It is reported by Zuhri that this tradition was narrated to him by Malik bin Aus who said: Umar bin al-Khattab sent for me and I came to him when the day had advanced. I found him in his house sitting on his bare bed-stead, reclining on a leather pillow. He said (to me): Malik, some people of your tribe have hastened to me (with a request for help). I have ordered a little money for them. Take it and distribute it among them. I said: I wish you had ordered somebody else to do this job. He said: Malik, take it (and do what you have been told). At this moment (his man-servant) Yarfa came in and said: Commander of the Faithful, what do you say about Uthman, Abdul Rabman bin Auf, Zubair and Sad (who have come to seek an audience with you)? He said: Yes, and permitted them, so they entered. Then he (Yarfa) came again and said: What do you say about Ali and Abbas (who are present at the door)? He said: Yes, and permitted them to enter. Abbas said: Commander of the Faithful, decide (the dispute) between me and this sinful, treacherous, dishonest liar. The people (who were present) also said: Yes. Commander of the Faithful, do decide (the dispute) and have mercy on them. Malik bin Aus said: I could well imagine that they had sent them in advance for this purpose (by Ali and Abbas). Umar said: Wait and be patient. I adjure you by Allah by Whose order the heavens and the earth are sustained, dont you know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "We (prophets) do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity"? They said: Yes. Then he turned to Abbas and Ali and said: I adjure you both by Allah by Whose order the heavens and earth are sustained, dont you know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "We do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity"? They (too) said: Yes. (Then) Umar said: Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, had done to His Messenger ﷺ a special favour that He has not done to anyone else except him. He quoted the Quranic verse: "What Allah has bestowed upon His Apostle ﷺ from (the properties) of the people of township is for Allah and His Messenger". The narrator said: I do not know whether he also recited the previous verse or not. Umar continued: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ distrbuted among you the properties abandoned by Banu Nadir. By Allah, he never preferred himself over you and never appropriated anything to your exclusion. (After a fair distribution in this way) this property was left over.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would meet from its income his annual expenditure, and what remained would be deposited in the Bait-ul-Mal. (Continuing further) he said: I adjure you by Allah by Whose order the heavens and the earth are sustained. Do you know this? They said: Yes. Then he adjured Abbas and Ali as he had adjured the other persons and asked: Do you both know this? They said: Yes. He said: When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, Abu Bakr (RA) said: "I am the successor of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ." Both of you came to demand your shares from the property (left behind by the Messenger of Allah) ﷺ . (Referring to Hadrat Abbas), he said: You demanded your share from the property of your nephew, and he (referring to Ali) demanded a share on behalf of his wife from the property of her father. Abu Bakr (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had said: "We do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity." So both of you thought him to be a liar, sinful, treacherous and dishonest. And Allah knows that he was true, virtuous, well-guided and a follower of truth. When Abu Bakr (RA) passed away and (I have become) the successor of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and Abu Bakr (RA) , you thought me to be a liar, sinful, treacherous and dishonest. And Allah knows that I am true, virtuous, well-guided and a follower of truth. I became the guardian of this property. Then you as well as he came to me. Both of you have come and your purpose is identical. You said: Entrust the property to us. I said: If you wish that I should entrust it to you, it will be on the condition that both of you will undertake to abide by a pledge made with Allah that you will use it in the same way as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used it. So both of you got it. He said: Wasnt it like this? They said: Yes. He said: Then you have (again) come to me with the request that I should adjudge between you. No, by Allah. I will not give any other judgment except this until the arrival of the Doomsday. If you are unable to hold the property on this condition, return it to me.