Fadak () was a village with fertile land in an ancient oasis about, ninety miles north of Medina, two or three days’ journey from Medina. The takeover of Fadak by Muslims in 629 CE was peaceful and a share of it thus belonged to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
History
Jewish Khaybar In the seventh century CE, the Khaybar oasis was inhabited by Jewish tribes and agriculturalists who produced dates, cereals, and handicrafts including women blankets and palm leaf borders. Khayber was one of the strongest in terms of military and richest Jewish settlement in the region. The oasis was divided into three regions, namely, al-Natat, al-Shiqq, and al-Katiba, probably separated by natural diversions, such as the desert, lava drifts, and swamps. Each of these regions contained several fortresses (or redoubts) containing homes, storehouses, and stables. Each fortress was occupied by a clan and surrounded by cultivated fields and palm groves. To improve their defensive capabilities, the fortresses were raised up on hills or basalt rocks. Fadak can be seen not just through the narrow lens of inheritance but as a means of financial stability and wealth due to its land fertility and economic infrastructure. If Fatima would have inherited the land, she would have gained a higher hand in economic stability and income, empowering her family and community.
Lifetime of Muhammad (629–632)
After the success of Muslims in the Battle of Khaybar in 628, the Jewish inhabitants of Fadak pleaded for a peace treaty in exchange for half of their properties. Unlike Khaybar, Fadak was acquired peacefully. It was thus considered and belonged to Muhammad in line with verse 59:6 of the Quran. At that time, produce that was allocated to Muhammad was used as a revenue for needy travelers who passed by the land of Fadak.
There is some evidence that Muhammad gifted his share of Fadak to Fatima (in Medina) when verse 17:26 was revealed, and her agents managed the property when Muhammad was alive. This is the view of Shia authors, including al-Kulayni () and al-Ayyashi (). Among Sunnis, al-Suyuti () and al-Dhahabi () are of this view, while al-Jurjani () and Ibn Kathir () are uncertain whether the verse was revealed to Muhammad in Medina. The revenue of Fadak largely supported needy travelers, the poor, military expeditions, and Muhammad's family, who were forbidden from receiving general alms.
Caliphate of Abu Bakr ()
Confiscation of Fadak Following Muhammad's death in 632 and early in his caliphate, Abu Bakr is said to have seized Fadak from Fatima, and evicted her agents. Prophet’s uncle, al-Abbas and Fatima brought the issue of inheritance to Abu Bakr demanding their share of inheritance and Muhammad’s share of Khayber. According to the al Tabari’s Tarikh’s account Abu Bakr’s reply to this demand was “‘I have heard the messenger of God say: “Our [i.e. the prophets’ property] cannot be inherited and whatever we leave behind is alms [i.e. to be given in charity]. The family of Muhammad will eat from it.”. By God, I will not abandon a course which I saw the messenger of God practicing, but will continue doing it accordingly.’ Fatima completely ignored his reply and never addressed him until her death.
According to Mahjabeen Dhala, Ibn Shahr narrated after the surrender of Fadak a verse that Gabriel descended with, “Give the relatives their [due] right” (Q 17:26). This implies that Fatima was wrongfully and forcefully dispossessed of Fadak, and according to the Shia thought, should have received her share as a close relative to Prophet Muhammad. She further adds that Gabriel said that God wanted Fatima to be compensated for the wealth that her mother Khadija and aunt Hind, had spent to support the Muslim communities in the area.
In some other versions of this story, Fatima justified her claim to Fadak, adding that Prophet Muhammad gifted the land to her as a gift, so it was not entirely an inheritance. Dhala sheds more light, highlighting when Shaykh al-Sadouq quoted Imam al-Reza that upon revaluation of Q 17:26, the Prophet mentioned to Fatima that “O Fatima! Fadak was secured without deploying horses and Augustus. The land belongs exclusively to me, and I bequeath it to you to honor God’s commandment with regard to it. So, take it for yourself and your progeny.” In another instance after revelation, one of Prophet’s students reportedly asked the Imam, “The Prophet gave it to her?”, the Imam stressed and replied, “God gave it to her”. Despite this, Fatima brought witnesses including her husband, Ali, and Prophet’s wet-nurse, Umm Ayman, as witnesses to prove her claims. This testimony was not taken into account by Abu Bakr because according to the Quranic rulings, two males or a male and two females are need for a complete testimony.
There are different views on why he didn't accommodate Fatima’s demand, possibly as he had heard from Muhammad that Prophets do not leave inheritance, or as a show off authority to Muhammad's clan (Banu Hashim) who had not yet pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr, or perhaps in retaliation for his exclusion by the Banu Hashim from the funeral rites of Muhammad. Abu Bakr reported that he heard Prophet say ‘This is but something assigned by God as a began of subsistence to use during my life; on my death it should de turned over to the Muslims’. The core issue in most cases remained consistent; Fatima and her family were denied the claims and possession of Fadak, which resulted in furiousness from her and her supporters. The confiscation of Fadak by Abu Bakr is the Shia view.
In Sunni sources, the charge of usurpation appears, for instance, in the works of Ibn Hajar al-Haytami () and Ibn Sa'd (). Among others, the Sunni al-Baladhuri () relates that Fatima objected to Abu Bakr, saying that Fadak was a gift from her father. Her husband Ali and a maid at Muhammad's house, named Umm Aiman, are reported to have offered their testimonies in support of Fatima. By some accounts, Fatima also brought her two sons as witnesses. Abu Bakr, however, did not find their testimonies sufficient to establish the ownership of Fatima, requiring two men or one man and two women as witnesses per Islamic law. Khetia adds here that Fatima might have expected her closeness with Muhammad to strengthen her case. Shias similarly contend that the truthful Fatima would have not claimed something which was not hers. By one Shia account, Ali made this point to Abu Bakr, and added that the burden of proof was on Abu Bakr and not Fatima, whose agents administered the land at the time of the dispute. Sajjadi comments here that possession is the decisive factor in determining ownership in Islamic law. The Sunni Sibt ibn al-Jawzi () and the Shia al-Tabrisi () relate that Abu Bakr finally agreed to return Fadak to Fatima but was dissuaded by his ally Umar, who tore up the deed written by Abu Bakr. Other versions of this last account are collected in Sharh nahj al-balagha by the Mu'tazilite Ibn Abi'l-Hadid ().
Hadith of Muhammad's inheritance Most likely after Abu Bakr had rejected Fatima's claim of ownership, she demanded her inheritance from the estate of her father. Abu Bakr rejected this too, saying that Muhammad had disinherited his family, personally telling the former that prophets do not leave inheritance, and what they leave behind is public property that should be administered by the caliph. He cited an Hadith to deny Fatima’s claims: “No one inherited from us [prophets]; what we leave is for charity”. He maintained his argument that Fadak belonged to the state treasury as means for the community to benefit from it. Abu Bakr is sometimes said to be the sole witness to this statement, referred to as the hadith of Muhammad's inheritance. Abu Bakr added that he would administer those properties like Muhammad and that his kin should henceforth rely on general alms, which was forbidden for them in his lifetime because of their status of purity in the Quran. This prohibition is still upheld today by all schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Abu Bakr thus deprived Muhammad's kin also of their Quranic share of the booty (verse 8:41) and (verse 59:7), to which they were previously entitled instead of general alms.
Authenticity In his al-Tabaqat al-kubra, the Sunni traditionist Ibn Sa'd () furnishes the hadith of inheritance with two chains of transmission which include numerous companions of Muhammad, such as Umar, Uthman, and Zubayr. In particular, he includes in these chains some prominent Hashimites, such as Ali and Ibn Abbas, who are both reported to have vehemently disputed this claim of Abu Bakr in other sources.
On the other hand, Soufi holds that Abu Bakr is generally regarded as the only credible narrator of this hadith in Sunni sources, adding that similar reports attributed to other companions have been rejected by Sunnis. Along these lines, Sajjadi opines that all (credible) versions of this hadith are narrated from Abu Bakr, his ally Umar, his daughter Aisha, and Malik ibn Aus Al-Hadathan, though some primary sources have disputed the status of the last one as a companion of Muhammad. However, a similar hadith is also found in the Twelver Shia Kitab al-Kafi, on the authority of Ja'far al-Sadiq who narrated that "the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets and the prophets are not the owners of dirhams or dinars, rather they [i.e. the scholars] are the inheritors of their narrations (ahadith)". Some Twelvers reject the authenticity of the hadith of inheritance, believing that it contradicts the Quran, where verses 19:6 and 27:16 describe how Zechariah and David both left a sort of inheritance. These superficial contradictions have also been noted by some contemporary authors. It is argued however that the inheritance in question is referring to ilm (knowledge) and wisdom of the book or prophethood in general as foreshadowed in 19:12 and mentioned in 35:32, "Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants", a concept reinforced through Shia and Sunni hadith literature. Likewise, it is narrated from al-Hasan that is "he inherits his prophethood and knowledge" and the same has been reported from Mujahid among other early mufassirūn. Nevertheless, Soufi writes that Abu Bakr's testimony is strong enough for Sunnis to make an exception to the Quranic rules of inheritance.
Sermon of Fadak According to the versions of the sermons that circulated in the 9th century, Fatima challenges the ruling of Abu Bakr on the possession of Fadak. In protest, Fatima is said to have delivered a speech at the Prophet's Mosque, known as the Sermon of Fadak. Among other sources, this sermon appears in the Sunni Balaghat al-nisa', an anthology of eloquent speeches by Muslim women, though the attribution of this speech to Fatima is mostly rejected by Sunnis. The version of this speech in Balaghat upholds Ali as the rightful successor to Muhammad, chastises Abu Bakr for denying Fatima of her inheritance, as she adds,“”Is it in the Book that you [Abu Bakr] may inherit from your father and I cannot inherit from mine? “you have certainly come up with an odd thing!” (Q 19:27)” accuses him of (hadith) fabrication and using un Quranic verses, “ Is it in the Book that you [Abu Bakr] may inherit from your father and I cannot inherit from mine? “you have certainly come up with an odd thing!” (Q 19:27)” Moreover, Fatima adds that Muhammad could have not contradicted the Quran, in which verse 27:16 describes how Solomon inherited from his father David, and verse 19:6 is about how Zechariah prayed for a son who would inherit from him and from the House of Jacob. The quote follows, ““Are you seriously neglecting the Book of Allah by casting it behind your backs? While Allah, the glorious says, “Solomon inherited from David” (Q 27:16).” Verses 8:75 and 33:6 about the rights of every Muslim to inheritance are also quoted in the speech in Balaghat.
Politics