Is it permissible for a Muslim to sell his land to a Christian?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is it permissible for a Muslim to sell his land to a Christian?
The Shaykh : Answer: It is necessary to distinguish; the distinction is as follows: If this Christian uses the land in ways that people benefit from, where there is no difference between a Muslim and a disbeliever in that, then it is permissible. This is because dealing with disbelievers, who are called citizens today and are called dhimmis (a non-Muslim under Muslim protection) in the legal terminology, is a permissible matter. It is established in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) died while his armor was pledged to a Jew. The default ruling is that it is permissible for a Muslim to deal with a non-Muslim. So, in the case of the question, if the land that this Muslim wants to sell to the Christian—and peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, welcome—, if he does not know that the Christian intends to use this land in disobedience to Allah, such as building a church on it where shirk (associating partners with Allah) is committed against Allah (Mighty and Majestic), or making it a tavern, or a dance hall, or a cinema, or similar means in which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is disobeyed, then it is not permissible for this Muslim to sell his land to such a Christian. This is because the Qur’anic principle states:[Al-Ma'idah 5:2]. This is a rule that it is not permissible for a Muslim to assist another in what involves disobedience to Allah, especially if that person is not a Muslim.
The Shaykh : This is the answer to what you asked.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
Other than that?
The Shaykh : Answer: It is necessary to distinguish; the distinction is as follows: If this Christian uses the land in ways that people benefit from, where there is no difference between a Muslim and a disbeliever in that, then it is permissible. This is because dealing with disbelievers, who are called citizens today and are called dhimmis (a non-Muslim under Muslim protection) in the legal terminology, is a permissible matter. It is established in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) died while his armor was pledged to a Jew. The default ruling is that it is permissible for a Muslim to deal with a non-Muslim. So, in the case of the question, if the land that this Muslim wants to sell to the Christian—and peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, welcome—, if he does not know that the Christian intends to use this land in disobedience to Allah, such as building a church on it where shirk (associating partners with Allah) is committed against Allah (Mighty and Majestic), or making it a tavern, or a dance hall, or a cinema, or similar means in which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is disobeyed, then it is not permissible for this Muslim to sell his land to such a Christian. This is because the Qur’anic principle states:
And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِThe Shaykh : This is the answer to what you asked.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of that.
Other than that?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.