Surah Al-Hashr (59) — Ayah 10

10. And (also) for those who come after them [13], saying: "Our Lord! Forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place any malice [14] in our hearts towards those who believe. Our Lord! Surely, You are Most Kind, Most Merciful."

[13]
The Share of Later Muslims in the Wealth of Fay:

That is, among those entitled to the wealth of Fay, Allah has made special mention of certain people. Among them, He first mentioned the needy Muhajirun, then those Muhajirun who showed selflessness, and thirdly, those who came later. This is because the wealth of Fay includes immovable property, lands, and also those amounts of jizyah and kharaj that are collected at the governmental level. Thus, when during the era of Umar Farooqؓ, the Muslims conquered Iraq and Syria and took possession of those lands, the commanders of the army insisted that the conquered lands be granted to them as estates and the inhabitants be given to them as slaves. Sayyiduna Umarؓ sent Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas for a census of the area. When the total number of inhabitants was compared with the number of soldiers, it was found that each soldier would get three people. Seeing this, Sayyiduna Umarؓ formed the opinion that the land should be taken into national custody and its owners should be allowed to remain there as cultivators and not be made slaves. Among the senior Companions, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Auf was of the same opinion as the army. They insisted on the division of not only the spoils of war but also the lands and prisoners, and Sayyiduna Bilalؓ objected so much that Sayyiduna Umarؓ, being exasperated, said: "Allahumma ikfini Bilalan" (O Allah! Take care of Bilal on my behalf). Sayyiduna Umarؓ argued that if the conquered territories were distributed among the army, then in the future, from where would the expenses for preparing armies, defending against external attacks, and maintaining peace and order in the country come? He also considered that if the land was distributed among the army, they would become negligent of jihad and become engrossed in feudalism. Therefore, the spoils of war should be distributed among the army, but the land should be declared the property of the Bayt al-Mal, because it seemed unlikely that such a large amount of wealth and land would come into the hands of Muslims again. Thus, Sayyiduna Umarؓ said: "If I did not have concern for the later Muslims, I would have distributed every town I conquered among the conquerors, just as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ distributed Khaybar." [بخاری۔ کتاب الجہاد۔ باب الغنیمۃ لمن شھد الوقعۃ]

Sayyiduna Umarؓ Taking the Lands of Iraq into National Custody:

As far as the stability of the Islamic state and the welfare of all Muslims was concerned, Sayyiduna Umarؓ was fully convinced of the correctness of his opinion. But the difficulty was that he could not present any definitive text by which he could convince the Mujahideen, Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Aufؓ, and Sayyiduna Bilalؓ. Since there were arguments on both sides, Sayyiduna Umarؓ convened a consultative council of ten people for a decision. In this council, five senior Muhajirun and five Ansar (Aws and Khazraj) participated. Sayyiduna Uthmanؓ and Sayyiduna Talhaؓ agreed with Sayyiduna Umarؓ' opinion. The discussion continued for several days, but no decision could be reached. Sayyiduna Umar remained quite worried about this matter. Finally, Allah Almighty inspired Sayyiduna Umarؓ with these words ﴿وَالَّذِيْنَ جَاؤُوْا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ﴾, which served as a definitive text to settle the debate, and this was such an argument before which everyone had to submit. Sayyiduna Umar called a general assembly and delivered a powerful speech referring to this very phrase, upon which everyone unanimously acknowledged that his opinion was correct. Here, the issue also arises that these words had been revealed long before, and all the Companions, including Sayyiduna Umar, had recited them hundreds of times. But the matter of their application (implication) had not yet arisen. And when the matter arose, Allah Almighty, through reflection on the divine verses, made Sayyiduna Umarؓ understand the meaning and breadth of these words. This is the very miracle of the Quran about which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that the wonders of this Book are endless and can never be exhausted. Incidentally, the following points are also illuminated by this incident:

Determining the Powers of the Leader in Times of Dispute:

1. The leader is not bound by the majority opinion when making a decision. The real basis of the decision is his own inner satisfaction or contentment of heart. Because in this matter, the majority opinion was against Sayyiduna Umarؓ' opinion.
2. The leader does not have the right to impose his will or opinion on the people. Rather, he must convince them with a Shariah-based argument and gain their confidence. In other words, the Islamic system of government is not autocratic but consultative, and the purpose of consultation is to seek evidence, even if it is found with one person. Here, the majority opinion is not the basis of the decision.
3. The final authority to decide rests with the head of the council.

[14]
Warning to Those Who Bear Enmity Against the Noble Companions ؓ:

From this verse, it is clearly understood that those who bear malice, enmity, grudge, or hatred against the Noble Companions ؓ, whether they are Muhajirun or Ansar, should first pray for the safety of their own faith. Then they should pray: "O Allah, forgive us this sin of ours and forgive our brothers who preceded us in faith, and if there remains any grudge in our hearts regarding them, remove it as well." Only that person can be a true Muslim who loves this pure group of the Noble Companions ؓ and accepts them as his leaders. And Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), reasoning from this very verse, said that whoever harbors malice against the Companions and speaks ill of them, has no share in the wealth of Fay.