A brother asks our Shaykh: There is a piece of land belonging to a man, and another man does not know that there is a treasure in it, for example. How can this other man, who knows about the treasure, benefit from the treasure?

Al-Halabi : A brother asks our Shaykh: There is a piece of land belonging to a man, and another man does not know that there is a treasure in it, for example. How can this other man, who knows about the treasure, benefit from the treasure that is in land that is not his?

The Shaykh : He has no lawful way except to agree with the owner of the land and say to him, "I think there is a treasure in your land. Either you share with me in searching for it and we split the profit equally or in thirds, or if you wish, I can rent your land for a fixed amount agreed between us. Then, if I find anything, it is mine, whether little or much, and if I find nothing, your rent is with me." As for buying the land while thinking there is a treasure in it, that is a man who is ignorant; this falls under the category of treachery and betrayal.
Al-Halabi : And likewise, renting is even more so?

The Shaykh: How.
Al-Halabi : I mean, if he rents without... without disclosure...

The Shaykh : You mean without disclosure, of course.
Al-Halabi : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : Selling or renting?
The Shaykh: In which case?

The questioner : ... If he made a mistake... is there a treasure or something like that?

The Shaykh : No, in this case, as the scholars say, there is a ruling and there is scrupulousness. From the perspective of the ruling, the owner of the land cannot bring a claim against him because the case is apparent. But from the perspective of scrupulousness, that is a sinner, even if he obtained the land, meaning he does not eat lawfully. Here, he mentions the wonderful story narrated by our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about a man who bought a piece of land from a person and discovered a treasure in it, a jar containing gold. He brought it to the owner of the land—Allahu Akbar—imagining these stories... and where are we? We are a nation brought forth for mankind, yet we hardly repeat these stories. So he came to him and said to him, "I bought the land from you and found this jar in it, and it is yours!" The jar is his; I sold you the land and what is in it. He said, "No, I only bought the land from you!" They differed over a matter in which two people do not differ and in which two camels do not butt heads in the last of times. So they brought their matter to the judge of that time. He asked them, "Do you have any children?" One said, "I have a daughter," and the other said, "I have a son." He said, "Marry them to each other and spend on them!"

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar. This is, as they say, "as you are, so will your rulers be." And although this is not a consistent rule, "as you are, so will your rulers be" is not a consistent rule, because times can change between morning and evening. For example, the Umayyad caliphs before 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz: there is a great difference between him and those before him and those after him. The people are the same; it is not fitting for them to be blamed with such speed. But Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has favor upon the people, but most of the people do not give thanks.