except for a woman who has become pregnant by a man among the Muslims.