Al-Bukhārī related (1): Saʿīd ibn Abī Maryam narrated to us, Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us, Zayd informed me, from his father, that he heard ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb say:

“By Him in whose hand is my soul, had I not feared that those who come after us would be left destitute, possessing nothing, I would not have conquered any settlement without dividing it up just as the Prophet ﷺ divided Khaybar. Instead, I leave it as a treasury for them from which they may take their portions.”

Al-Bukhārī also reported this narration (3) through the chain of Mālik, and Abū Dāwūd transmitted it via Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—through Ibn Mahdī—from Mālik, from Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, from ʿUmar, with the same wording. On its face, this version suggests that the whole of Khaybar was distributed among the victors.

Abū Dāwūd said (4): Ibn al-Sarraḥ narrated to us, Ibn Wahb informed us, Yūnus informed me, from Ibn Shihāb, who said: “It has reached me that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ captured Khaybar by force after fighting, and that those of its people who remained did so on condition that they would eventually be expelled.”

Al-Zuhrī likewise stated (5): “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took the one-fifth of Khaybar, then divided the remainder among those who were present.”

What al-Zuhrī asserted, however, deserves examination, for the sounder view is that the whole of Khaybar was not apportioned; rather, only half of it was distributed to the conquerors, as will be explained. Mālik and those who followed him cited this case as proof that the Imam possesses discretion regarding conquered lands: he may distribute them, reserve them for the Muslims’ welfare, or divide part of them while retaining part to meet future needs and public interests.

Abū Dāwūd said: al-Rabīʿ ibn Sulaymān the muʾadhdhin narrated to us, Asad ibn Mūsā narrated to us, Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyāʾ narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to me, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from Bashīr ibn Yasār, from Sahl ibn Abī Ḥathmah, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ divided Khaybar into two halves—one half for his unforeseen expenditures and needs, and one half among the Muslims—allocating it to them in eighteen shares.” Abū Dāwūd alone transmitted this report.

He then transmitted it mursal from Bashīr ibn Yasār (6), specifying that the half set aside for exigencies comprised al-Waṭīḥ, al-Katībah, al-Salālim and their adjoining lands, while the half for the Muslims comprised al-Shiqq, al-Naṭāṭ and what was adjacent to them, with a share for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ being taken from that half.

He also said (7): Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī narrated to us, Muḥammad ibn Faḍīl narrated to us, from Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, from Bashīr ibn Yasār, a client of the Anṣār, from certain Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prevailed over Khaybar he divided it