Sahih al-Bukhari: Book 42: Distribution of Water

A tumbler (full of milk or water) was brought to the Prophet ﷺ who drank from it, while on his right side there was sitting a boy who was the youngest of those who were present and on his left side there were old men. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “O boy, will you allow me to give it (i.e. the rest of the drink) to the old men?” The boy said, “O Allah’s Messenger ﷺ! I will not give preference to anyone over me to drink the rest of it from which you have drunk.” So, the Prophet ﷺ gave it to him.

Anas bin Malik said, that once a domestic sheep was milked for Allah’s Messenger ﷺ while he was in the house of Anas bin Malik. The milk was mixed with water drawn from the well in Anas’s house. A tumbler of it was presented to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ who drank from it. Then Abu Bakr was sitting on his left side and a bedouin on his right side. When the Prophet ﷺ removed the tumbler from his mouth, ‘Umar was afraid that the Prophet ﷺ might give it to the bedouin, so he said. “O Allah’s Messenger ﷺ! Give it to Abu Bakr who is sitting by your side.” But the Prophet ﷺ gave it to the bedouin, who was to his right and said, “You should start with the one on your right side.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “Do not withhold the superfluous water, for that will prevent people from grazing their cattle.”

that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “Do not withhold the superfluous water in order to withhold the superfluous grass.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “No bloodmoney will be charged if somebody dies in a mine or in a well or is killed by an animal; and if somebody finds a treasure in his land he has to give one-fifth of it to the Government.”

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever takes a false oath to deprive somebody of his property will meet Allah while He will be angry with him.” Allah revealed: ‘Verily those who purchase a little gain at the cost of Allah’s covenant, and their oaths.’ ……..(3.77)

Al-Ash’ath came (to the place where ‘Abdullah was narrating) and said, “What has Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman (i.e. ‘Abdullah) been telling you? This verse was revealed concerning me. I had a well in the land of a cousin of mine. The Prophet ﷺ asked me to bring witnesses (to confirm my claim). I said, ‘I don’t have witnesses.’ He said, ‘Let the defendant take an oath then.’ I said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger ﷺ! He will take a (false) oath immediately.’ Then the Prophet ﷺ mentioned the above narration and Allah revealed the verse to confirm what he had said.” (See Hadith No. 692)

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “There are three persons whom Allah will not look at on the Day of Resurrection, nor will he purify them and theirs shall be a severe punishment. They are:

1. A man possessed superfluous water, on a way and he withheld it from travelers.

2. A man who gave a pledge of allegiance to a ruler and he gave it only for worldly benefits. If the ruler gives him something he gets satisfied, and if the ruler withholds something from him, he gets dissatisfied.

3. And man displayed his goods for sale after the ‘Asr prayer and he said, ‘By Allah, except Whom None has the right to be worshipped, I have been given so much for my goods,’ and somebody believes him (and buys them).”

The Prophet ﷺ then recited: “Verily! Those who purchase a little gain at the cost of Allah’s Covenant and their oaths.” (3.77)

An Ansari man quarrelled with Az-Zubair in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ about the Harra Canals which were used for irrigating the date-palms. The Ansari man said to Az-Zubair, “Let the water pass’ but Az-Zubair refused to do so. So, the case was brought before the Prophet ﷺ who said to Az-Zubair, “O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) and then let the water pass to your neighbor.” On that the Ansari got angry and said to the Prophet ﷺ, “Is it because he (i.e. Zubair) is your aunt’s son?” On that the color of the face of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ changed (because of anger) and he said, “O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) and then withhold the water till it reaches the walls between the pits round the trees.” Zubair said, “By Allah, I think that the following verse was revealed on this occasion”: “But no, by your Lord They can have No faith Until they make you judge In all disputes between them.” (4.65)

When a man from the Ansar quarrelled with AzZubair, the Prophet ﷺ said, “O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) first and then let the water flow (to the land of the others).” “On that the Ansari said, (to the Prophet ﷺ), “It is because he is your aunt’s son.” On that the Prophet ﷺ said, “O Zubair! Irrigate till the water reaches the walls between the pits around the trees and then stop (i.e. let the water go to the other’s land).” I think the following verse was revealed concerning this event: “But no, by your Lord They can have No faith Until they make you judge In all disputes between them.” (4.65)

An-Ansari man quarrelled with Az-Zubair about a canal in the Harra which was used for irrigating date-palms. Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, ordering Zubair to be moderate, said, “O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) first and then leave the water for your neighbor.” The Ansari said, “Is it because he is your aunt’s son?” On that the color of the face of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ changed and he said, “O Zubair! Irrigate (your land) and withhold the water till it reaches the walls that are between the pits around the trees.” So, Allah’s Messenger ﷺ gave Zubair his full right. Zubair said, “By Allah, the following verse was revealed in that connection”: “But no, by your Lord They can have No faith Until they make you judge In all disputes between them.” (4.65)

(The sub-narrator,) Ibn Shihab said to Juraij (another sub-narrator), “The Ansar and the other people interpreted the saying of the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Irrigate (your land) and with-hold the water till it reaches the walls between the pits around the trees,’ as meaning up to the ankles.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, ‘This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Messenger ﷺ! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?” He replied, “Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate.”

The Prophet ﷺ prayed the eclipse prayer, and then said, “Hell was displayed so close that I said, ‘O my Lord ! Am I going to be one of its inhabitants?”‘ Suddenly he saw a woman. I think he said, who was being scratched by a cat. He said, “What is wrong with her?” He was told, “She had imprisoned it (i.e. the cat) till it died of hunger.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “A woman was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger.” Allah’s Messenger ﷺ further said, (Allah knows better) Allah said (to the woman), ‘You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up, nor did you set it free to eat the insects of the earth.”

Once a tumbler (full of milk or water) was brought to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ who drank from it, while on his right side there was sitting a boy who was the youngest of those who were present, and on his left side there were old men. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “O boy ! Do you allow me to give (the drink) to the elder people (first)?” The boy said, “I will not prefer anybody to have my share from you, O Allah’s Messenger ﷺ!” So, he gave it to the boy.

The Prophet ﷺ said, “By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, I will drive some people out from my (sacred) Fount on the Day of Resurrection as strange camels are expelled from a private trough.”

The Prophet ﷺ said, “May Allah be merciful to the mother of Ishmael! If she had left the water of Zam-Zam (fountain) as it was, (without constructing a basin for keeping the water), (or said, “If she had not taken handfuls of its water”), it would have been a flowing stream. Jurhum (an Arab tribe) came and asked her, ‘May we settle at your dwelling?’ She said, ‘Yes, but you have no right to possess the water.’ They agreed.”

The Prophet ﷺ said, “There are three types of people whom Allah will neither talk to, nor look at, on the Day of Resurrection. (They are):

1. A man who takes an oath falsely that he has been offered for his goods so much more than what he is given,

2. a man who takes a false oath after the ‘Asr prayer in order to grab a Muslim’s property, and

3. a man who with-holds his superfluous water. Allah will say to him, “Today I will with-hold My Grace from you as you with-held the superfluity of what you had not created.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, No Hima except for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. We have been told that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ made a place called An-Naqi’ as Hima, and ‘Umar made Ash-Sharaf and Ar-Rabadha Hima (for grazing the animals of Zakat).

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “Keeping horses may be a source of reward to some (man), a shelter to another (i.e. means of earning one’s living), or a burden to a third. He to whom the horse will be a source of reward is the one who keeps it in Allah’s Cause (prepare it for holy battles) and ties it by a long rope in a pasture (or a garden). He will get a reward equal to what its long rope allows it to eat in the pasture or the garden, and if that horse breaks its rope and crosses one or two hills, then all its foot-steps and its dung will be counted as good deeds for its owner; and if it passes by a river and drinks from it, then that will also be regarded as a good deed for its owner even if he has had no intention of watering it then. Horses are a shelter from poverty to the second person who keeps horses for earning his living so as not to ask others, and at the same time he gives Allah’s right (i.e. Rak’at) (from the wealth he earns through using them in trading etc.,) and does not overburden them. He who keeps horses just out of pride and for showing off and as a means of harming the Muslims, his horses will be a source of sins to him.” When Allah’s Messenger ﷺ was asked about donkeys, he replied, “Nothing particular was revealed to me regarding

A man came to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and asked about Al-Luqata (a fallen thing). The Prophet ﷺ said, “Recognize its container and its tying material and then make a public announcement about it for one year and if its owner shows up, give it to him; otherwise use it as you like.” The man said, “What about a lost sheep?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “It is for you, your brother or the wolf.” The man said “What about a lost camel?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Why should you take it as it has got its water-container (its stomach) and its hooves and it can reach the places of water and can eat the trees till its owner finds it?”

The Prophet ﷺ said, “No doubt, one had better take a rope (and cut) and tie a bundle of wood and sell it whereby Allah will keep his face away (from Hell-fire) rather than ask others who may give him or not.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “No doubt, you had better gather a bundle of wood and carry it on your back (and earn your living thereby) rather than ask somebody who may give you or not.”

‘Ali bin Abi Talib said: “I got a she-camel as my share of the war booty on the day (of the battle) of Badr, and Allah’s Messenger ﷺ gave me another she-camel. I let both of them kneel at the door of one of the Ansar, intending to carry Idhkhir on them to sell it and use its price for my wedding banquet on marrying Fatima. A goldsmith from Bam Qainqa’ was with me. Hamza bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib was in that house drinking wine and a lady singer was reciting: “O Hamza! (Kill) the (two) fat old she camels (and serve them to your guests).”

So Hamza took his sword and went towards the two she-camels and cut off their humps and opened their flanks and took a part of their livers.” (I said to Ibn Shihab, “Did he take part of the humps?” He replied, “He cut off their humps and carried them away.”) ‘Ali further said, “When I saw that dreadful sight, I went to the Prophet ﷺ and told him the news. The Prophet ﷺ came out in the company of Zaid bin Haritha who was with him then, and I too went with them. He went to Hamza and spoke harshly to him. Hamza looked up and said, ‘Aren’t you only the slaves of my forefathers?’ The Prophet ﷺ retreated and went out. This incident happened before the prohibition of drinking.”

The Prophet ﷺ decided to grant a portion of (the uncultivated land of) Bahrain to the Ansar. The Ansar said, “(We will not accept it) till you give a similar portion to our emigrant brothers (from Quraish).” He said, “(O Ansar!) You will soon see people giving preference to others, so remain patient till you meet me (on the Day of Resurrection).

The Prophet ﷺ called the Ansar so as to grant them a portion of (the land of) Bahrain. They said, “O Allah’s Messenger! If you grant this to us, write a similar document to our Quraish (emigrant) brothers.” But the Prophet ﷺ did not have enough grants and he said, “After me you will see the people giving preference (to others), so be patient till you meet me.”

The Prophet ﷺ said, “One of the rights of a she camel is that it should be milked at a place of water.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “If somebody buys date-palms after they have been pollinated, the fruits will belong to the seller unless the buyer stipulates the contrary. If somebody buys a slave having some property, the property will belong to the seller unless the buyer stipulates that it should belong to him.”

The Prophet ﷺ permitted selling the dates of the ‘Araya for ready dates by estimating the amount of the former (as they are still on the trees).

The Prophet ﷺ forbade the sales called Al-Mukhabara, Al-Muhaqala and Al-Muzabana and the selling of fruits till they are free from blights. He forbade the selling of the fruits except for money, except the ‘Araya.

The Prophet ﷺ allowed the sale of the dates of the ‘Araya for ready dates by estimating the former which should be estimated as less than five Awsuq or five Awsuq. (Dawud, the sub-narrator is not sure as to the right amount.)

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ forbade the sale of Muzabana, i.e. selling of fruits for fruits, except in the case of ‘Araya; he allowed the owners of ‘Araya such kind of sale.