Is the assignment of fallow, uncultivated land (*iqta' mawat*) for the purpose of cultivation valid?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Reviving Dead Land
Primary text
The assignment of fallow land for cultivation by the ruler is permissible. Evidence supporting this includes the report that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) assigned land to Wā’il ibn Ḥujar. Further evidence is established through the Prophet's assignment to Bilal ibn al-Ḥārith al-Muzanī, his assignment to Al-Zubayr based on where his horse stopped and his whip landed, and the Prophet's intent to assign land in Bahrain to the Anṣār. Abu Bakr and Uthmān also made such assignments to companions. The ruling is that the assignee does not gain full ownership (*milkiyyah*) of the assigned land; instead, they gain the primary right to cultivate it, similar to the right of preemption for revival (*taḥajjur*) over public pathways. This is proven because Umar retrieved from Bilal ibn al-Ḥārith the portion of land he failed to cultivate, which would not have been permissible if Bilal owned it outright.
Supporting text
If the assignee cultivates the land, they retain the primary right to it. If they fail to cultivate it, the authority may instruct them to cultivate it or relinquish their claim. If another person cultivates the land before the assignee is instructed to relinquish it or during a grace period granted for cultivation, there are two established legal opinions on whether the cultivator gains ownership. One view suggests that if the assignment was not made by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the land belongs to the one who revived it, based on a case involving people from Juhaynah or Muzaynah judged by Umar. The opposing view states that the cultivator does not gain ownership because the prior right of the assignee (*ḥaqq al-muqta'*) has already attached to the land, implying that revival is only permissible where no Muslim's right is attached.