Fatwa ID: 02503

Answered by: Maulana Javed ibn Nazir Kachhalia

Question:

Asalamualaykum
In Islamic Law, is it allowed for someone to take over a property that no one is living in, and eventually take ownership of it if it is in accordance with the law of the UK? Could this be done even if the person objects? I ask this because this can occur in the UK through the laws of Adverse Possession, which you may be aware of.

Answer

بسم الله الرحمن الرحي

As a Muslim one cannot use the concept of adverse possession to take land owned by someone even if he/she may be a non-Muslim. It will be wrong to continue staying on that house or land. One may either offer to buy it off from the deceased heirs or agree to pay rent to continue staying or using the land. You may mutually resolve the issue with the owners of the house or land on the renovations and upgrades done.

We need to understand that even if it’s the Law of the Land we are not entitled to follow that, but what the Qura’an and Hadith say.

In Shariah, this is called ‘Ghasb’.

Ghasb in Arabic means to seize something wrongfully. In Fiqh terminology, it means taking the property of others wrongfully or by force.

Ghasb is haraam according to the consensus of the Muslims.

Allah says:

“And eat up not one another’s property unjustly (in any illegal way, e.g. stealing, robbing, deceiving”[1]

Its mentioned in ‘Aapke Masa’ail aur unke Hal’:

“to usurp a property or a land without the consent of the owner it’s a grave sin in Islam. In the Hadith, the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم has mentioned, “Whoever seizes a hand span of land unlawfully, will surround him to the depth of seven earths” “. [2]

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Maulana Javed ibn Nazir Kachhalia

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham