If that from which water has receded is not utilized by anyone, and a man develops it with a structure that does not impede the water, such as turning it into farmland, then he has a better right to it than anyone else, because he has performed tahajjur (staking a claim) on something in which no Muslim has a right, so it is similar to staking a claim on dead land (mawat).

Section: As for what is part of public thoroughfares, roads, and open spaces between inhabited areas, no one may revive them, whether they are wide or narrow, and whether or not he narrows it for people by doing so, because this is something in which the Muslims share and upon which their common interest depends, so it is similar to their mosques. It is permissible to benefit from sitting in the wide parts of these for buying and selling, in a manner that does not restrict anyone or harm passersby, due to the consensus of the people of the cities in all eras on allowing people to do this without objection, and because it is a permissible form of benefit without causing harm, so it is not prohibited, like passing through. Ahmad said, regarding one who is first to the market stalls in the morning: It is his until the night. This was the case in the market of Medina in the past. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Mina is the resting place for whoever arrives first" (34). He may provide himself shade with that which causes no harm, such as a mat (35), a chest, a garment, or the like, because necessity calls for it without there being harm in it. He may not build, neither a platform (dakka) nor anything else, because it restricts people, causes passersby to stumble at night, and harms the visually impaired by day and night, and it remains permanently, so he might claim ownership of it because of that. The one who arrives first has a better right to it as long as he is in it; if he gets up and leaves his goods in it, it is not permissible for someone else to remove them, because the first person's possession (yad) is upon it. If he moves his goods, it is permissible for someone else to sit in it, because his possession has ceased. If he sits and prolongs it, he is prevented from that, because he becomes like an owner, and he appropriates a benefit in which others are equal in their entitlement. It is also possible that it should not be removed, because he was the first to that which no Muslim had previously claimed. If two people race to it, it is possible that lots be drawn between them, and it is possible that the Imam should give priority to whichever of them he deems fit. If the one sitting