حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الثَّقَفِيُّ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ الْعَسْقَلاَنِيُّ، - الْمَعْنَى وَاحِدٌ - أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ يَحْيَى بْنِ قَيْسٍ الْمَأْرِبِيَّ، حَدَّثَهُمْ أَخْبَرَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ ثُمَامَةَ بْنِ شُرَاحِيلَ، عَنْ سُمَىِّ بْنِ قَيْسٍ، عَنْ شُمَيْرٍ، - قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ ابْنِ عَبْدِ الْمَدَانِ - عَنْ أَبْيَضَ بْنِ حَمَّالٍ، أَنَّهُ وَفَدَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاسْتَقْطَعَهُ الْمِلْحَ - قَالَ ابْنُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ الَّذِي بِمَأْرِبَ - فَقَطَعَهُ لَهُ فَلَمَّا أَنْ وَلَّى قَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْمَجْلِسِ أَتَدْرِي مَا قَطَعْتَ لَهُ إِنَّمَا قَطَعْتَ لَهُ الْمَاءَ الْعِدَّ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَانْتَزَعَ مِنْهُ قَالَ وَسَأَلَهُ عَمَّا يُحْمَى مِنَ الأَرَاكِ قَالَ ‏"‏ مَا لَمْ تَنَلْهُ خِفَافٌ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ وَقَالَ ابْنُ الْمُتَوَكِّلِ ‏"‏ أَخْفَافُ الإِبِلِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Abyad went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and asked him for assigning him (the mines of) salt as fief. (The narrator Ibn al-Mutawakkil said: which was in Ma'arib.) So he assigned it to him as a fief. When he returned, a man in the meeting asked: Do you know what you have assigned him as a fief? You have assigned him the perennial spring water. So he took it back from him. He asked him about protecting land which had arak trees growing in it. He replied: He could have such as was beyond the region where the hoofs (of camels) went. The narrator Ibn al-Mutwakkil said: "that is the camel hoofs."