❖ The Property Seized by Disbelievers, if Recovered, Belongs to Its Original Muslim Owner
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❶ Narration of Ḥaḍrat ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn رضي الله عنه
It is narrated that the camel of the Prophet ﷺ named ʿAfbāʾ was captured. Later, a Muslim woman (who was in captivity) mounted it and returned towards the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. She had vowed that if Allah Almighty granted her escape through that camel, she would slaughter it. Upon this, the Prophet ﷺ said:
لا وفاء لنذر فى معصية الله ولا فيما لا يملك ابن آدم
“There is no fulfillment of a vow involving disobedience to Allah, nor in that which the son of Ādam does not own.”
[Muslim: 1641, Kitāb al-Nadhr: Bāb Lā Wafāʾ li-Nadhr fī Maʿṣiyat Allāh; Aḥmad: 6/429; Abū Dāwūd: 3316; Bayhaqī: 10/75]
❷ Narration of Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
A horse belonging to Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما was captured by the enemy. Later, when the Muslims overpowered the enemy during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, the horse was returned to him.
Also, one of his slaves fled to the land of the Romans. When the Muslims gained dominance over that area, after the Prophet’s ﷺ demise, Ḥaḍrat Khālid ibn Walīd رضي الله عنه returned the slave to Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما.
[Bukhārī: 3067, Kitāb al-Jihād wa al-Siyar: Bāb Idhā Ghanima al-Mushrikūn Māl al-Muslim Thumma Wajadahu al-Muslim; Abū Dāwūd: 2699; Ibn Mājah: 2847; Bayhaqī: 9/110]
❸ Further Narration from Sunan Abī Dāwūd
Another narration from Sunan Abī Dāwūd mentions:
A slave of Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما fled to the enemy, and when Muslims gained control, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned the slave to Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما and did not distribute him as spoils.
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 2347, Kitāb al-Jihād: Bāb fī al-Māl Yuṣībuhu al-ʿAdū min al-Muslimīn; Abū Dāwūd: 2698]
◈ Scholarly Differences of Opinion on the Matter
✔ Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله:
When the exact same item is recovered, the original owner has the greater right to it.
✔ Opinion of ʿAlī رضي الله عنه, al-Zuhrī رحمه الله, and ʿAmr ibn Dīnār رحمه الله:
Any property recovered from the enemy should be distributed as war booty (ghanimah) and not returned to the original owner.
✔ Opinion of Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, Sulaymān ibn Rabīʿah, ʿAṭāʾ, Imām al-Layth, Imām Mālik, Imām Aḥmad, and the Seven Jurists (Fuqahāʾ al-Sabʿah):
If the specific item is found before the distribution of war booty, then its original owner has the rightful claim to it.
But if it is found after the distribution, then the owner may only retrieve it by paying its equivalent value.
Their evidence is a marfūʿ narration from Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما to this effect. However, this narration is weak, as Imām al-Dāraqutnī رحمه الله stated, since it includes Ḥasan ibn ʿUmārah, who is abandoned in narration (matrūk).
[Dāraqutnī: 4/114–115, 39]
✔ Opinion of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله:
His opinion aligns with that of Imām Mālik رحمه الله, but he specifically rules that a runaway slave—when recovered—always belongs to his original master.
[Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ: 9/4356; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 1/399; Nayl al-Awṭār: 5/53; al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/743; Āthār al-Ḥarb: p. 613; al-Qasṭalānī Sharḥ al-Bukhārī: 5/172]
Preferred View (Rājiḥ Qawl):
The opinion of Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله is closest to the Hadith evidence and thus considered more correct in this matter.
