ʿAmr ibn Umayyah al-Ḍamrī, killed two men from the Banū ʿĀmir, assuming they were enemies of the Muslims.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ therefore undertook to pay the blood-money for the two men and went to the settlement of Banū al-Naḍīr to seek their assistance in meeting that obligation. While he was sitting in one of their marketplaces waiting for their help, they broke the treaty and looked for an opportunity to kill him. Revelation came down to him informing him of their treachery, so he rose—making it appear to them and to the Companions who were with him that he had simply gone to relieve himself—and headed for Madinah. When he was late in returning, his Companions followed after him; he told them of the Jews’ perfidy—may Allah disgrace them—and they besieged the tribe in its village for six days, until it was agreed that the Jews would depart to Syria, al-Ḥīrah, and Khaybar.

Thus their property became “cool” fayʾ, obtained without toil on the Muslims’ part, for no horse or camel had been galloped in pursuit of it. The wealth belonged to Allah and to His Messenger: he would set aside from it a year’s provision for his family and spend the remainder on the Muslims’ public interests. At that time the foremost need was equipment for jihad—horses and weapons—though every age has expenditures that suit its own requirements.

Lessons Derived from the Hadith

1. The wealth of Banū al-Naḍīr became fayʾ for the general welfare of the Muslims because it was acquired without any effort or hardship on the part of their fighting men. Anything similar—property abandoned by unbelievers out of fear of the Muslims, wealth they concede to us in a treaty, as well as jizyah and kharāj—must likewise be directed to the Muslims’ common good.
2. From that wealth the ruler may take what suffices for him and for those he supports. Allah is the One from whom help is sought.
3. The ruler must be meticulous in spending the fayʾ and the public treasury on projects that truly benefit the community, beginning with the most important and then the next; each era has needs appropriate to it.
4. Storing provisions is permissible and does not conflict with reliance upon Allah. The Prophet ﷺ was the greatest of those who trust in Allah, yet he stored a year’s provision for his family.

Hadith Fifteen
ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Prophet ﷺ held a race for the conditioned horses from al-Ḥafya to Thaniyat al-Wadāʿ, and a race for the unconditioned horses from Thaniyat al-Wadāʿ to the mosque of Banū Zurayq. Ibn ʿUmar added: I was among those who raced.

Sufyān (1) said: The distance from al-Ḥafya to Thaniyat al-Wadāʿ is five or six miles, and from Thaniyat al-Wadāʿ to the mosque of Banū Zurayq is one mile.