On Thursday, the 26th of September 2024 A.D. (the 22th of Rabī al-Awwal 1446 A.H.)
In the year 628 A.D. Prophet Muhammad gifted Fadak to his daughter (Lady Fatima). Fadak was a developed and fertile territory situated near Khaybar region at a distance of 140 kilometers from Medina and was considered to be the stronghold of the Jews of Ḥijāz. After destroying the strength of the Jews of Khaybar the Prophet sent an envoy to the elders of Fadak. They preferred peace and abstained from fighting and the residents of that place agreed to place at the disposal of the Prophet half of the produce every year and to live under the protection of Islam and not to conspire against the Muslims.
As such, Fadak became the public domain of the Prophet because according to a Quranic verse, something that is obtained by the Muslims without war is the exclusive right of the Prophet and unlike spoils of war is not divided.
مَا أَفَاء اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ
“Whatever Allah has restored to His Apostle from the people of the towns, it is for Allah and the Apostle, and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer…” (Quran, 59: 7).
It was mentioned by many historians confirming that the Prophet during his own lifetime granted Fadak to Lady Fatimah. For instance, the famous Sunni commentator Jalāl al-Din Suyūtī in his book (al-Durr al-Manthūr) under the Verse, “And give the relative his right…” (Quran, 17:26) has quoted from Abū Sa’īd Khudrī saying, “The Prophet, because this verse was revealed to him, said to Fatima, “O Fatima! Fadak is yours and for your children after you.”[1]
