The Ruling on Changing the Boundary Markers Between Tribal Lands
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, disputes over land are frequent in our country. If it is known that a certain area is the property of the Banu So-and-So, and their dwellings are recorded in the historical records, do they own the area such that they can force the boundary markers and any other tribe onto their lands? And does this fall under the general prohibition of the curse of Allah upon the one who changes the land markers, and the general prohibition of the one who seeks to encroach upon another’s rights, and so on? And is the consideration of the area for the dwellings and the specific tribe a principle in the Shari'ah? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This is a long question that has taken up our time, but this is a judicial matter. Disputes and conflicts over wealth and land are referred to the courts, the Shari'ah courts. We do not know the truth of the matter. As for what you asked about regarding changing the markers and the boundaries of properties, this is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who changes the land markers. They explained that the land markers are the markers placed between people’s properties, the markers set on the boundaries of people’s properties once the rights have been delineated, the roads have been cleared, and these markers have been established. It is not permissible to change them. Whoever changes them is cursed. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Honorable Shaykh, disputes over land are frequent in our country. If it is known that a certain area is the property of the Banu So-and-So, and their dwellings are recorded in the historical records, do they own the area such that they can force the boundary markers and any other tribe onto their lands? And does this fall under the general prohibition of the curse of Allah upon the one who changes the land markers, and the general prohibition of the one who seeks to encroach upon another’s rights, and so on? And is the consideration of the area for the dwellings and the specific tribe a principle in the Shari'ah? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
This is a long question that has taken up our time, but this is a judicial matter. Disputes and conflicts over wealth and land are referred to the courts, the Shari'ah courts. We do not know the truth of the matter. As for what you asked about regarding changing the markers and the boundaries of properties, this is forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who changes the land markers. They explained that the land markers are the markers placed between people’s properties, the markers set on the boundaries of people’s properties once the rights have been delineated, the roads have been cleared, and these markers have been established. It is not permissible to change them. Whoever changes them is cursed. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
شرح كتاب الكبائر للإمام محمد بن عبد الوهاب، بداية من باب ما جاء في غش الرعية — islamhouse.com (1:01:06)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.