Hadith 37
Tribute, Spoils, and Rulership (Kitab Al-Kharaj, Wal-Fai' Wal-Imarah)
Narrated Urwah:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone brings barren land into cultivation, it belong to him. He then transmitted a similar tradition mentioned above (No. 3067). He ('Urwah) said: One who transmitted this tradition to me said that two persons brought their dispute to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). One of them grew palm trees in the land of the other. He decided to return the land to its owner of the palm-trees to remove his palm-trees. He said: I saw when their roots were being struck with axes. The trees were fully grown up, but they were removed from there.
حَدَّثَنَا هَنَّادُ بْنُ السَّرِيِّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَةُ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ إِسْحَاقَ - عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ
مَنْ أَحْيَا أَرْضًا مَيْتَةً فَهِيَ لَهُ
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