Umra (a lifetime gift)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whichever man gives someone a lifelong grant ('umra) for him and his heirs, it belongs to the one to whom it was given; it does not return to the one who gave it, because he has given a gift in which inheritance has come into effect."

The same is narrated from Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on him) with the same chain and text.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever gives a man and his heirs a lifelong grant ('umra), his statement has cut off his own right in it, and it belongs to the one to whom it was given and to his heirs."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whichever man is given something as a lifelong grant ('umra) for him and his heirs, and (the giver) said: 'I have given it to you and your heirs as long as any one of you remains,' then it belongs to the one to whom it was given, and it does not return to its original owner, because he has given a gift in which inheritance has come into effect." In one narration the words are: "in which inheritance comes into effect."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The lifelong grant ('umra) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted is that he says: "It is yours and your heirs'." But if he says: "It is yours as long as you live," then it returns to its original owner.

(Another chain) with these words in addition to the previous narration: al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) used to give fatwa according to it.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled concerning someone given a lifelong grant ('umra) for himself and his heirs that "it is his outright; no condition is permissible for the giver in it, nor any exception." Abu Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Because he has given a gift in which inheritance has come into effect, and the inheritance has cut off his condition."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled concerning the lifelong grant ('umra): "When a man gifts something to another man and his heirs, and makes the exception: 'If anything happens to your heirs, it will come back to me and to my heirs,' it belongs to the one to whom it was given and to his heirs."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is given something as a lifelong grant ('umra), it belongs to him and his heirs. Whoever is his heir will inherit it from him."

It is also narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) in unqualified form.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The lifelong grant ('umra) belongs to the one to whom it is gifted." (In another narration:) He (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled concerning the 'umra that it belongs to the one to whom it was gifted.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The lifelong grant ('umra) is valid."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep hold of your wealth for yourselves and do not ruin it. Whoever gives someone a gift as a lifelong grant ('umra), it belongs to him (the recipient), whether he lives or dies, and to his heirs."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep hold of your wealth for yourselves; do not give it to anyone. Whoever is given something for life, it belongs to him."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Ansar used to give things to the Muhajirun as lifelong grants ('umra). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep hold of your wealth; do not give it as lifelong grants. Whoever is given something, it is his during his lifetime, and after his death it belongs to his heirs."

Abu al-Zubayr heard Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) say: A woman in Madinah gave her garden to her son as a lifelong grant ('umra). Then that son died, and the woman also died after him. That son left a son, and he also had brothers (the other sons of the woman who had given the 'umra). The woman's sons said: "The garden has returned to us." The man's sons said: "Rather, the garden belonged to our father, both in his life and after his death." They took their dispute to Tariq, the freed slave of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). He called Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), and he testified from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the 'umra belongs to the one to whom it was given. So Tariq ruled accordingly. Then he wrote to Abd al-Malik and informed him of it, and also told him of the testimony of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him). Abd al-Malik said: "Jabir has spoken the truth," and Tariq carried it out. That garden remains with that man's children to this day.

Amr (may Allah have mercy on him) heard Sulayman bin Yasar (may Allah have mercy on him) say that Tariq was the governor of Madinah, and he ruled concerning the lifelong grant ('umra) in favour of the heir, according to the statement of Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), which he narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave a ruling concerning a woman of the Ansar whose son had given her a garden of date palms, and then she died. Her son said: "I only gave it to her for her lifetime," and he had other brothers. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is hers, in her life and after her death." He said: "But I had given it to her as charity." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That puts it even further from you."
This is not strong, and Ibn Uyaynah narrated it contrary to that.

Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sulayman bin Hisham said to me: "This man - meaning al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) - does not leave us alone; whatever we eat, he orders us to perform ablution (wudu) for it." I said: "I asked Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) about it, and he said: 'When you eat it, it is pure, and there is no ablution upon you for it; and when it comes out of you, it is impure, and ablution is upon you for it.'" He said: "I see that the two of you differ. Is there anyone in the city?" I said: "Yes, the most senior man in the Arabian Peninsula." He asked: "Who?" I said: "Ata (may Allah have mercy on him)." He sent for him and said: "These two have differed before me, so what do you say?" He said: "Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me that they ate bread and meat with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), then he stood up and prayed and did not perform ablution." He said to me: "What do you say about the lifelong grant ('umra)?" I said: "It has reached me from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'The 'umra is valid.'" He said: al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is not an 'umra unless it is made for him and his heirs." He then asked Ata (may Allah have mercy on him): "What do you say?" He said: "Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'The 'umra is valid.'" Al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The caliphs did not rule that way." Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Rather, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan ruled that way in such-and-such a case."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "'Umra (a life-grant) is permissible."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "assigned the 'umra (life-grant) to the heir."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "'Umra (a life-grant) is permissible."

Habib bin Abi Thabit (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I was with Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) when a man from the desert came and said: I gave my son a she-camel for his lifetime, and she has given birth to camels. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: It is his in his life and after his death. He said: I gave it to him as charity. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Then that puts it even further from you.

A similar report is narrated, except that in it he said: 'adnat wa idtarabat'. Abu Sulayman said: the correct form is 'danat', meaning: it gave birth.

Nafi' says that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) inherited the house of Sayyidah Hafsah bint Umar (may Allah be pleased with her). Sayyidah Hafsah (may Allah be pleased with her) had let the daughter of Zayd bin al-Khattab live in it for as long as she lived. When the daughter of Zayd died, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) took the house and considered it his. This is reported concerning a loan ('ariyah), not an 'umra; and Allah knows best.

Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I was present with Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) when he ruled in favour of a blind man regarding an 'umra. The blind man said to him: O Abu Umayyah, on what basis did you rule for me? Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was not I who ruled for you; rather Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled for you forty years ago. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever is given something as an 'umra for his lifetime, it belongs to his heirs when he dies."

Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) says: A man gave another man a house as an 'umra for his lifetime. After that they took their dispute about it to Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him), and the one who had been given the house was blind. Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) ruled in his favour and said: Whoever is made owner of something for his lifetime, it is his in his life and after his death. The blind man said: O Abu Umayyah, how did you rule for me? He said: It was not I who ruled; rather Allah Almighty ruled on the tongue of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fifty years ago: "Whoever is made owner of something for his lifetime, it is his even after his death, and it belongs to his heirs."