The Prophet's letter to the district of Kharif and Hamdan
كتاب النبي لمخلاف خارف وهمدان
A letter from the Messenger of God ﷺ Muhammad to the district of Kharif and the people of the highland slopes and the sand dunes, with their envoy Dhu al-Mish'ar Malik ibn al-Namat and those of his people who became Muslim: the heights and lowlands of their land are theirs while they pray and pay zakat, to eat its acacia fruit and graze its pasture, under God's pact and the Messenger's protection, with the Muhajirun and Ansar as witnesses.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
Zakat and sadaqaWater and animals
Overview
A letter the Prophet wrote for the delegation of Hamdan when they came to him with Malik ibn al-Namt. See the delegation of Hamdan. 1
Its content
It opens with the basmala, then: this is a letter from the Messenger of God, Muhammad, to the districts of Kharif and the people of the slope of al-Hadb and the dunes of sand, with their envoy Dhu al-Mash'ar Malik ibn al-Namt and those of his people who have embraced Islam. Their upland and lowland are theirs for as long as they keep up the prayer and give the alms, eating the fodder and grazing the fresh growth of the land. For this they have the covenant of God and the protection of His Messenger, and the emigrants and the Ansar are witnesses. 1 See the hima.
Commentators' glosses
"Al-Hiqaf" is the plural of "hiqf", a round sand dune; "al-Fira'" are the high parts of the land; "al-Wihat" is the low, level part of it; "al-Ulaf" is the fruit of the acacia; "'afiha" is its abundant vegetation. 1
Connections
People and things also explored
The delegation and mission to Hamdan· Banu Hamdan· Malik ibn al-Namat al-Hamdani, Dhu al-Mish'ar· Dimam ibn Malik al-Salmani· Malik ibn Ayfa' al-Hamdani· Umayra ibn Malik al-Kharifi· Malik ibn al-Namat's poem 'I remembered the Messenger of God in the blackness of night'· Hima (protected reserve)
Sources
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham, al-Saqqa edition (1355/1936), 4/245
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Prophet's letter to the district of Kharif and Hamdan”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/work/letter-to-hamdan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.