Islamic Perspective on Land Ownership – Evidence and Analysis
Source: Ahkam wa Masail – Beliefs, Vol. 1, p. 75
"By Islam I mean the Islam that was perfected upon Muhammad ﷺ — the one explained and detailed by him ﷺ, and acted upon by the Companions (رضي الله عنهم). The only valid Shari‘ah proofs are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ. Any religion based on assumptions, stories, or poetry is not the true religion."
I trust this point is clear. I have also heard that you are authoring a book — may Allah grant you success so that those of us with little knowledge may also benefit from you.
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ‘ala Rasulillah, amma ba’d!
You claim:
"Land is not the private property of any individual. In matters of land, the right of trusteeship lies with the government. Land cannot be sold, bought, or divided according to inheritance laws."
This is your belief, which you call the Islamic perspective. You gave three reasons:
Indeed, there is no doubt that land belongs to Allah, as Allah says:
﴿لِّلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾
“…To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth.” (Al-Baqarah 2:284)
However, your argument is incomplete. The unspoken second part of your reasoning is:
"Whatever belongs to Allah cannot be privately owned by individuals; the right of trusteeship belongs to the government, and it cannot be sold, bought, or inherited."
If this second part is essential to your point, then you must bring evidence for it from the Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ — for you yourself say:
"The only valid Shari‘ah proofs are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ."
If you cannot prove this second part from Qur’an and Sunnah, then fairness demands that you retract it.
Also, based on your own logic, gold, silver, grain, camels, cattle, sheep, etc. are all Allah’s property — so should these too not be privately owned, bought, sold, or inherited?
If you say they can be privately owned, then your argument about land collapses.
Furthermore, if Allah’s ownership negates individual ownership, it must also negate government trusteeship — for neither individuals nor governments created the land. Thus, you must provide evidence from Qur’an or Sunnah for giving preference to government over individuals.
True — Allah created the land, not any person or government:
﴿اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ﴾
“Allah is the Creator of all things.”
But again, the hidden part of your reasoning is:
"Whatever Allah created cannot be privately owned by individuals; the trusteeship belongs to the government, and it cannot be sold, bought, or inherited."
You must provide evidence for this from Qur’an or Sunnah, otherwise the reasoning is invalid.
Gold, silver, grain, and animals were also created by Allah — yet they are privately owned and inherited. If you accept that for them, why not for land?
And if creation by Allah disqualifies individuals from trusteeship, it equally disqualifies governments.
The hidden assumption here is:
"Whatever leads to bloodshed and corruption cannot be privately owned by individuals; it must be under government trusteeship, without sale, purchase, or inheritance."
You must prove this from Qur’an or Sunnah.
In reality, disputes, killings, and corruption have also occurred over the inheritance of gold, silver, and other assets — yet you do not oppose private ownership of these.
Moreover, if government is given sole trusteeship, political groups will compete fiercely for power — leading to greater bloodshed than disputes between individuals. History proves that conflicts between governments are far more destructive than disputes between private owners.
Also, your claim that “private ownership and inheritance division cause bloodshed and corruption” is factually incorrect. Many families have owned and inherited land for generations without any violence or corruption. The real cause lies elsewhere.
You used the term “trusteeship” (niyabah). This humble servant also used it only to clarify your intended meaning. In reality, the concept of any individual or government being Allah’s “trustee” over land is not established from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Ahkam wa Masail – Beliefs, Vol. 1, p. 75
Question
"By Islam I mean the Islam that was perfected upon Muhammad ﷺ — the one explained and detailed by him ﷺ, and acted upon by the Companions (رضي الله عنهم). The only valid Shari‘ah proofs are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ. Any religion based on assumptions, stories, or poetry is not the true religion."
I trust this point is clear. I have also heard that you are authoring a book — may Allah grant you success so that those of us with little knowledge may also benefit from you.
Answer
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ‘ala Rasulillah, amma ba’d!
You claim:
"Land is not the private property of any individual. In matters of land, the right of trusteeship lies with the government. Land cannot be sold, bought, or divided according to inheritance laws."
This is your belief, which you call the Islamic perspective. You gave three reasons:
- Land belongs to Allah.
- No individual created the land.
- Inherited division of land leads to murder and corruption.
1. First Argument: “Land belongs to Allah”
Indeed, there is no doubt that land belongs to Allah, as Allah says:
﴿لِّلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾
“…To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth.” (Al-Baqarah 2:284)
However, your argument is incomplete. The unspoken second part of your reasoning is:
"Whatever belongs to Allah cannot be privately owned by individuals; the right of trusteeship belongs to the government, and it cannot be sold, bought, or inherited."
If this second part is essential to your point, then you must bring evidence for it from the Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ — for you yourself say:
"The only valid Shari‘ah proofs are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ."
If you cannot prove this second part from Qur’an and Sunnah, then fairness demands that you retract it.
Also, based on your own logic, gold, silver, grain, camels, cattle, sheep, etc. are all Allah’s property — so should these too not be privately owned, bought, sold, or inherited?
If you say they can be privately owned, then your argument about land collapses.
Furthermore, if Allah’s ownership negates individual ownership, it must also negate government trusteeship — for neither individuals nor governments created the land. Thus, you must provide evidence from Qur’an or Sunnah for giving preference to government over individuals.
2. Second Argument: “No individual created the land”
True — Allah created the land, not any person or government:
﴿اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ﴾
“Allah is the Creator of all things.”
But again, the hidden part of your reasoning is:
"Whatever Allah created cannot be privately owned by individuals; the trusteeship belongs to the government, and it cannot be sold, bought, or inherited."
You must provide evidence for this from Qur’an or Sunnah, otherwise the reasoning is invalid.
Gold, silver, grain, and animals were also created by Allah — yet they are privately owned and inherited. If you accept that for them, why not for land?
And if creation by Allah disqualifies individuals from trusteeship, it equally disqualifies governments.
3. Third Argument: “Inherited division leads to bloodshed and corruption”
The hidden assumption here is:
"Whatever leads to bloodshed and corruption cannot be privately owned by individuals; it must be under government trusteeship, without sale, purchase, or inheritance."
You must prove this from Qur’an or Sunnah.
In reality, disputes, killings, and corruption have also occurred over the inheritance of gold, silver, and other assets — yet you do not oppose private ownership of these.
Moreover, if government is given sole trusteeship, political groups will compete fiercely for power — leading to greater bloodshed than disputes between individuals. History proves that conflicts between governments are far more destructive than disputes between private owners.
Also, your claim that “private ownership and inheritance division cause bloodshed and corruption” is factually incorrect. Many families have owned and inherited land for generations without any violence or corruption. The real cause lies elsewhere.
Final Note
You used the term “trusteeship” (niyabah). This humble servant also used it only to clarify your intended meaning. In reality, the concept of any individual or government being Allah’s “trustee” over land is not established from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
