1) Fadak was a fertile land north of Medina that was inhabited by a Jewish tribe and produced significant income, estimated between 24,000-70,000 dinars. 2) After conquering the Jewish tribe of Khaibar, the Prophet was given 1/5 of the land and fortresses as his share according to the Quran. The Jewish tribe of Fadak then offered half their land to the Prophet to avoid conflict. 3) After the Prophet's death, Abu Bakr took possession of Fadak, arguing that prophets cannot be inherited from. Fatimah argued Fadak was rightfully hers by either gift or inheritance, leading to

1. THE GARDEN OF FADAK
BY SHAHPUR BANGASH

2. General Overview
 Fadak is a very important and crucial episode in Islamic history. Situated north of
Medina, at a distance of 2 or 3 days journey, it was a very fertile land, where
according to the report of Ibn Abil Hadid, date-groves were not less than those of
Kufa of 13th century1 and whose income was between 24,000 and 70,000 dinars. It
was inhabited by a Jewish tribe.
 In 7 A.H., the Prophet waged a war against the Jews of Khaibar, because they had
broken a treaty with the Muslims.
 Some of their fortresses were taken; two or three were besieged.
 They proposed a deal that their life, religion, honor etc. would be safe, and they
would leave their fortresses and land for the Muslims.
 The agreement was concluded; the Jews were allowed to work on the land on behalf
of the Muslims, and the produce was shared between the Jews and the Muslims half
and half.

3.  According to the 'Aaya of Qur'an (8:41), one-fifth of the fortresses and land was given
to the Prophet as Khumus, and the remaining four-fifths to the Muslims.
 “And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allah is one
of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the
and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We
down to Our Servant on the day of criterion - the day when the two armies met.
Allah, over all things, is competent.”~ Surah Anfal v. 41
 When the Jews of Fadak heard of the battle of Khaibar and the resulting agreement,
they began thinking about themselves. At the same time a messenger came to them
from Medina inviting them to Islam. They refused to accept Islam, but, on their own
accord, offered peace on following terms:-
 a) They would give half of their land to the Prophet, the other half remaining in their
possession.
 b) They would work on the land of the Prophet, sharing in its produce.
 c) The Prophet would have authority to turn them out of Fadak whenever he so wished,
but he would have to pay them full price of their share of land and property.

4.  On arriving at Medina, the Prophet had created fraternal relationships, making a
muhajir brother of an ansari; and every ansari shared all his property half and half
with his muhajir brother; so much so that if an ansari's inheritance was divided
among his brothers and sisters, the muhajir "brother" was included in it.
 Abu Bakr was made brother of Kharijah bin Zayd; 'Umar and 'Utban bin Malik
Ansari were made brothers, as were 'Uthman and Aws bin Thabit Ansari; and so
on. Only 'Ali was left out of this fraternity, the Prophet declaring that 'Ali was the
brother of the Prophet himself.
 On acquiring the property of Banu Nazir, the Prophet on his own decided to
divide it among the muhajirin and release Ansar from this burden. He did so, and
included two extremely poor Ansar in the list - Abu Dajjanah and Sahl ibn Haneef.
 So all mahajirin, including Abu Bakar, 'Umar and 'Uthman, got their shares from
that land and it became their personal property.

5.  In the same way Fadak became a personal property of the Prophet; and he
managed it himself
 Then another Verse came:-
“And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor and the traveler, and do not
spend wastefully.” ~ Surah Bani Israel V. 26
 The Prophet asked Jibril the meaning of this revelation. He said: Give Fadak to
Fatimah; it will be a source of income to her and her children.

6. After the Prophet’s (Pbuh) Death
 This continued till the Prophet died and Abu Bakr took the possession of Fadak by
force.
 Anyhow, when Fatimah saw that Abu Bakr was bent upon taking away Fadak from
her, she said that, if not by gift, then Fadak was hers by inheritance.
 Abu Bakr came with an ingenious reply. He said: "I have heard the Messenger of
Allah saying. "We, the group of the prophets, are not inherited from; whatever we
leave is 'Sadaqah' (charity):‘
 Now, this “supposed” saying of the Prophet is against many 'Ayat of Qur'an and all
the accepted principles of Islam
 “And Solomon inherited David. He said, "O people, we have been taught the
language of birds, and we have been given from all things. Indeed, this is
evident bounty.“~ Surah Naml V. 16

7. Some Excerpts from the Sermon of
Fatimah
 Praise be to Allah for that which He bestowed (upon us); And thanks be to Him for all that which He inspired;
and commended in His Name for that which He Provided: Form prevalent favors which He created, And
abundant benefactions which He offered and perfect grants which He presented; (such benefactions) that their
number is much too plentiful to compute; Bounties too vast to measure; Their limit was too distant to realize; He
recommended to them (His creatures) to gain more (of His benefaction) by being grateful for their continuity;
He ordained Himself praiseworthy by giving generously to His creatures; I bear witness that there is no God but
Allah Who is One without partner, a statement which sincere devotion is made to be its interpretation; hearts
guarantee its continuation, and illuminated in the minds is its sensibility. He Who can not be perceived with
vision; neither be described with tongues; nor can imagination surround His state

8.  I too bear witness that my Father, Muhammad, is His Slave and Messenger, Whom He chose prior to sending him,
named him before sending him; when creatures were still concealed in that which was transcendental, guarded from
that which was appalling, and associated with the termination and nonexistence. For Allah the Exalted knew that
which was to follow, comprehended that which will come to pass, And realized the place of every event. Allah has sent
him (Muhammad) as perfection for His commands, a resolution to accomplish His rule, and an implementation of the
decrees of His Mercy. So he found the nations to vary in their faiths; Obsessed by their fires, Worshipping their idols,
And denying Allah despite their knowledge of Him. Therefore, Allah illuminated their darkness with my Father,
Muhammad, uncovered obscurity from their hearts, and cleared the clouds from their insights. He revealed guidance
among the people; So he delivered them from being led astray, led them away from misguidance, guided them to the
proper religion, and called them to the straight path.

9.  O Muslims! Will my inheritance be usurped? O son of Abu Quhafa (Abu Bakr)! Where is it in the Book of
Allah that you inherit your father and I do not inherit mine? Surely you have come up with an
unprecedented thing. Do you intentionally abandon the Book of Allah and cast it behind your back? Do
you not read where it says: And Sulaiman inherited Dawood‘?
 And when it narrates the story of Zakariya A.S and says:
And indeed, I fear the successors after me, and my wife has been barren, so give me from Yourself an heir, Who
will inherit me and inherit from the family of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You].“ Surah
Maryam V. 5 - 6

10. AndI amthedaughterof a warner(theProphet)
to youagainst a severepunishment.So, act and
so will we,andwait, andwe shall wait.'

11. A Few Ahadith from the 6 Books of
Ahadith
 Sahih Bukhari Vol 4, Book 53, Hadith no. 325
Narrated `Aisha:
(mother of the believers) After the death of Allah 's Apostle Fatima the daughter of Allah's Messenger
( ‫ﷺ‬) asked Abu Bakr As-Siddiq to give her, her share of inheritance from what Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬)
had left of the Fai (i.e. booty gained without fighting) which Allah had given him. Abu Bakr said to her,
"Allah's Apostle said, 'Our property will not be inherited, whatever we (i.e. prophets) leave is Sadaqa
(to be used for charity)." Fatima, the daughter of Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬) got angry and stopped
speaking to Abu Bakr, and continued assuming that attitude till she died. Fatima remained alive
for six months after the death of Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬.) She used to ask Abu Bakr for her share from
the property of Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬) which he left at Khaibar, and Fadak, and his property at Medina
(devoted for charity). Abu Bakr refused to give her that property and said, "I will not leave anything
Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬) used to do, because I am afraid that if I left something from the Prophet's
tradition, then I would go astray." (Later on) `Umar gave the Prophet's property (of Sadaqa) at Medina
to `Ali and `Abbas, but he withheld the properties of Khaibar and Fadak in his custody and said, "These
two properties are the Sadaqa which Allah's Apostle used to use for his expenditures and urgent
needs. Now their management is to be entrusted to the ruler." (Az-Zuhri said, "They have been
managed in this way till today.")

12.  Sahih Bukhari Vol. 8, Book 80, Hadith no. 718
Narrated `Aisha:
Fatima and Al `Abbas came to Abu Bakr, seeking their share from the
property of Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬) and at that time, they were asking for
land at Fadak and their share from Khaibar. Abu Bakr said to them, " I have
heard from Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬) saying, 'Our property cannot be
and whatever we leave is to be spent in charity, but the family of
Muhammad may take their provisions from this property." Abu Bakr added,
"By Allah, I will not leave the procedure I saw Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬)
during his lifetime concerning this property." Therefore Fatima left Abu Bakr
Bakr and did not speak to him till she died.

13.  Sahih Bukhari Vol. 5, Book 57, Hadith No. 61
Narrated Al-Miswar bin Makhrama:
Allah's Messenger ( ‫ﷺ‬) said, "Fatima is a part of me, and he who makes her angry,
makes me angry."

14.  Abu Bakr and 'Umar destroyed the credibility of both.
 They degraded the Progeny of the Prophet in the public eyes. People saw that in
spite of all the verses of the Qur'an and traditions of the Prophet extolling the
virtues of 'Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husain, they had less weight in the eyes of the
Khalifa than many ordinary companions of the Prophet, like Jabir b. 'Abdillah and
Khuzaima b. Thabit.
 They destroyed the sanctity and supremacy of the Qur'an, making it subservient to
the rulers' expediencies; a system was established that the caliphs' words could
change/abrogate clear rules of the Qur'an.
 In this way they deprived the ummah of the guidance of Qur'an and Ahlul Bayt for
ever, and the two safeguards against going astray were destroyed.

15. "Blessings and peace of
Allah be upon