Bayhaqi 12682 — One who takes precaution and bequeaths that his debts

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: On the day of (the battle of) al-Jamal, when al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood (for battle), he called me, and I went and stood at his side. He said: "My son! In today's fighting, either a wrongdoer or a wronged one will be killed, and I think that today I will be killed as one wronged. My greatest worry is my debts. Do you have any idea whether, after paying off the debt, any of our wealth will remain?" Then he said: "My son! Sell our property and pay off the debt with it." He bequeathed one third, and one third of that third to my children, that is, to the children of Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both). He had said: "Divide that third into three parts; if anything of our wealth remains after paying off the debt, one third of it will be for your children." Hisham said: Some of Abdullah's sons were of the same age as some of al-Zubayr's sons, such as Khubayb and Abbad, and al-Zubayr had seven daughters at that time. Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Then al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) began to give me instructions about his debt, saying: "My son! If you are unable to pay off the debt, seek help in it from my Master and Protector (Mawla)." Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah, I did not understand what he meant until I said: "Father! Who is your Mawla?" He said: "Allah." Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By Allah, whenever I faced any difficulty in paying off his debt, I prayed thus: 'Ya Mawla al-Zubayr, iqdi 'anhu daynahu' (O Master of al-Zubayr, pay off his debt on his behalf), and a way of paying it would open up. So when al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred, he did not leave behind any dirhams or dinars; rather, his estate was partly in the form of lands, among them the land of al-Ghabah, eleven houses in Madinah, two houses in Basrah, one house in Kufah and one in Egypt. Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The reason such a large debt had accumulated on him was that when someone came to him with his wealth to leave it with him in trust, he would say to him: "No; rather, I can keep it only on the basis that it remains a loan owed by me, because I fear that it may be lost." Al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was never appointed governor of any region, nor was he ever appointed to collect the land tax (kharaj), nor did he ever accept any other office; rather, he took part in military campaigns with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and with Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them). Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When I calculated the amount of debt owed by him, it came to 2,200,000. He said: Then Hakim bin Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) met Abdullah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) and asked: "My nephew! How much debt remains on my brother?" Abdullah wanted to conceal it and said: "One hundred thousand." At this Hakim said: "I do not think that this debt can be paid off from the property you have." Then Abdullah said: "What would you think if the debt were 2,200,000?" He said: "Then this debt is beyond your capacity; anyway, if you face any difficulty, tell me." Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) had bought the estate of al-Ghabah for 170,000, but Abdullah sold it for 1,600,000. Then he announced: Whoever has a claim of debt on al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) should meet us at al-Ghabah. So Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with them both) came; al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) owed him 400,000. He offered: "If you wish, I can forgo this debt." But Abdullah said: "No." Then he said: "If you wish, I will take it after the whole debt has been paid." Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said to this: "There is no need for delay." Finally he said: "Then mark out a plot of this land as my share." Abdullah said: "Your share is from here to here." Abdullah said: Al-Zubayr's property, houses and so on were sold and his debt was paid, and the whole debt was settled, while four and a half shares of the al-Ghabah estate had not yet been sold. So Abdullah went to Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) (in Syria), where Amr bin Uthman, al-Mundhir bin al-Zubayr and Ibn Zam'ah (may Allah be pleased with them) were also present. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him: What price was fixed for the al-Ghabah estate? He told him: 600,000, or he said: 100,000 was fixed for each share. Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "How many remain now?" He said: "Four and a half shares." At this al-Mundhir said: "I will take one share for 100,000." Amr bin Uthman said: "I will take one share for 100,000." Then Ibn Zam'ah said: "I will take one share for 100,000." After that Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "How many shares remain now?" He said: "One and a half shares." Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will take it for 150,000." Later Abdullah bin Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with them both) sold his share to Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) for 600,000. Then, when Ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both) had finished paying off the debt, al-Zubayr's children said: "Now distribute our inheritance." But Abdullah said: "I cannot distribute your inheritance until I have announced during the days of Hajj for four years: Whoever has a claim of debt on al-Zubayr should come to us and take his debt." The narrator said: Abdullah then began to have this announced every year during the days of Hajj, and when four years had passed, Abdullah distributed the inheritance among them. Al-Zubayr had four wives, and Abdullah had set aside the one third from the sale proceeds; even so, each wife received 1,200,000, and the total estate of al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to 50,200,000.