Back to search

Is it permissible to sell a house that was purchased from the state at a subsidized price, and with a contract stipulating that it may not be sold for a period of ten years, before the expiration of this period due to an urgent need to sell the house to pay off debts?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The fundamental principle is that whoever owns something has the right to dispose of it. The seller stipulating to the buyer not to sell what he has bought contradicts the essence of the sales contract. Jurists have differed on the validity of such a condition. However, since the seller here is the state, it may be permissible for it to restrict what is otherwise permissible for the welfare of the subjects, especially if we adopt the view that both the sale and the condition are valid. If the condition is valid, it must be adhered to, based on the Almighty's saying: "O you who have believed, fulfill [your] contracts," and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Muslims are bound by their conditions."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy