Is it permissible to eat from the fruits of a farm without the permission of the farm owner?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. How accurate is the claim that it is permissible for any person to eat from the fruits of a farm?
The Shaykh : That
The questioner : that he may eat from the fruits of a farm without asking the owner for permission, citing the hadith of Jabir in Imam Muslim:Sahih Muslim 1552b?
The Shaykh : Yes, the hadith you mentioned encourages planting palm trees and crops. As for the one who eats, he has a dispensation to eat with his mouth only, without taking a load, on the condition that there is no guard or barrier. That is, if you pass by a palm grove that has no guard and no barrier of a wall or fence, you may eat with your mouth only without taking a load, unless we know that the owner of this specific orchard does not allow it, such as if he has put up a sign saying "No Eating." In that case, you do not eat. Do you understand now? So, if a person passes by an orchard with a barrier, he does not eat. If he passes by an orchard with a guard, he does not eat. If he passes by an orchard with signs saying "No Eating," he does not eat. If he passes by an orchard with no barrier, no guard, and no signs prohibiting eating, he may eat. But how does he eat? With his mouth only, without taking a load. That is, he does not take anything with him; he only eats with his mouth.
The questioner : Shaykh, what if there is a guard and we know his consent?
The Shaykh : There is no harm if we know his consent. But we say: if we know his consent, why is there a guard?
The questioner : No, there is a barrier on it.
The Shaykh : Well, there is no harm, because he may have put up the barrier to prevent livestock, camels, and the like from entering.
The questioner : So that livestock do not enter.
The Shaykh : The whole matter depends on the owner's consent.
The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah bless you. Do the Sufis follow the Caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz?
The Shaykh : How?
The Shaykh : That
The questioner : that he may eat from the fruits of a farm without asking the owner for permission, citing the hadith of Jabir in Imam Muslim:
Never a Muslim plants, or cultivates a land, and it out of that men eat, or the animals eat, or anything else eats, but that becomes charity on his (planter's) behalf.
ما من مسلم يغرس غرسا أو يزرع زرعا فيأكل منه إنسان ولا دابة ولا شيء إلا كانت له به صدقةThe Shaykh : Yes, the hadith you mentioned encourages planting palm trees and crops. As for the one who eats, he has a dispensation to eat with his mouth only, without taking a load, on the condition that there is no guard or barrier. That is, if you pass by a palm grove that has no guard and no barrier of a wall or fence, you may eat with your mouth only without taking a load, unless we know that the owner of this specific orchard does not allow it, such as if he has put up a sign saying "No Eating." In that case, you do not eat. Do you understand now? So, if a person passes by an orchard with a barrier, he does not eat. If he passes by an orchard with a guard, he does not eat. If he passes by an orchard with signs saying "No Eating," he does not eat. If he passes by an orchard with no barrier, no guard, and no signs prohibiting eating, he may eat. But how does he eat? With his mouth only, without taking a load. That is, he does not take anything with him; he only eats with his mouth.
The questioner : Shaykh, what if there is a guard and we know his consent?
The Shaykh : There is no harm if we know his consent. But we say: if we know his consent, why is there a guard?
The questioner : No, there is a barrier on it.
The Shaykh : Well, there is no harm, because he may have put up the barrier to prevent livestock, camels, and the like from entering.
The questioner : So that livestock do not enter.
The Shaykh : The whole matter depends on the owner's consent.
The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah bless you. Do the Sufis follow the Caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz?
The Shaykh : How?