Bayhaqi 11809 — Reports on protected pasture (hima)

Zayd bin Aslam narrates from his father that Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed his freed slave named Hunayy as the overseer of the (state) protected pasture and instructed him: O Hunayy! Keep your hand back from the Muslims (do not oppress them), and always beware of the curse of the oppressed, for the curse of the oppressed is answered. And you should be wary regarding the livestock of Ibn Awf and Ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with them both) (who are wealthy) (that is, because of their wealth do not give their livestock precedence in the pasture over the livestock of the poor); for even if their livestock perish, these wealthy people can gain their livelihood from their date groves and fields. But the owner of a few camels and a few goats (who is poor), if his livestock perish, will bring his children to me and plead: O Commander of the Faithful! Shall I abandon them? Therefore, arranging fodder and water for them (beforehand) is easier for me than arranging gold and silver for them. By Allah! They (the people of Madinah) will think that I have wronged them, because these lands are theirs; they fought for them in the time of Ignorance, and after they accepted Islam their ownership of them was upheld. By the One in whose hand is my soul! Were it not for that wealth (the horses) on which I mount people in jihad, I would not have made even a hand-span of their territory a protected pasture.