Back to search

Is it permissible, in Islamic law, to steal sand from the sea and sell it, given that the state prohibits it and there are other places to sell it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The guardian (Wali al-Amr) must prevent individuals' actions that harm the public, even if those actions were originally permissible, based on the principle of "No harm [is to be inflicted] and no [reciprocal] harm [is to be inflicted]." So, if the state prohibits taking sand from the sea due to the harm it causes, then it is obligatory to listen and obey, because this is an act of "Ma'ruf" (good/righteousness) in which obedience to the guardian is required, and whoever violates this will be punished.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy