فِقهُ المَالِ وَالمِلكِيَّة — المَالُ وَالمِلكِيَّةُ فِي الفِقهِ الإِسلَامِيّ: فِئَاتُ الثَّروَةِ المَحمِيَّةِ قَانُونِيًّا وَكَيفِيَّةُ اكتِسَابِ المِلكِيَّةِ وَزَوَالِهَا وَتَحرِيمُ الغَصبِ وَالتَّمييزُ بَينَ المِلكِيَّةِ العَامَّةِ وَالخَاصَّة
Fiqh al-Mal wal-Milkiyya (فِقهُ المَالِ وَالمِلكِيَّة — Jurisprudence of Property and Ownership; *mal* [pl. amwal]: property, wealth, legally valuable asset; *milkiyya*: ownership; *milk*: ownership right; the definition of mal: anything that: [a] has value; [b] can be possessed; [c] is lawful [halal] to use; under Islamic law, things that are prohibited [khamr, pork, stolen property] are not 'mal' in the legal sense even if they have market value; categories of property: [1] 'ayn [corporeal property]: tangible physical things — land, buildings, goods; [2] dayn [debt]: the right to receive a future payment or thing; [3] manfa'a [usufruct]: the right to use a thing without owning it; the primary modes of acquiring ownership: [1] 'uqud [contracts]: sales, gifts [hibah], bequest [wasiyya]; [2] ihraz [first possession]: acquiring unowned things [game hunting, pearl diving, establishing rights in unowned land through cultivation]; [3] khilafa [succession/inheritance]: inheriting property from the deceased; [4] istihlak [accession]: when one's property naturally increases or is combined with a new thing [harvest from owned land, offspring of owned animals]; modes of losing ownership: [1] voluntary transfer [sale, gift]; [2] death [inheritance transfers to heirs]; [3] destruction; [4] legal confiscation for cause; the prohibition of ghasb [usurpation]: to take another's property by force without authorization is ghasb — strictly prohibited; the ghasb rule: the usurper must: return the identical property [if it still exists]; pay compensation if the property has been destroyed or consumed; pay any income lost during the period of usurpation; the ghasb rule on mixed property: if usurped wheat is milled into flour [value transformation], the Hanafi position: ownership transfers to the usurper with compensation owed; the Maliki/Shafi'i position: the original owner may still claim the transformed product; public property: Islamic law recognizes a category of collective property ['amma or publicly controlled property]: water resources, grazing land, minerals in large deposits, and strategic infrastructure have a public character; Ibn Taymiyya's discussion of marafiq ['utilities']: these cannot be monopolized by individuals to the detriment of the community; modern parallels: nationalization of key natural resources in Muslim-majority countries has often been justified using this doctrine) is the foundational property law framework of Islamic jurisprudence.
What Counts as Property?
Islamic law defines mal (property) more narrowly than modern common law. For something to be legally protected property, it must have value, be capable of possession, and be lawful to own. This third criterion — lawfulness — means that prohibited items like alcohol are not legally protected property: if someone takes another person’s wine, they do not owe compensation for “property” in the same sense that applies to grain.
This definitional choice reflects the Quran’s integration of ethics and law: the legal system does not protect economic value independent of moral evaluation.
The Ghasb Prohibition
Ghasb (usurpation — taking another’s property by force or without authorization) triggers strict liability: the usurper must return the identical property if it still exists, pay compensation if it has been consumed or destroyed, and account for income lost during the usurpation period.
The most interesting juristic dispute involves transformed property: if a usurper takes wheat and mills it into flour, who owns the flour? The Hanafi school (typically more economically pragmatic) allows the usurper to retain the transformed product while paying compensation — recognizing that the physical transformation has created a new thing. The Maliki and Shafi’i schools give the original owner more claims over the product.
The Public Property Doctrine
Islamic law’s category of collective property (amm) anticipates many modern debates about natural resources. Water, grazing land, and mineral deposits in significant quantities are often treated as having a collective character that prevents their monopolization. Ibn Taymiyya’s discussion of marafiq (utilities/amenities) — things that communities need collectively and that individuals cannot appropriate to the community’s detriment — provides a classical basis for policies like nationalization of strategic resources.
See also: Fiqh Al Ghasb, Fiqh Al Waqf, Fiqh Al Luqata Wal Mawat, Fiqh Al Miras Wal Tarika, Fiqh Al Ahkam Al Khamsah