“Houses.
“Abdallah ibn Yazîd relates that he saw the houses in which the wives of the Prophet dwelt, at the time when Omar ibn Al Azîz, Governor of Medîna (about A.H. 100) demolished them. They were built of unburnt bricks, and had separate apartments made of palm-branches, daubed (or built-up) with mud; he counted nine houses, each having separate apartments, in the space extending from the house of Ayesha and the gate of Mahomet to the house of Asma, daughter of Hosein. Observing the dwelling-place of Omm Salma, he questioned her grandson concerning it, and he told him that when the Prophet was absent on the expedition to Dûma, Omm Salma built up an addition to her house with a wall of unburnt bricks. When Mahomet returned, he went in to her, and asked what new building this was. She replied, ‘I purposed, O Prophet, to shut out the glances of men thereby!’ Mahomet answered: ‘O Omm Salma! verily, the most unprofitable thing that eateth up the wealth of the Believer is building.’ A citizen of Medîna present at the time, confirmed this account, and added that the curtains of the door were of black hair-cloth. He was present, he said, when the despatch of the Caliph Abd al Malîk (A.H. 86–88) was read aloud, commanding that these houses should be brought within the area of the mosque, and he never witnessed sorer weeping than there was amongst the people that day. One exclaimed: ‘I wish, by the Lord! that they would leave these houses alone thus as they are; then would those that spring up hereafter in Medîna, and strangers from the ends of the earth, come and see what kind of building sufficed for the Prophet’s own abode, and the sight thereof would deter men from extravagance and pride.’
“There were four houses of unburnt bricks, the apartments being of palm-branches; and five houses made of palm-branches built up with mud and without any separate apartments. Each was three Arabian yards in length. Some say they had leather curtains for the doors. One could reach the roof with the hand.
“The house of Hâritha (Ḥāris̤ah) was next to that of Mahomet. Now whenever Mahomet took to himself a new wife, he added another house to the row, and Hâritha was obliged successively to remove his house, and to build on the space beyond. At last this was repeated so often, that the Prophet said to those about him: ‘Verily, it shameth me to turn Hâritha over and over again out of his house.’
“Properties.
“There were seven gardens which Mukheirîck the Jew left to Mahomet. Omar ibn Al Azîz, the Caliph, said that, when Governor of Medîna, he ate of the fruit of these, and never tasted sweeter dates. Others say that these gardens formed a portion of the confiscated estates of the Bani Nadhîr. They were afterwards dedicated perpetually to pious purposes.
“Mahomet had three other properties:—
“I. The confiscated lands of the Bani Nadhîr. The produce of these was appropriated to his own wants. One of the plots was called Mashruba Omm Ibrahîm, the ‘summer garden of (Mary) the mother of Ibrahîm,’ where the Prophet used to visit her.
“II. Fadak; the fruits of this were reserved as a fund for indigent travellers.
“III. The fifth share, and the lands received by capitulation, in Kheibar. This was divided into three parts. Two were devoted for the benefit of the Moslems generally (i.e. for State purposes); the proceeds of the third, Mahomet assigned for the support of his own family; and what remained over he added to the fund for the use of the Moslems.” (The Life of Mahomet, by William Muir, Esq., London, 1861, vol. iv., p. 325.)