Asmar b. Mudarris told that when he came and swore allegiance to the Prophet he said, “If anyone comes to water, no Muslim having come to it before him, it belongs to him.”
Tawus, in mursal form, reported God's Messenger as saying, “If anyone cultivates barren land it belongs to him, but ancient property belongs to God and His Messenger and then comes to you from me.”
Abyad b. Hammal al-Ma’ribi said that he came to God’s Messenger and asked him to assign him the salt which was in Ma’rib*, which he did. When he turned away a man said, “Messenger of God, you have assigned him the perennial spring water,” so he took it back from him. He asked for the land which had arak trees (Thorny trees on which camels feed) growing in it, and he said he could have such as was beyond the region to which camels went.
Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.
* This town was the capital of the Sabæans in the Yemen, famous for its dam.
