Is there barren land (Mawat) in the Black Soil region (Suwad) of Iraq?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Reviving Dead Land
Primary text
A narration from Ahmad suggests there is no barren land in the Suwad (Black Soil of Iraq). Al-Qadi interprets this as referring only to inhabited areas (Amir). It is likely that Imam Ahmad stated this because the Suwad was entirely inhabited when 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab took control from the disbelievers, to the extent that a man asked to be granted a ruin but none could be found. This indicates that if there was no barren land at the time of Muslim acquisition, no barren land arose afterward, based on one narration, because land that was previously owned by Muslims and subsequently fell into ruin does not become barren land.
Supporting text
It is plausible that ownership can be established over such land by the one who revives it, based on the generality of the Hadith and because it is part of the permissible resources of their territory, allowing whoever executes the means of ownership to acquire it, similar to finding dry grass or firewood.