What is the ruling on the sale of Kharaj land confirmed to its original inhabitants by the Imam?
Chapter on Zakat on Crops and Fruits
Al-Mughni
Book of Zakat
Primary text
If a judge rules a sale of this land valid, the sale stands because the issue is subject to scholarly difference of opinion (*Ijtihad*), making the judge's ruling effective in such matters. Similarly, if the Imam sells the land for a perceived public interest, such as when the land requires cultivation that only a buyer can undertake, the sale is valid, as the Imam's action is equivalent to a judge's ruling.
Supporting text
Later rulings by Caliphs, starting from Abd al-Malik and Al-Walid, permitted purchases from *Ahl al-Dhimma* (People of the Pact) provided the price went to the *Bayt al-Mal* (Public Treasury). Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz later voided purchases made after the year 100 AH due to complications involving inheritance and marriage portions. Al-Mansur, finding these sales detrimental to the *Kharaj* revenue, commissioned inquiries and generally upheld older, established sales (pre-100 AH) that had become integrated into inheritances, imposing a proportional *Kharaj* on them, while applying new assessments to subsequent holdings.