The Real Issue of the Garden of Fadak Explained

Question: What was the real issue of the Garden of Fadak? Why couldn’t Sayyida Fatima (RA) get the garden after the death of the Prophet ﷺ? Also, did Sayyida Fatima (RA) remain angry with Abu Bakr (RA) for her entire life? Please provide a well-reasoned answer.

Answer:

Alhamdulillah!

First Question: What is the Garden of Fadak?

Fadak is a town in Khaybar (where a garden is located, known as Bagh Fadak). It has also been said that it is an area in the Hejaz with springs and date palms. Allah (SWT) bestowed it upon His beloved Prophet ﷺ.

(Lisan al-Arab, Vol. 2, p. 473)

Fadak is a settlement located about thirty miles from Madinah. In the 7th year of Hijri, when Khaybar was conquered, the Prophet ﷺ was returning to Madinah. He sent Hazrat Muhayyisa bin Mas’ud to the people of Fadak to invite them to accept Islam. Its leader, Yusha bin Nun, a Jew, made a treaty for half the income of Fadak, and through this, the Garden of Fadak came under the control of the Muslims. Since this wealth was acquired without fighting and as part of a peace treaty, it is called Maal-e-Fai’. This garden came into the possession of the Prophet ﷺ. He would spend from this garden on his family and also on the poor. After his passing, Hazrat Fatima (RA) requested this garden from Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA), but he declined, explaining that prophets do not leave inheritance. Instead, their leftover property becomes state property used for charity and other good works. He clarified that the Ahl al-Bayt (the Prophet’s family) would continue to receive expenses from this wealth, just as the Prophet ﷺ used to provide, but it would not be distributed as inheritance among the heirs.

The relevant narrations are as follows:

6725 حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُحَمَدٍ ، حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ ، أَنَّ فَاطِمَةَ وَالْعَبَّاسَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ، أَتَيَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ يَلْتَمِسَانِ مِيرَاثَهُمَا مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَهُمَا حِينَئِذٍ يَطْلُبَانِ أَرْضَيْهِمَا مِنْ فَدَكَ وَسَهْمَهُمَا مِنْ خَيْبَرَ

6726 فَقَالَ لَهُمَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ : سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ : ” لَا نُورَثُ، مَا تَرَكْنَا صَدَقَةٌ، إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُ آلُ مُحَمَدٍ مِنْ هَذَا الْمَالِ “. قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ : وَاللَّهِ لَا أَدَعُ أَمْرًا رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَصْنَعُهُ فِيهِ إِلَّا صَنَعْتُهُ،

قَالَ : فَهَجَرَتْهُ فَاطِمَةُ فَلَمْ تُكَلِّمْهُ حَتَّى مَاتَتْ .

Translation:

“Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha Siddiqa (RA) narrates that Hazrat Fatima (RA) and Hazrat Abbas (RA) both came to Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) (after the death of the Prophet ﷺ) seeking their inheritance from him, that is, the land of the Prophet ﷺ in Fadak and his share in the lands of Khaybar. Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) replied that he had heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: ‘We (Prophets) do not leave inheritance; whatever we leave is Sadaqa (charity). However, the family of Muhammad will continue to eat from this wealth.’ Abu Bakr (RA) then said, ‘By Allah, I will not abandon anything that I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ doing; I will surely continue it.’ (The narrator says that Fatima, may Allah be pleased with her,) left him and did not speak to him until she died.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Obligations (Al-Fara’id), Chapter: The Prophet’s statement “We do not leave inheritance, what we leave is charity”, 6725, 6726)

The inheritance of prophets is not distributed among their heirs after their death, as mentioned in the hadith above. The same narration is also reported from Hazrat Abu Huraira (RA) as follows:

Sunan Abu Dawood

Book: Tribute, Spoils of War and Rulership

Chapter: On What The Prophet (ﷺ) Would Select For Himself From The Spoils Of War

Hadith No: 2974

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ مَالِكٍ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ الْأَعْرَجِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:‏‏‏‏ لَا تَقْتَسِمُ وَرَثَتِي دِينَارًا مَا تَرَكْتُ بَعْدَ نَفَقَةِ نِسَائِي وَمُؤْنَةِ عَامِلِي فَهُوَ صَدَقَةٌ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُد:‏‏‏‏ مُؤْنَةُ عَامِلِي يَعْنِي أَكَرَةَ الْأَرْضِ.

Translation:

Abu Huraira (RA) reported the Prophet ﷺ as saying: “My heirs are not to divide a dinar (among themselves). Whatever I leave after the maintenance of my wives and the wages of my workers is Sadaqa (charity).”

Abu Dawood says: mu’natu ‘amili (wages of my workers) refers to the cultivators of the land.

(Authentication: Sahih)

It is also narrated from Hazrat Tufail (RA):

Sunan Abu Dawood

Book: Tribute, Spoils of War and Rulership

Chapter: On What The Prophet (ﷺ) Would Select For Himself From The Spoils Of War

Hadith No: 2973

حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْفُضَيْلِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ الْوَلِيدِ بْنِ جُمَيْعٍ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏عَنْ أَبِي الطُفَيْلِ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قَالَ:‏‏‏‏ جَاءَتْ فَاطِمَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا إِلَىأَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ تَطْلُبُ مِيرَاثَهَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ‏‏‏‏‏‏قَالَ:‏‏‏‏ فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍرَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ:‏‏‏‏ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ:‏‏‏‏ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِذَا أَطْعَمَ نَبِيًّا طُعْمَةً فَهِيَ لِلَّذِي يَقُومُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ.

Translation:

Abu Tufail said: Fatima (RA) came to Abu Bakr (RA) seeking her inheritance from the Prophet ﷺ. Abu Bakr (RA) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “When Allah, the Exalted, provides a prophet with a source of livelihood, it belongs to the one who succeeds him (the Caliph).” (Meaning, it does not go to his heirs).

(Authentication: Hasan)

Clarification:

The reason for this is that a prophet is sent to guide people, not to accumulate worldly wealth. Therefore, whatever wealth he acquires during his life becomes charity after his death, so that people do not assume he was busy accumulating it for his heirs.

The statement of Zakariya (AS) mentioned in the Holy Quran, “Who shall inherit me, and inherit (also) the posterity of Ya’qub (Jacob)” (Surah Maryam: 6), and the verse, “And Sulaiman (Solomon) inherited (the knowledge of) Dawud (David)” (Surah An-Naml: 16), refer to the inheritance of knowledge and prophethood, not worldly wealth.

---

Further Supporting Evidence

The hadiths above show that the inheritance of prophets is not in the form of dirhams and dinars to be distributed among their children. This is supported by a narration from the renowned Shia Muhaddith, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni, in his book Usul al-Kafi, from Abu al-Bakhtari, who narrates from Imam Abu Abdullah Ja’far al-Sadiq:

«عن ابی عبداللہ قال ان العلماء ورثة الأنبیاء و ذالک ان الانبیاء ……………. دراھما ولا دینارا وانما ورثوا احادیث من احادیثھم فمن اخذ بیشئ منھا اخذ بحظ وافر»

(Usul al-Kafi: 1/32, Bab Sifat al-‘Ilm wa Fadlih)

Translation:

“Hazrat Ja’far al-Sadiq said: The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets. This is because the Prophets do not leave behind dirhams or dinars as inheritance; they leave behind their hadiths (knowledge). Whoever takes from it has taken an abundant share.”

This law was not just for the children of the prophets but also for their wives and other relatives; they do not receive anything from a prophet’s inheritance. That is why, after the Prophet’s ﷺ death, when the Mothers of the Believers (RA) intended to claim their inheritance, Hazrat Aisha (RA) stopped them. The words of the hadith are:

«حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا، أَنَّ أَزْوَاجَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حِينَ تُوُفِّيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، أَرَدْنَ أَنْ يَبْعَثْنَ عُثْمَانَ إِلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ يَسْأَلْنَهُ مِيرَاثَهُنَّ، فَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ : أَلَيْسَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” لَا نُورَثُ، مَا تَرَكْنَا صَدَقَةٌ “)

Translation:

“Hazrat Aisha (RA) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, his wives intended to send Hazrat Uthman (RA) to Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) to ask for their inheritance. At that moment, I (Aisha) said to them, ‘Do you not know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: We (Prophets) have no heirs; whatever we leave is charity.'”

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Obligations, Chapter: The Prophet’s statement “We do not leave inheritance, what we leave is charity”, 6730)

From the discussion above, it is clear that the inheritance of prophets cannot be distributed among their children and relatives, and this was a law that also applied to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Therefore, in light of these hadiths, Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) did not give the Garden of Fadak to Hazrat Fatima (RA) as inheritance, and similarly, the Mothers of the Believers were also excluded from the Prophet’s ﷺ inheritance under this same rule.

---

An Objection and Its Response

An objection is raised based on the last sentence of Sahih al-Bukhari hadith number 6726. After Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) informed Fatima (RA) that the property of prophets is not inherited, the narrator adds:

قَالَ : فَهَجَرَتْهُ فَاطِمَةُ فَلَمْ تُكَلِّمْهُ حَتَّى مَاتَتْ .

“Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) left him and did not speak to him until she died.”

This incident can be analyzed from two perspectives: from the perspective of the sanad (chain of narration) and from the perspective of dirayat (rational analysis), and there are issues from both viewpoints.

• First Issue (Sanad):
  If you look at the chain of all these narrations, you will find Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. Among muhaddithin (hadith scholars), al-Zuhri is a revered and reliable narrator; however, there are some known issues with him.
  1. He used to perform “Idraj” in hadiths. Idraj means adding one’s own explanatory sentences while narrating a hadith. His contemporary, Rabi’ah, used to advise him against this because it concerned the words of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. If it was necessary to add something, it should be stated separately so that his opinion would not be mixed with the Prophet’s ﷺ words. (Bukhari, Al-Tarikh al-Kabir, narrator 976, 3/135)
  2. He also practiced “Tadlis,” which means concealing a weakness in the chain of narration.
• If all narrations related to the Garden of Fadak are gathered, it becomes clear that the mention of Sayyida Fatima’s (RA) displeasure with Sayyidina Abu Bakr (RA) is only found in narrations where al-Zuhri is in the chain. This suggests that the statement about her displeasure is likely an idraj (addition) by al-Zuhri. The part about her being upset for six months is only narrated by al-Zuhri, who was born fifty years after this event. The question is, al-Zuhri was not an eyewitness to this event. From whom did he hear this, and how reliable was that source? No one else has narrated this. Famous muhaddithin like al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani have rejected this statement from al-Zuhri, declaring it munqati’ (disconnected).
  (Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari Sharh Bukhari, 7/495, under hadith 4240)
• Second Issue (Dirayat):
  From a rational standpoint, the statement about her displeasure seems incorrect. There is no issue with Sayyida Fatima (RA) thinking about receiving the Prophet’s ﷺ inheritance and going to Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) to discuss it. This also shows that she recognized him as the legitimate ruler, which is why she brought her case to him. Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) explained that the Prophet ﷺ himself had declared all his property as charity, and the Garden of Fadak was government property, not owned by the Prophet ﷺ but by the state. Its income was spent on the Prophet’s ﷺ family as a stipend because he worked full-time as the head of state and had no other source of income. He also added that its income would continue to be spent on the Prophet’s ﷺ family.
  Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) reasoned with evidence, presenting the command of the Prophet ﷺ as proof. If Sayyida Fatima (RA) had disagreed, she would have presented a counter-argument, but she did not. This indicates she understood his point. Considering the piety, high character, and indifference to worldly matters of Sayyida Fatima (RA), it is not expected of her to become angry over a matter where the command of the Prophet ﷺ was presented to her. This suggests that either someone else added this sentence about displeasure into al-Zuhri’s narration, or he himself said it due to a misunderstanding.
• Third Issue:
  Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) states: “The narration says, ‘Fatima forsook him and did not speak to him until she died.’ However, Ibn Shabba reports from another chain through Ma’mar: ‘{She did not speak to him about that wealth}.'”
  (Fath al-Bari, Vol. 6, p. 164)
  This means that when it is narrated that Fatima (RA) did not speak to Abu Bakr (RA), it refers to not speaking to him about the matter of inheritance. Therefore, if someone takes this to mean absolute displeasure, it would be incorrect, because other narrations confirm that Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) did speak with and meet Fatima (RA).
  Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions in his book Al-Sunan al-Kubra:
  “When Fatima (RA) fell ill, Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) came to her and sought permission to enter. Ali (RA) said, ‘O Fatima, this is Abu Bakr seeking permission to see you.’ She asked, ‘Do you want me to give him permission?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ So she gave him permission, and he entered to reconcile with her and make her pleased.”
  (Al-Sunan al-Kubra, Vol. 6, p. 491, #12735)
  This means that if, due to human nature, Fatima (RA) felt hurt and did not speak to Abu Bakr (RA) again on this specific issue, Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) came to her house and reconciled with her.
• Fourth Issue:
  Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar (RA) did not just deny the Prophet’s ﷺ inheritance to Sayyida Fatima (RA); they also denied it to their own daughters, Sayyida Aisha (RA) and Hafsa (RA). The case of Sayyida Fatima (RA) is often sensationalized, while Sayyida Aisha, Hafsa, and the other Mothers of the Believers (RA) are completely ignored, even though a wife also has a share in inheritance.
• Fifth Issue:
  Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar (RA) appointed Sayyidina Ali (RA) as the trustee of this property. He accepted the trusteeship, demonstrating that he agreed with its status as a trust. If the Garden of Fadak was truly the property of the Ahl al-Bayt, he could have handed it over to them during his own caliphate. His not doing so is proof that he also did not consider it the property of the Ahl al-Bayt. Some people claim that Marwan ibn al-Hakam had bought the garden from the state, which is why Hazrat Ali did not do so. But this is incorrect; if it was truly the right of the Ahl al-Bayt, Hazrat Ali should have returned it to its rightful owners and had Marwan’s money returned to him.
• Sixth Issue:
  The great-grandson of Hazrat Ali (RA) and Fatima (RA), Hazrat Zayd ibn Ali ibn Husayn (may Allah have mercy on him), said: “If I were in Abu Bakr’s place, I would have made the same decision regarding Fadak that he made.”
  (Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari Sharh Bukhari, 7/495, under hadith 4240; al-Bayhaqi, hadith 12744, 6/493)

---

Conclusion

Therefore, the objection raised by some deniers of hadith and troublemakers against Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA)—that by not giving the Garden of Fadak to Hazrat Fatima (RA), he usurped her right or committed an injustice—is completely baseless. The falsity of their baseless objection is exposed by the fact that while they criticize him for not giving a share to Fatima (RA), they fail to mention that he also did not give any share of the inheritance to his own daughter, Aisha Siddiqa (RA), nor to Hazrat Umar Faruq’s (RA) daughter, Hafsa (RA), nor to any of the other Mothers of the Believers. Inheritance belongs to all relatives. If the daughter is an heir, is the wife not an heir? But Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) did not make anyone an heir to this property because the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself had stated that the property of prophets is not inherited.

May Allah (SWT) grant us all the ability to understand the truth. Ameen.

(((And Allah the Exalted knows what is correct)))

(Source: Fatawa Sirat-e-Mustaqeem)

Reference: https://alfurqan.info/problems/1646