Sunan Abi Dawud 3073
سنن أبي داود#3073Sahihحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَيُّوبُ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَنْ أَحْيَا أَرْضًا مَيْتَةً فَهِيَ لَهُ وَلَيْسَ لِعِرْقٍ ظَالِمٍ حَقٌّ " .
Narrated Sa'id ibn Zayd: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone brings barren land into cultivation, it belongs to him, and the unjust vein has no right
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Al-AlbaniSahih
Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul HamidSahih
Shuaib Al ArnautHasan Sahih
In-book reference: 20:146