-
Importance as Factor of Production
-
Private Ownership of Land
-
Acquisition of Ownership Rights
-
Tenancy or Muzara’a
-
Irrigation
-
State or Public Ownership of Land
-
Feudalism or Jaqirdari System
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I- Importance as Factor of Production
The factors of
production have been classified as land, labour, capital and
organisation or enterprise. In this chapter, we shall discuss land
while in following chapters we shall discuss labour, capital and
enterprise.
The term land has
been given a special meaning in Economics. It does not mean soil
only, as understood in ordinary speech, but it is synonymous with
all the natural resources available from air and water, from above
the land surface ad below it, which yield income or useful
produce. In the words of Marshall, land means “the materials and
the forces which nature gives freely for man’s aid, in land and
water, in air and light and heat.” Most of the economic activities
of man depend directly on land even today, as in the past, such as
hunting, fishing, breeding of cattle and sheep, agricultural
produce, gardens, minerals, metals, industrial raw material,
electric power, water and other natural resources.
Islam has
recognised land as one of the most important factor of production.
But in this chapter, we will discuss Islamic view-point regarding
agricultural use of land. Since most of the matters pertaining to
agriculture are of temporal character, Islam has not laid down any
hard and fast rules to govern each and every affair so as to
restrict the freedom of action of the people. Rather most of these
matters have been left to the discretion of the people of each age
and each place to decide the same according to their ever changing
socio-economic situations. Only a few general instructions have
been issued by al-Qur’an, the revealed book of Islam and Muhammad
(PBUH), the Prophet of Islam, in the fields of land-ownership,
land cultivation, reclamation of dead lands, peasant-landlord
relationship, irrigation, etc.
A tradition is
reported in Sahih Bukhari on the authority of Abu Umamah that when
the Prophet saw a plough and some other agricultural implements,
he said: “This does not enter the house of a people but it brings
inglory with it”. From this Hadith, some critics have tried to
deduce that the Prophet of Islam discouraged rather condemned
agriculture. But this is a misconceived impression. In fact, the
Hadith implies that a people which gives itself up entirely to
agriculture to the neglect of other sectors like trade and
industry cannot rise to the position of glory among the comity of
nations. Subsequent history has proved this fact right as the
nations who have concentrated only on agriculture have been left
much behind in the race of economic development in comparison to
the nations who have paid attention to trade and industry and have
followed policy of balanced sectoral growth.
[Back
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II- Private Ownership of Land
Some people,
especially those having inclination towards socialism, believe
that the concept of ownership of land is alien to Islam. However,
this view does not have any locus standi when we look at the
teachings of Islam. The institution of ownership of land, which
exists among the humankind since time immemorial, has not been
abolished either by the Qur’an or by the Sunnah of the Prophet of
Islam. No doubt according to the Qur’an overall concept of
absolute ownership over everything including earth and heavens
belongs to Allah, but the man has been vested with proprietary
rights over land as Allah’s trustee or vicegerent. Institution of
individual or private ownership of land has thus been recognised
by Islam.
Land is needed by
man either for habitation or for the purpose of earning livelihood
through its cultivation. For both these purposes the Holy Qur’an
concedes individual’s right of ownership and possession of land.
For the purpose of habitation, the Qur’an says: O ye who believe!
Enter not houses other than your own without first announcing your
presence and invoking peace upon the folk
thereof…….
-(24:27)
Thus ownership of
land for the purpose of houses has been recognised by the Holy
Book in this verse. In another verse the Qur’an affirms the right
of ownership of land for the purposes of cultivation and earning
sustenance. The verse states: ………… Eat ye of the fruit thereof
when it fruiteth, and pay the due thereof upon the harvest day,
and be not prodigal……….” -(6:141)
From the above
verse it is clear that one has to pay Zakat on his fruits and
agricultural produce if one owns and cultivates land. This verse
thus concedes the individual or private ownership of land for the
purpose of agriculture.
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III- Acquisition of Ownership Rights
Initially private
ownership of land is acquired through colonisation of land or
through allotment or grant of land by the state. These two methods
of acquisition of ownership rights over land have been recognised
by society since ancient times. Although land is also acquired by
an individual through purchase from another person, through
inheritance, through gift, through bequest, etc. but these are the
subsequent transfers with which we are not concerned. In this
section we would, therefore, discuss initial two methods of
acquisition of ownership rights over land and see what is the
view-point of Islam about them. Discussion would be restricted to
agricultural land only.
Colonisation :
When man settled on earth, the rule of ownership of land which
emerged in due course of time was: The land which one occupies and
develops for cultivation is his and he has better right to use it.
This ancient rule was maintained by the Prophet of Islam with
certain useful conditions. Some of his traditions are reproduced
below:
1.
Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that the
Holy Prophet (peace be on him) said: “Whoever colonizes a land
which does not belong to another, has the better right to keep it.
Urwa bin Zubair states that Hadrat Umar (Allah be pleased with
him) acted upon the same rule during his reign.”
-(Bukhari, Ahmad,
Nisai)
2.
Jabir bin Abdullah (Allah be pleased with him)
related the tradition that whoever reclaims dead land (i.e.
colonizes wasteland), acquired proprietary right over it.
-(Ahmad Tirmidhi, Nisai, Ibn-e-Haban)
3.
Tawus (Tabii) reported that the Holy Prophet (peace
be on him) had said: “Ownerless land which has no trustee or heir
belongs to God and His Apostle and then it is open to use by you.
Hence anyone who reclaims dead land shall keep it; and he who
occupies it without using it shall lose his ownership right over
it at the expiry of three years.”
-(Abu Yusuf : Kitab-ul-Kharaj)
4.
Saeed bin Zaid reported
that the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) had said: “Anyone
who reclaims some wasteland shall keep it. But he who colonizes
another person’s land illegally has no right over it.”
-(Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)
From the above
traditions of the Prophet, two principles emerge which regulate
the rights of ownership arising out of colonisation of land:
(i)
Whoever colonizes a land which does not belong to other
acquires proprietary right
over it. But he who colonises another person’s land
illegally has no right over it.
(ii)
He who reclaims dead land shall keep it; and he who occupies it
without using it, shall
lose his ownership over it at the expiry of three years.
Grants or
Allotments:
The Prophet of Islam as head of Islamic state and
his immediate successors known in history as right-guided caliphs
made grants of land to people. Some of their traditions are
related as under:
1.
Alqama bin Wail reports that his father (Wail bin
Hajr) stated that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be on him) had granted him a tract of land in Hadramut.
-(Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)
2.
Asma, the daughter of Hadrat Abu Bakr states that
the Holy Prophet (peace be on him) had granted her husband Hadrat
Zubair a tract of land in Khyber which contained date-palms and
other trees. Apart from this Urwa b. Zubair reports that the Holy
Prophet (peace be on him) had granted him an Oasis situated in the
lands formerly belonging to Beni Nazeer. Furthermore, Abdullah b.
Umar relates that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be on him) had granted another large tract of land to Hadrat
Zubair in the following manner. The Holy Prophet (peace be on him)
told Zubair:
“Race your
horse and the point where it stops shall be the boundary of
your estate. Zubair raced his horse and when it stopped at a
spot, he cast forward his lash. The Holy Prophet (peace be on
him) then said:
“All right,
give him the land up to where his lash has fallen.”
-(Bukhari, Ahmad, Abu Dawud)
3.
Amr bin Dinar reported that when the Holy Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) arrived in Madinah, he
granted lands both to Abu Bakr and Umar (Allah be pleased with
them).
4.
Abu Rafia states that the Holy Prophet (peace be on
him) had granted a tract of land to his (Rafia’s) family, but they
could not colonize it. (Abu Rafia) sold it for 8,000 Dinars in the
reign of Hadrat Umar (Allah be pleased with him)
-(Kitab-ul-Kharaj)
5.
Bilal bin Harith Muzni related that the Holy
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had granted to
him the entire land of Aqiq.
-(Kitab-ul-Amwal)
6.
Nafa, the son of the famous physician in Arabia
Harith bin Kaalda, represented to Hadrat Umar (Allah be pleased
with him) that a certain estate in Basra was neither a tribute
paying tract, nor was the interest of any Muslim involved in it,
so it should be granted to him and he would grow on it fodder for
his horses. Hadrat Umar (Allah be pleased with him) issued a
decree to his Governor Abu Musa al-Ashari that if the facts stated
by Nafa were true, the estate should be granted to him.
-(Kitab-ul-Amwal)
7.
Musa bin Talha reported that Hadrat Uthman (Allah
be pleased with him) during his reign had granted lands to Zubair
b. Awam, Saad b. Abi Waqqas, Abdullah b. Masud, Usama b. Zaid,
Khubab b. Art, Ammar b. Yasar and Saad b. Malik (Allah be pleased
with them).
-(Kitab-ul-Kharaj : Kitab-ul-Amwal)
8.
Abdullah b. Hasan related that on Ali’s application
Umar had granted to him the estate of Uniey.
-(Kanz al-Ammal)
9.
It is further reported : The Holy Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be on him) had granted the whole valley of
Aqiq to Bilal b. Harith Muzni. But he could not bring a major part
of it under cultivation. Hadrat Umar, therefore, in his reign said
to him, “The Holy Prophet (peace be on him) had not granted this
land to you to keep it fallow and withhold it from use by others.
So retain as much of it as you can use and return the remainder so
that I may distribute it among the Muslims.” Bilal b. Harith
refused to comply with this advice. Umar persisted in his demand.
Finally, except the land which was actually under his (Bilal’s)
use, Umar (Allah be pleased with them) took away all the land from
him and divided it into plots, which were distributed among the
Muslims.
-(Kitab-ul-Amwal by Abu Obaid)
Following
principles emerge from the land-grants made by the Prophet and the
right-guided caliphs:
i) A grant which
is not being put to proper use or if a grantee could not develop
his land, his ownership over it could be abolished, as was done by
Umar in case of land granted to Bilal by the Prophet himself.
ii) State can
make grants only out of state lands and dead lands. State has no
power to deprive a person from his land illegally and grant it to
some other person.
iii) State lands
are not to be distributed as gifts among favourites. Such lands
are to be allotted in accordance with rules made in this behalf to
those persons who have rendered some meritorious services or who
can be helpful in Jihad against the enemies of Islam.
[Back
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IV- Tenancy or Muzara’a
Cultivation of land
can be done in two ways: Either the owner of the land may
cultivate his land himself, or he may give his land for
cultivation to another person on the basis of share in produce or
fixed rental in cash. If land is given by the owner to another
person for cultivation, it is called tenancy or Muzara’a. Tenancy
is of two types: one is share-tenancy in which the tenant and the
landlord share the produce of the land in agreed proportions, and
the other is cash-tenancy in which the tenant pays the fixed rent
of the land to the land owner in cash.
In this section we
shall discuss in detail both types of tenancy, in the light of the
traditions of the Prophet of Islam and practice of his companions,
in order to understand Islamic view-point regarding this important
issue.
Share Tenancy:
In this form of cultivation the landlord receives from the tenant
a certain fixed share of the produce, may be one half or one third
or one fourth, as agreed in the contract. This system is called
batai or produce-sharing. In Arabic it is called Muzaraat in case
of land and Musaqat in case of garden.
Those who support
share tenancy and consider it as permissible in Islam produce the
following traditions of the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions in
favour of their contention:
1.
Abdullah bin Umar
reports that when
the land of Khaibar fell into the hands of the Muslims,
half of it was made the property of the state and the other half
was divided among the fighters. The Jews requested the Holy
Prophet to allow them to stay and they would cultivate the land
and would be prepared to accept one half of the produce of the
land. The Holy Prophet agreed but warned them that they would have
to vacate the land if they broke the contract or the state wanted
to take it back. This arrangement continued until the time of the
Caliphate of Umar when the Jews broke the contract and were
asked to vacate and were settled in Taima and Ariha.
-(Bukhari)
2.
Abu Hurairah says that when the Holy Prophet came
to Madinah, the Ansar wanted that their gardens be
divided between the Muhajirin and themselves. The Holy
Prophet did not accede to their request. Afterwards, the Ansar
asked the Muhajirin to look after their gardens and
thereby share the fruit crop with them. The Muhajirin
agreed to this proposal and the Holy Prophet approved of it.
-(Bukhari)
3.
Many companions of the Holy Prophet, including
Quais bin Muslim, Abu Jaffar, Ibn Abi Shaiba and Musa bin
Talha say that every Muhajirin family in Madinah
used to cultivate land on a crop-sharing basis with their
landowners. And that many famous companions of the Holy Prophet
like Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, Sa’d bin Malik, Abdullah bin Masud,
Umar bin Abdul Aziz, Qasim and Urwah used to let their
land for cultivation on share tenancy.
-(Bukhari)
4.
It is reported that Othman, the third
Caliph, gave lands to Abdullah bin Masud, Ammar bin Yasar,
Khubab bin Artat and Sa’d bin Malik; and that Sa’d
bin Malik and Abdullah bin Masud gave their lands for
cultivation on share tenancy and shared the crop by one-third or
one-fourth.
-(Kitab-ul-Kharaj)
5.
Taaos
reports that Muaz bin Jabal gave his land for cultivation
on share tenancy and shared the crop by one-third or one-fourth
during the reign of the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr, Umar and
Othman.
-(Ibn Majah)
Those who oppose
share tenancy and consider it prohibited in Islam rely on the
following traditions:
1.
Rafey bin Khadij
reports that while
he was watering his fields, the Holy Prophet passed that way and
enquired about the land. He told the Holy Prophet that it belonged
to him and that labour and seed were supplied by another person
who would share half of the total produce of the land with him. On
hearing this, the Holy Prophet told him not to indulge in such a
transaction which contained the element of
Riba.
-(Abu-Daud)
2.
According to Rafey bin Khadij, his family
used to buy land and give it for cultivation on share tenancy,
taking one-third or one-fourth or a fixed quantity of the produce
of land. One day one of his uncles came and told them that the
Holy Prophet had forbidden them a business which was profitable.
The Holy Prophet forbade them from letting land on rent and
sharing produce of the land by one-third or one-fourth or a fixed
quantity. The Holy Prophet told the landowner either to cultivate
land himself or give it gratis to others for cultivation. And he
disliked the letting of land on rent or on any other basis.
-(Muslim)
3.
Abu Hurairah
reports that the
Holy Prophet said that anyone who owned any land should either
himself cultivate it or give it gratis to one of his brothers in
Islam or leave it fallow.
-(Bukhari)
4.
Zaid bin Thabat reports that the Holy Prophet
forbade Mukhabira which meant letting land on a crop-sharing basis
by one-half one-third or one-fourth.
-(Abu Daud)
5.
According to Salim bin Abdullah, Abdullah
stopped the practice of letting his land on hire when he heard
from Rafey that the Holy Prophet had forbidden this form of
cultivation. Abdullah stopped this practice, but he said
that, though he knew that land was given on hire during the time
of the Holy Prophet, he stopped from letting land on hire fearing
that the Holy Prophet might have forbidden it and he might not
have heard it.
Cash Tenancy:
In this form of cultivation, the landlord gives his land to
another person for cultivation and gets fixed rent from him in the
form of cash.
Those who support
this system of tenancy and consider it as permitted by Islam
produce the following traditions in their favour:
1.
According to Saeed bin Musayyib, Rafey bin
Khadij said that the Holy Prophet forbade crop-sharing and the
sale of dates on trees and said that the cultivation may only be
done by three persons:
(i) The owner
of land who himself cultivates it;
(ii) One who
gets land gratis from another and cultivates; and
(iii) one who
hires the land on cash tenancy (for gold or silver).
-(Abu Daud, Ibn Majah)
2.
Abdullah bin Mufaddal
reports from Thabat bin Zahhaq that the Holy Prophet had
forbidden Muzaraa and permitted letting it on hire and had said
that there was no harm in letting it on hire.
-(Muslim)
3.
Rafey bin Khadij
reports that no one among the Ansar cultivated land more
than us and we used to give land on rent. We fixed one part of
that land for rent but sometimes it grew (rich crop) and nothing
was reaped from the other part and vice versa. Therefore we
were forbidden by the Holy Prophet from this form of cultivation
but were not forbidden to give land for cultivation in exchange
for gold or silver.
-(Bukhari)
4.
It is reported that someone asked Rafey
about letting land on hire in exchange for payment in dinars
and dirhams and he replied that there was no harm in
letting land on hire in return for
dirhams.
-(Mutta)
5.
Hanzalah-bin-Qais from Rafe-b-Khadiz reported that
he said: My two uncles informed me that they used to let out lands
at the time of the Holy Prophet for what the aqueducts produced or
something which the owner of the land set apart. The Holy Prophet
prohibited us from that. I asked Rafe’: Then how is it in exchange
of dirhams and dinars? He said: There is no harm in it? And that
was what was prohibited as it were. If any man of understanding
looks therein with (a sense of) legality and illegality, he will
hold it as unlawful on account of what is therein of cheating.
-(Bukhari, Muslim)
Those who say that
cash tenancy is not permitted by Islam quote the following
traditions in the support of their contention:
1. Thabat bin
Zahak is reported to have said that the Holy Prophet had
forbidden landlordism (i.e., letting land on hire for
cultivation).
-(Bukhari)
2.
According to Jabir bin Abdullah, the Holy
Prophet forbade Muzanba and Haqal. He explained that
Muzanba was exchanging plucked dates with the dates on the
trees and Haqal was giving land on hire.
-(Muslim)
3.
Nafey reports
that Abdullah
bin Umar kept letting his land on hire during the time of the
Holy Prophet and his four Caliphs till the year 50 Hijra.
Then he was told that the Holy Prophet had forbidden letting of
land on hire. When he confirmed it from Rafey bin Khadij,
he stopped letting land on hire.
4.
Rafe-b-Khadiz reported: We were many men of Madinah
who had cultivation. Someone amongst us used to let out his land
and say: This plot is for me, and this is for you. Often it
yielded crops and another did not yield. The Holy Prophet
prohibited it.
-(Bukhari, Muslim)
5.
Amr reported: I said to Taus: Would that you had
given up agricultural leases! Verily they think that the Holy
Prophet forbade that. He said: O Amr! Verily I give them and help
them, and verily the most learned of them meaning Ibn Abbas
informed me that the Holy Prophet did not prohibit it but he said.
The gift of anyone of you to his brother is better than his
realising a fixed rent from him.
-(Bukhari, Muslim)
6.
Abdullah-b-Mugaffal reported that Sabet-b-Zuhhak
held that the Messenger of Allah prohibited agricultural leases
and enjoined mutual labour. He said: There’s no harm in it.
-(Muslim)
Conclusion:
From the way the traditions of the Prophet of Islam are used by
different people to promote their particular point of view, some
immature mind are led to believe that the traditions are
inconsistent with each other or contradict each other. But this
belief, I am afraid to say, is absolutely incorrect and
misconceived. There is no contradiction or inconsistency in the
Ahadith of the Prophet, but there may be some discrepancies in the
reporting of these Ahadith. In the contract of tenancy what has
been prohibited by the Prophet is the element of exploitation,
riba (usury) and gambling. So the legality of the tenancy system
will have to be judged with the criterion whether it contains or
does not contain any element of exploitation or riba or gambling.
If the system contains such elements, it would be unlawful; but if
it is clear of such elements, it would be lawful. Since judgement
on the basis of this criterion is very difficult if not
impossible, the system of tenancy itself has become very
controversial.
Some jurists hold
that both the forms of tenancy i.e. share tenancy as well as cash
tenancy are illegal; whereas some others hold that both are
lawful. Some jurists prefer share tenancy over cash tenancy, while
some other jurists prefer cash tenancy over share tenancy. Imam
Abu Yusuf, for example, holds both the forms of tenancy lawful. He
says:
“Just as
‘Muzarabah’ is lawful i.e., one man gives capital and the
other labour and both share in the profits, similarly in my
opinion, land is Muzarabah capital ( ), one
man owns the land and the other hires it and both share the
profit, whether it is a matter of share tenancy (Muzaraa)
or hire.”
But this view of
the great Imam does not appear to be very sound. What the great
Imam seems to have forgotten is that in case of Muzarabah business
if there is loss the capitalist bears the whole of such loss;
whereas in tenancy the landlord does not bear any loss when crops
are damaged or lost. So the contract of tenancy cannot be likened
to contract of Muzarabah business.
Maulana Maududi,
however, holds that only share tenancy is permitted in Islam.
According to him, cash tenancy is not permitted because in this
form of tenancy the landlord does not share any loss in case the
crop is damaged. The landlord gets his rent even if nothing is
produced from his land and thus the tenant suffers the whole loss.
In the view of Maududi, giving of land on rent is like lending of
capital on riba, and thus the transaction being in the nature of
riba is unlawful in Islam.
Although tenancy
system has not been prohibited by Islam as it was in vogue during
the time of the Holy Prophet and many famous companions used to
let their lands for cultivation on crop-sharing or on cash rental,
but the best course of action is what has been suggested by the
Prophet himself. Abu Hurairah reports that the Holy Prophet said:
Anyone who owns any land should either himself cultivate it or
give it gratis to one of his brothers in Islam or leave it fallow
(Bukhari). So this Hadith prefers leaving the land fallow rather
than giving it on rent in kind or cash to others. Thus this Hadith
on the one hand promotes brotherhood among the Muslims by
enjoining upon them to give their land gratis to their brothers
and on the other `hand it cuts at the root of feudalism which
exists on the tenancy system.
[Back
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V-
Irrigation
Irrigation of land
has been attached paramount importance by Islam as without proper
irrigation, agricultural produce cannot be enhanced. Disputes
regarding irrigation of land among the people living around the
same water channel were common in those days, as are today. The
Prophet of Islam, therefore, made certain rules regulating the use
of water by such people. These rules are found in the following
Ahadith:
1.
Urwah reported that Zubair had a dispute with one
of the Ansars about streamlets in the lava plain. The Holy Prophet
said: O Zubair, enjoy water and then send the water to your
neighours. The Ansars said: In case he is your cousin. His face
became changed (in rage) and he said: O Zubair, water your ground
and then stop water, till it returns to the enclosure and then
send the water down to your neighbour. He gave Zubair his full
right in clear order when the Ansar made him angry. And he had
pointed out to them both an affair wherein there was advantage for
both.
-(Bukhari and Muslim)
2.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah
said: Don’t withhold excess water so as to prevent therewith the
(growth of) additional herbage.
-(Bukhari and Muslim)
3.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah
said: There are three persons with whom Allah will neither speak
on the Resurrection Day, nor look towards them: A man who took
goods in excess of what he was given by taking a false oath; a man
who took false oath after afternoon prayer to deprive there-with a
Muslim of his property; and a man who denied excess water. Allah
will say: This day I shall withhold My favour on you as you
withheld excess water which your hands did not produce.
-(Bukhari and Muslim)
4.
Ibn Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah
said: All Muslims are partners in three things-in water, herbage
and fire.
-(Abu Daud, Ibn Majah)
5.
Asmara-b-Muqarres reported: I came to the Holy
Prophet and took allegiance to him. He said: He who first occupies
a place of water which no Muslim had occupied before becomes its
owner.
-(Abu Daud)
6.
Amr-b-Shuaib from his father from his grandfather
reported that the Messenger of Allah gave decision about the
Mahzur stream that it should be withheld till it should reach the
ankles and then it should be flowed down from the upper to the
lower.
-(Abu Daud, Ibn Majah)
[Back
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VI- State or Public Ownership of Land
The idea of state
control or public ownership of land came to the mind of the
Muslims during the caliphate of Umar when vast lands of Iraq,
Syria, Egypt and Iran fell to the sword of Islam. The institution
of state ownership was introduced by caliph Umar, which continued
during the time of later caliphs. The aims and objectives of the
great caliph in establishing this institution were:
1.
He wanted a regular of revenue for the government
to pay the soldiers and other state officials and also to purchase
the arms.
2.
He wanted to retain the land not only for the
generation then living but also as Fai belonging for all time to
the whole Muslim Ummah for the benefit of all future generations.
3.
He also feared that if the Arabs devoted themselves
to agriculture, they would become ease-loving and non-martial.
4.
He knew that the stability of the state depended on
the prosperity of the agricultural classes and depriving the
farmers of their lands would not only be a great hardship to them
but also would undermine the stability of the government.
5.
He had noticed evils of feudal system which was
mainly responsible for the fall of Iranian and Roman empires, and,
therefore, he wanted to save the Islamic state from the evils of
this oppressive system.
However, it would
be of great academic interest if we describe, in brief, the events
which led to the introduction of the institution of public
ownership of lands of the above mentioned countries and how the
caliph could do this great act despite a lot of resistance from
the very influential persons.
After the death of
the Prophet, when Iraq, Iran and Egypt were conquered by Muslim
armies, there was a controversy among the people concerning the
lands of these countries. Companions of the Prophet at request of
caliph Umar held meetings to discuss and deliberate upon the
issue. Imam Abu Yusuf in his book Kitab-ul-Kharaj gives a lengthy
and interesting account of these debates. Abdul Rahman, Zubair and
Bilal backed by the army generals were of the view that the
conquered lands should be divided among the soldiers just like
other categories of spoils from which one-fifth is taken out for
the Muslim community and four-fifth is distributed among the
participating soldiers. On the other hand Hadrat Umar backed by
Ali-b-Abi Talib and Muadh-b-Jabal were of the opinion that these
lands should be retained in state control and should not be
distributed among the soldiers. Letter written by Hadrat Umar to
Saad bin Abi Waqqas, the commander of Islamic forces in Iraq and
Persia, throws light on the views of the Caliph: “You urge in your
letter that whatever property God has given you in booty should be
distributed. On receipt of my letter you should distribute all the
chattels including animals among the army after deducting
one-fifth provided the booty has been obtained after the actual
warfare, and allow the lands and the camels to remain in the hands
of the original owners so that they may be used in support of the
allowances of the Muslims. If you distribute (the latter) among
the present generation, there would be left nothing for the
posterity.”
Hadrat Umar
addressed the companions, in order to persuade them to accept his
view, as follows:
You heard the
people who say I am depriving them of their right. I think that
after the lands of Kisra (Chosroe) no lands will be left for
conquest. God has granted us their wealth and lands. I have
distributed wealth among Muslims, but I wish that lands be left
with their tillers and I should impose Kharaj and Jizyah which
they would be paying us to meet the expenses of the army, children
of Muslims and generations to come. You have seen the borders, we
need the army to protect them; you have seen the big cities and to
protect them a regularly paid army is necessary, and if I
distribute the lands, how will they be paid?”
So on the basis of
these arguments Hadrat Umar tried to press his point but was not
successful due to strong opposition of Bilal and others who were
not ready to concede anything for future generations. At last he
did Ijtihad for some days and then convinced the companions of the
Holy Prophet relying on the verses 7 to 10 of Surah Al Hashr of
the Holy Quran. In these verses, Allah declares that Fai belongs
to the poor among the Muhajreen and the Ansar ---- and to “those
who come after them.” Hadrat Umar laid emphasis on the clause “to
those who come after them” and carried his point through. In this
way with the consensus of Majlis-e-Shura, it was declared that the
conquered lands in these countries would be considered Fai
property and would be kept under state control for the benefit of
all Muslim Ummah including future generations.
Soon after taking
over the conquered lands in the state control, Hadrat Umar
applied his best administrative
abilities to reorganize the administrative system of these areas.
He entrusted the work of survey of land in Iraq to Usman-b-Hanif
who was an expert in this field. Usman-b-Hanif carried out the
survey very efficiently. Imam Abu Yusuf writes that the area of
swad of Iraq amounted to 3,60,00,000 Jaribs (one Jarib equal to
almost 3000 square yards of these days). Kharaj was imposed on
these lands. Total Kharaj collected from these lands of Iraq rose
before the death of the great caliph to impressive figure of
12,80,00,000 Dirhams. Similarly lands of Egypt and Syria placed
under state control brought Kharaj of 1,20,00,000 and 1,40,00,000
Dinars respectively to Muslim treasury.
With this
considerable amount of funds in Bait-ul-Mal, the great caliph
introduced a widespread network of social security unparalleled in
the hitherto history of the mankind.
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VII- Feudalism or Jagirdari System
A feudal lord or
jagirdar is a person who owns vast tracts of land on which hundred
of farmers or cultivators work either for petty wages or for some
share in the produce and so often without any compensation. In
this system the whole of the produce or the lion’s share of the
produce goes to the jagirdar who does not work and lives in ease
and luxury and sucks the blood of the poor farm worker like a
parasite. The owner of the big chunk of land is called feudal lord
or landlord or Jagirdar, the land is called estate or Jagir and
peasants are called serfs or tenants.
The tenant does not
enjoy many rights in this system. He does not own the land he
cultivates, nor can he inherit or alienate rights of cultivation.
He so often is compelled to work in jagir without any wages. He
works from morning till evening and sometimes during the night on
the land under most unfavourable circumstances and unfriendly
weather, but hardly gets enough to satisfy his hunger, to hide his
nakedness and to meet other basic human needs. He spends all his
life in misery, poverty and drudgery in a single room hut which he
does not own. On the other hand, the Jagirdar who owns hundreds of
hectares of land enjoys life of luxury on the labour of others.
Most often he lives in a big town or a city, but despite being an
absentee landlord he rolls in wealth without working. His
treatment with his tenants and farm workers is usually that of an
oppressor and a tyrant.
Although Islam
recognises the right of an individual to own land, but it does not
favour landlordism or feudalism. In fact, Islam condemns all
oppressive, tyrannical and reactionary institutions which lead to
suppression of basic human rights such as right to equality, right
to liberty and right to basic human needs. How Islam a religion of
peace, equality and brotherhood, can tolerate such an undemocratic
and tyrannical institution like feudalism which renders millions
of humans to the status of serfs and slaves?
Those who contend
that feudalism or landlordism exists in Islam mainly give two
arguments in the favour of their view: firstly that the Holy
Prophet as well as his successors granted lands to the people, and
secondly that the system of cultivation of land through tenants on
the basis of produce-sharing or cash-rent remained in vogue during
their times. But both these argument hardly carry any force if
examined impartially and dispassionately. No doubt the Holy
Prophet allotted some tracts of land to his companions but such
allotments were made in small tracts of land only to those needy
persons among the Muhajirin and Ansars, who had no possessions and
no source of income, just to enable them to earn their livelihood.
These small land owners generally cultivated their land
themselves. Those who could not cultivate their lands themselves
due to some reason, they got it cultivated through tenants on
crop-sharing basis or cash rent. But when the system of
cultivation through others came to the notice of the Holy Prophet,
he discouraged his companions to do so. He enjoined upon them to
cultivate their land themselves or to give it gratis to their
brothers in faith or to leave it fallow rather than giving it on
hire. As we have stated earlier, caliph Umar placed all the lands
of conquered countries like Iraq, Syria and Egypt under state
ownership and refused to allot the same to individuals who
participated in the conquest thereof despite the pressure of some
influential companions. So the lands of these countries remained
in the control of the peasants and farmers who paid Kharaj in kind
or in cash to the state. This land tenure system was continued
during the period of Usman and Ali. So the system of Jagirdari was
never allowed to take its roots during the reign of the Prophet
and the pious caliphs.
For the following
reasons, I believe, the system of Jagirdari is incompatible with
the teachings of Islam and so it cannot be allowed to exist in an
Islamic state:
1.
Feudalism or Jagirdari system is the most
exploitive, the most oppressive and the most retrogressive system
that has ever lived in the history of man on earth. How a
humanitarian religion like Islam which believes in justice,
fairness and equity can tolerate this system?
2.
Economically feudalism is even worse and more
exploitive than usury because a feudal lord lives on the blood of
his farm workers treating them as chattel and paying them little
or insignificant compensation while the usurer does not maltreat
his debtor as long as he regularly gets his usury. Usury, as we
have already studied, has not only been prohibited by Islam but
has also been declared by its revealed book as equivalent to war
against God and God’s Messenger.
3.
Islam provides all the fundamental human rights to
its followers including right to equality; right to liberty; right
to protection of person, honour and property; right to basic
needs; right to freedom of profession or vocation and right to
rest and leisure. But all these rights are denied to farm workers
and tenants by the feudal system. This system makes them serfs and
slaves having no rights.
4.
In feudal system, the landlords own thousands of
hectares of land without any limit or ceiling. Vast tracts of
lands are placed in the possession of few jagirdars while majority
of the people have no lands and are thus forced to work on the
lands of these jagirdars. Such a tyrannical and unjust system is
alien to Islam which believes in equitable and fair distribution
of wealth and economic resources. As stated earlier, if a
landowner colonises some land or is granted some land by the state
and does not put it to use for a period of three years, he loses
his ownership rights according to Islamic system. Similarly, state
can make law prohibiting purchase of land by certain persons in
certain areas as was done by Caliph Umar who prohibited the Arabs
to purchase lands in the conquered countries. Thus, in this
situation, one cannot be a jagirdar in an Islamic state as all the
means of acquiring of land are placed under the control of the
Islamic state which exercises its powers judiciously so as to keep
the distribution of land among its citizens fair and equitable.
5.
We have gone through the Ahadith of the Prophet of
Islam and we know that the Prophet not only discouraged Muzara’a
or tenancy system but also forbade his companion like Abu Rafaa,
whose family was a big landowner family of Madina in those days,
to indulge in this practice.
The Prophet advised
those who owned lands to cultivate their lands themselves or to
give their lands gratis to their brothers-in-faith without any
charge or to leave the land fallow. Thus the Prophet preferred to
leave the land fallow instead of giving it on Muzara’a or tenancy
system because of the evils attached with this system such as
exploitation, riba, idle life, and unearned money.
Feudalism depends
on cultivation of land through Muzaraa or tenancy system because
no single individual or family, how much efficient and hardworking
it may be, can cultivate vast lands of jagir or estate. Since
Muzara’a is disallowed, Jagirdari cannot exist in Islamic state.
6.
Both the major forms of Muzara’a or tenancy system contain
elements of riba and exploitation. In cash tenancy, the landlord
gets his fixed rent of land even if the tenant
suffers
a loss, and so the transaction becomes like that of riba on
capital because the lender of capital also gets his riba without
having any concern whether the borrower earns any profit or
suffers a loss in his business. In case of share-tenancy, the
landlord suffers only loss of his share when the crop is damaged,
but the tenant suffers not only loss of his share but also loss of
capital spent on seeds, fertilisers, pesticide and other inputs.
Thus the transaction becomes tainted with exploitation.
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