Book of Reviving Dead Land (Ihya al-Mawat)
Al-Mawat is the ruined, desolate land. It is called maytah, mawat, and mawatan—with a fatha on the mim and the waw—and mutan—with a damma on the mim and a sukun on the waw—means severe death. A man who is mawtan al-qalb—with a fatha on the mim and a sukun on the waw—means one who is blind of heart and does not understand. The principle regarding the revival of land is what Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated, saying: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever revives dead land, it belongs to him" (1). Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a hasan (2) sahih hadith. Sa'id ibn Zayd narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever revives dead land, it belongs to him, and there is no right for an unjust root" (3). Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a hasan hadith. Malik narrated it in his al-Muwatta, and Abu Dawud in his Sunan, from Aisha, similarly. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: It is a sahih musnad [hadith], received with acceptance by the jurists of Medina and others. Abu 'Ubayd narrated in al-Amwal (4) from 'Aisha, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever revives land that belongs to no one, he is most entitled to it." 'Urwah said: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, adjudicated (5) accordingly during his caliphate. The generality of the jurists of the regions hold that dead land is owned through revival, even if they differ regarding its conditions.
(1) Extracted by al-Bukhari as a ta'liq (hanging narration), in: The Chapter of Whoever Revives Dead Land, from the Book of Cultivation and Sharecropping. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/139, 140. And al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter of What Was Mentioned Regarding Reviving Dead Land, from the Chapters of Judicial Rulings. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 6/149. And al-Darimi, in: The Chapter of Whoever Revives Dead Land It Belongs to Him, from the Book of Transactions 2/267. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 3/338, 381. (2) Dropped from: [b] and [m]. (3) Its extraction was mentioned previously in: 6/558. (4) In the chapter: Reviving and Enclosing Lands..., al-Amwal 286. It was also extracted by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter of Whoever Revives Dead Land, from the Book of Cultivation and Sharecropping. Sahih al-Bukhari 3/140, and Imam Malik, in: The Chapter of Judicial Rulings on Cultivating Dead Land, from the Book of Judiciary. al-Muwatta 2/743 (as a mursal report). And al-Bayhaqi, in: The Chapter of Whoever Revives Dead Land..., from the Book of Reviving Dead Land. al-Sunan al-Kubra 6/141. (5) The waw was dropped from: [b] and [m].
