Uthman ibn Hunayf's Survey of the Sawad

مسح عثمان بن حنيف السواد

c. 18 AH

In al-Baladhuri: Umar sent Uthman ibn Hunayf al-Ansari to survey the Sawad — he found it thirty-six million jarib and set on each a dirham and a qafiz, that qafiz being like their makuuk called al-Shaburqan — Yahya ibn Adam saying it was the sealed Hajjaji measure. Via Qatada from Abi Mujlaz: Umar appointed Ammar ibn Yasir over the Kufans' prayer and armies, Abdallah ibn Mas'ud over their judiciary and treasury, and Uthman ibn Hunayf over the land-survey, allotting them a sheep daily — half with its offal for Ammar, the other half between the two; Uthman surveyed and set ten dirhams on a palm jarib, ten on a vine jarib, six on cane, four on wheat, two on barley, and wrote it to Umar who ratified it. Via al-A'mash from Ibrahim from Amr ibn Maymun: Umar sent Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman over what was beyond the Tigris and Uthman ibn Hunayf over what was this side — both setting a qafiz and a dirham per jarib. Via Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Thaqafi: al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba wrote while over the Sawad 'we have crop kinds exceeding wheat and barley' — naming mash, vines, ratba and sesame — so eight each was set and palms waived. Via al-Ayzar ibn Hurayth: Umar set two dirhams and two jaribs on a wheat jarib, a dirham and a jarib on barley, ten on vine, ten on ratba, five on cotton, a dirham on each Farsi palm and on the two daqal grades. Via al-Sha'bi: Uthman ibn Hunayf set five dirhams for a ratba jarib and ten for vine, without bundling what grew beneath.