the perennial water. He (may Allah be pleased with him) revoked it (50) from him. This is because it causes hardship to the Muslims. Regarding the granting of hidden mineral deposits, there are two views, which we have mentioned previously.
Section: It is not appropriate for the Imam to grant any dead land to anyone except what he is capable of reviving, because granting more than that causes greater hardship (51) to the people regarding a right shared between them, for no benefit. If he does so, and then his inability to revive it becomes evident, he shall revoke it from him, just as ‘Umar revoked from Bilal ibn al-Harith what he was unable to cultivate of the ‘Aqiq, which the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had granted to him (53).
Section: On the Hima (protected land), its meaning is for [the Imam] to protect a portion of dead land and prevent people from grazing the forage found therein, in order to reserve it for himself to the exclusion of others. The Arabs during the Pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyya) recognized this. Among them was the one who, when he alighted in a land, would take a dog to a high vantage point and make it howl. He would have people standing for him on every side to listen to the sound of its howling; wherever the sound reached, he would protect it on all sides for himself, while grazing with the general public elsewhere. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prohibited this because of the hardship it caused to people and the prevention of their benefiting from something in which they have a right. Sa‘b ibn Jaththama narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: "There is no Hima except for Allah and His Messenger." Narrated by Abu Dawud (54). He also said: "People are partners in three things: water, fire, and forage." Narrated by al-Khallal (55). No one among the people, other than the Imams, has the right to designate a Hima, due to the report and the rationale we have mentioned. As for the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he had the right to designate a Hima
(50) In [copies] B and M: "So he revoked it." (51) In the original: "tadyi‘" (wastefulness/loss). (52) In [copies] B and M: "‘an" (from). (53) Its takhrij was provided previously on page 153. (54) In: The Chapter on land protected by the Imam or an individual, from the Book of al-Kharaj (Land Tax). Sunan Abi Dawud 2/160. It was also recorded by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on there is no Hima except for Allah and His Messenger, from the Book of al-Musaqat (Sharecropping), and in: The Chapter on the residents of the house spending the night..., from the Book of Jihad. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/148, 4/74. And by Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 4/38, 71, 73. (55) Its takhrij was provided previously on 6/146.
