Bayhaqi 12997 — Preference based on precedence in Islam and lineage

Umar, the freedman of Ghufrah, said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, wealth came from Bahrain. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whoever was owed something (a promise or a debt) by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), let him come and take it." Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If wealth comes from Bahrain, I will give you this much and this much." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said it three times and scooped with his hand. So Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Stand up and fill your hand (with the wealth)." So he filled it, and it was five hundred dirhams. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Count out a thousand (more) for him." And he distributed ten dirhams each among the people and said: "These are only promises that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made to the people." Then when the following year came, much more wealth came, and he distributed twenty dirhams each, and still some dirhams were left over from it. He gave the servants five dirhams each and said: "They are your servants who serve you and toil for you, so we have given them a small gift." The people said: "If only you would give preference to the Muhajirun and the Ansar because of their precedence and their standing." Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Their reward is with Allah; indeed, in this livelihood (the distribution of wealth), equality is better than preference." He acted upon this throughout his caliphate, until, in the year thirteen I think, with some nights of Jumada al-Akhirah remaining, he passed away. Then Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) became caliph. He achieved conquests and wealth came to him. (Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:) "Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) held his own view regarding this wealth, and I (now) hold a view of my own: I will not make one who fought against the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) like one who fought alongside the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) allotted five thousand each for those of the Muhajirun and the Ansar who were present at Badr, and four thousand each for those whose Islam was like the Islam of the people of Badr but who were not present at Badr. He allotted twelve thousand each for the pure wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (may Allah be pleased with them), except Sayyidah Safiyyah and Sayyidah Juwayriyah (may Allah be pleased with them both), for whom he allotted six thousand each. Both of them refused to accept it. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them: "I allotted for them only because of the hijrah." They both said: "You allotted for them only because of their position with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and we have the same position." Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) recognised that, and allotted twelve thousand each for them too. He allotted twelve thousand for Sayyiduna al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), four thousand for Usamah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them both), and three thousand for Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both). He said: "O my father, why did you give Usamah a thousand more? Did his father have any virtue that my father did not have? And does he have any standing that I do not have?" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Usamah's father was dearer to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than your father, and Usamah was dearer to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than you." He allotted five thousand each for al-Hasan and al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both), and joined them with the rank of their father because of their (kinship) position with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He allotted two thousand each for the children of the Ansar and the Muhajirun. Then Umar bin Abi Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by, and he said: "Give him a thousand more." Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Did his father have a standing that our fathers did not have? And does he have a standing that we do not have?" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I allotted him two thousand because of his father Abu Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him), and a thousand more because of his mother Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her). If you had a mother like his mother, I would give you a thousand more too." He allotted eight hundred each for the people of Makkah. Talhah bin Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) brought his brother Uthman to him, and he gave him eight hundred. Then al-Nadr bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by, and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allot two thousand for him." Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I brought you (my brother), one like him, and you allotted eight hundred for him and two thousand for this one?" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "His father (Anas bin al-Nadr (may Allah be pleased with him)) met me on the day of Uhud and asked me: What has become of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? I said: I can only think that he (peace and blessings be upon him) has been martyred. He drew his sword, broke its scabbard and said: If the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has been martyred, then Allah is Ever-Living and will never die. Then he fought until he was martyred, while this one (your brother) was grazing sheep in such-and-such a place."