وَعَن أَبْيَضَ بْنِ حَمَّالِ الْمَأْرِبِيِّ
أَنَّهُ وَفَدَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَسْتَقْطَعَهُ الْمِلْحَ الَّذِي بِمَأْرِبَ فَأَقْطَعُهُ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا وَلَّى قَالَ رَجُلٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّمَا أَقْطَعْتَ لَهُ الْمَاءَ الْعِدَّ قَالَ: فَرَجَّعَهُ مِنْهُ قَالَ: وَسَأَلَهُ مَاذَا يحمى من الْأَرَاك؟ قَالَ: «مَا لَمْ تَنَلْهُ أَخْفَافُ الْإِبِلِ»
He came to God’s Messenger and asked him to assign him the salt which was in Marib*, 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.