Fadak: Difference between revisions

The notability of Fadak is because of the quarrel between [[Lady Fatima (a)]] and [[Abu Bakr]] over its ownership, after the [[demise of Prophet (s)]]. After Abu Bakr reached [[caliphate]] he confiscated Fadak which was gifted to Lady Fatima (a) by the [[Prophet (s)]]. After Lady Fatima (a) gave evidence, Abu Bakr admitted that he was wrong and wrote a handwriting that no one should encroach on it. But [[Umar b. al-Khattab]] took the handwriting and tore it. In the [[al-Fadakiyya Sermon]] Lady Fatima (a) complained about this incident.

Fadak is located in Hijaz, 160 Km from [[Medina]].<ref>Ḥamawī, ''Muʿjam al-buldān'', vol. 4, p. 238.</ref> Although it is situated in the dry lands of al-Harra, it is covered with date palms and provided land for gardens and farming. In the early Islamic period, [[Jews]] resided there.<ref>Balādī, ''Muʿjam maʿālim al-ḥijāz'', vol. 2, p. 205-206; vol. 7, p. 23.</ref> The Shamrukh castle was located near Fadak, which was strategically regarded as the main military base for the Jews.<ref>Subḥānī, "Ḥawādith-i sāl-i haftum-i hijrat", p. 14.</ref> Reports state that the Jewish people were living there until the time of [[Umar b. al-Khattab]], the second caliph, who ordered them to evacuate the region.<ref>Marjānī, ''Bahjat al-nufūs'', vol. 1, p. 438.</ref>

Today Fadak is located in the city of al-Ha'it,<ref>Jaʿfarīyān, ''Āthār-i Islāmi-yi Mecca wa Medina'', p. 396.</ref> which consisted of twenty one villages by 1975. According to reports, in 2010, about 14,000 people live there.

During the emergence of [[Islam]], the fertile soil and rich water sources allowed Fadak to be rich in date palms and other gardens. As a result, Fadak was a productive and fruitful land with profitable income.<ref>Ḥamawī, ''Muʿjam al-buldān'', vol. 4, p. 238.</ref> It is said the date palms of Fadak are worth the same as date palms of [[Kufa]]-which is well-known for its extensive cultivation of date palms.<ref>Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, ''Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha'', vol. 16, p. 236.</ref> When Umar b. al-Khattab decided to expel the Jews, he paid them fifty thousand Dirhams (old currency of Hijaz) for the remaining half of Fadak, which was owned by the Jews.<ref>Jawharī al-Baṣrī, ''al-Saqīfa wa Fadak'', p. 98.</ref>

Fadak was undeniably a fertile land, but its annual income is unknown. According to a number of sources, Fadak produced an annual income of twenty four to seventy thousand Dinars at the time of Prophet Muhammad (s).<ref>Quṭb al-Rāwandī, ''al-Kharāʾij wa l-jarāʾiḥ'', vol. 1, p. 113.</ref> As estimated by researchers, the income achieved from Fadak could easily cover the expenses of [[Banu Hashim]], so they would not need financial support from the government or caliphate.

The fame of Fadak among Shi'a is due to an event which took place after the [[demise of the Prophet (s)]] in which [[Abu Bakr]] took Fadak from [[Lady Fatima (a)]] and confiscated it for the [[caliphate]].<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 543; Mufīd, ''al-Muqniʿa'', p. 289-290.</ref> Abu Bakr argued that the [[prophets]] do not leave [[inheritance]] as he had heard it from the Prophet (s).<ref>Balādhurī, ''Futūḥ al-buldān'', vol. 1, p. 40-41.</ref> But, Lady Fatima (a) mentioned that Abu Bakr's argument was against the Qur'an<ref>Majlisī Kupaʾī, ''Fadak az ghaṣb tā takhrīb'', p. 94.</ref> and took [[Imam Ali (a)]] and [[Umm Ayman]] as [[witness]] that the Prophet (s) had gifted Fadak to her before his demise (and Fadak was not an inheritance). Abu Bakr accepted that and wrote a handwriting that no one should encroach on it. When Lady Fatima (a) exited the meeting, [[Umar b. al-Khattab]] saw her, took the handwriting and tore it.<ref>Ḥalabī, ''al-Sīra al-Ḥalabīyya'', vol. 3, p. 512; Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 543. </ref> As Imam Ali's (a) petition was rejected, Lady Fatima (a) went to the [[mosque]] and gave [[al-Fadakiyya sermon]].<ref>Shahīdī, ''Zindigānī-yi Fātimā-yi Zahrā'', p. 121-122.</ref>

* [[Al-Fadakiyya Sermon]]