as its mention, and that it is like the 'Umra if he stipulates its return to the grantor. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Umra and Ruqba are the same. Tawus said: Whoever is granted something via Ruqba, it is by way of inheritance. Al-Zuhri said: Ruqba is a bequest, meaning its meaning is: if I die, this is for you. Al-Hasan, Malik, and Abu Hanifa said: Ruqba is void, based on what has been narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permitted 'Umra but invalidated Ruqba (26). And because its meaning is that it is for whichever of us dies last, and this is a transfer of ownership suspended upon a risk (khatar), and it is not permissible to suspend the transfer of ownership upon a risk. Our evidence is what we have narrated from the reports, and their hadith we do not recognize; nor do we concede that its meaning is what they mentioned. Rather, its meaning is: it is for you for your life, and if you die, it returns to me. Thus, it is exactly like the 'Umra, except that he added the condition of it going to the heirs of the grantee if the grantee dies before him, and this makes it more emphatic than the 'Umra.
Section: 'Umra is valid in things other than real estate, such as livestock and plants (27), because it is a type of gift, so it is valid in such matters, just like all other gifts. It has been narrated from Ahmad regarding a man who grants a slave woman an 'Umra: I do not see that he may have intercourse with her. The Qadi said: Ahmad did not refrain from the intercourse with the slave woman due to the lack of ownership therein, but rather as a matter of piety (wara'), because intercourse is an act of rendering a private part permissible, and there has been a disagreement regarding the validity of the 'Umra; some have classified it as a transfer of usufruct (mana'i'), so he did not see it permissible for him to have intercourse with her for this reason, even though if he were to have intercourse with her, it would be permissible.
(26) The hadith regarding the permissibility of 'Umra was recorded by Al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter of What is Said Regarding 'Umra, from the Book of Gifts. Sahih Al-Bukhari 3/216. And Muslim, in: The Chapter of 'Umra, from the Book of Gifts. Sahih Muslim 3/1248. And Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on 'Umra, the Chapter of the One who Said regarding it: "And for his descendants," and the Chapter on Ruqba, from the Book of Transactions. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/263, 264, 265. And Al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter of What Has Been Said Regarding 'Umra, and the Chapter of What Has Been Said Regarding Ruqba, from the Chapters of Rulings. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 6/99, 100, 101. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 1/250, 347, 429, 468, 489, 3/297, 303, 319, 361, 364, 392. The hadith regarding the prohibition of Ruqba was recorded by Al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter of Disagreement over Abu al-Zubayr, from the Book of Ruqba. Al-Mujtaba 6/227. And Ibn Majah, in: The Chapter of Ruqba, from the Book of Gifts. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/796. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/26, 34, 73, 5/189. (27) In M: "and clothing."