Private ownership in Islam

21-5-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

Does Islam allow private ownership?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Islam has established the right for private ownership. This is proved in Qur'an and Sunnah. Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, …}[9: 103]. So, Allah attributes this wealth to its owners. Allah also Says (interpretation of meaning): {O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly …}[4: 29]. Al-Bukhari said that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) bought the place where he built his mosque from two orphans from Ansar tribe. So, there are proofs that private ownership is a right guaranteed by Islam. It is also proved from Sunnah that if there is a public interest in using a private thing the owner of that thing is given appropriate compensation for that because Islam respects private ownership. It should be noted here that this ownership is regulated by Shariah. Indeed, the owner must use his belongings according to Shariah and this is the difference between right of ownership in Islam and in man-made rules. Allah knows best.