What is the determination for the boundary separating land close to habitation from distant land?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Reviving Dead Land
Primary text
Once established, the only factor distinguishing close land from distant land is customary practice ('Urf). The determination of distance relies solely on specific religious directive (Tawqif) and is not established by personal opinion or arbitrary ruling. Since the Sacred Law provides no specific measure, the ruling must revert to custom, similar to determining possession ('Qabd) and securing property (Iḥrāz). Any assertion of a fixed measure is an unwarranted judgment without evidence, no more valid than suggesting a measure of one mile or half a mile.
Supporting text
Al-Layth set the limit as the distance a horse can gallop, which is five Farsakhs. Abu Hanifa defined distant land as that from which a man, shouting at his loudest from its nearest point, cannot be heard by the nearest inhabitants of the settlement. This specific measurement mentioned by them is likely restricted to what is close to a major settlement or village and should not serve as a universal boundary for anything near any inhabited area, as it would result in prohibiting others from reviving any barren land near a settlement unless it falls outside that defined distance.