Is it permissible to own abandoned state land through official documents in order to sell it and benefit from its price?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Lands that have no owner and no specific claims upon them are owned by a person through ihya' (revival), based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Whoever revives a dead land, it belongs to him." Ihya' is achieved by erecting a fence around it, or digging a well in it and extracting water, or bringing a water source to it. If a person revives it by these methods, it is permissible to obtain documents proving his ownership of it. Otherwise, it is not permissible due to the falsehood and unlawful consumption of wealth involved.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/17269
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 17269
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy