The Sunnah of Land Ownership and Agriculture

[Brandon Benton]

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Being a shepherd is a Sunnah of the prophets, including Nabi Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa salam. Rasul Allah, salallahu alayhi wa salam, worked as a shepherd before entering into trade. The Sunnah gives us ideas as to not only what is Halal, but also a tradition in Islam. We know as well from the Sunnah that Nabi Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa salam, purchased a plot of land to build his first Masjid and home.

So, from the Sunnah we learn that investing in land is both a Halal and Sunnah investment. Furthermore, we know that tending to animals is also a Halal and Sunnah way to earn a living. Combining both Sunnahs, we find that purchasing a plot of land and raising animals on it is a Halal business and honest enterprise. Successful agricultural enterprise leads to lasting self-sufficiency as well as long-term growth and development.

Shaykh Amadou Bamba of Senegal established economically successful agricultural communities in order to uplift his people, providing economic self-sufficiency and independence in a time of occupation and oppression from the ruling government. Land ownership allows Muslims to develop agriculture, build their own homes on owned land, construct Masjids and other religious institutions such as Madrasas, and to be independent from non-Muslim landlords.

Additionally, Shariah financing provides the optimal path to land ownership for Muslims due to the prohibition of riba. In non-Muslim countries, banks will lend at interest and take very high amounts of interest due to the compounding nature of riba. For example, one can end up paying double the listing price for a fully built home worth thousands of dollars due to accrued interest over thirty years. Usury traps honest working people into a cycle of debt and dependence on immoral moneylenders.

Do not fall into the trap of riba and be enslaved by usurious debts, and do not gamble your hard earned savings on things such as stocks, cryptocurrencies, or even usurious investments like bonds and real estate trusts. These are not only sins, they are unwise and unsafe investments. Allah knows best. While investing in land is not the only Halal or Sunnah type of investment, it is a wise one. Agriculture is a solid and honest investment, and pastoralism is Sunnah. Sheeps, goats, horses, camels, cattle, llamas, and so on.

 

[Brandon Benton]

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In the West, it is often the case that Muslims are congregated into city centers and even into urban ghettos, treated as second-class citizens and facing discrimination in employment in areas where employment opportunities are already low and organized crime has a strong presence. There are Halal means of self-employment in urban and suburban areas, but it is relatively uncommon to see Muslims owning land in the West let alone living on the land or developing it for agriculture. I live in a rural area in America and most people who live on rural plots work normal jobs that they commute to in towns and cities rather than as farmers. Anyone can live on a rural plot and work a normal blue collar or white collar job that they commute to, most country people here have gardens to grow their own food and lots of privacy as well as natural serenity in the beautiful creation of Allah.

You can afford more acres in rural areas than in a city center. For example, in America, one could pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for small apartment in a major city that would otherwise afford a rural plot with dozens of acres. The cheapest type of land that can be purchased is rural, undeveloped plots. These can be used for hunting, camping, developed for housing or agriculture, or even just held as an investment. I believe that the Sunnah of land ownership can help to empower Muslims in the West to attain self-sufficiency, develop homes and communities where we can practice Islam without discrimination, and preach the message of Islam to the heartland of the nation where faith in God is strong. Horse riding is also a Sunnah, something popular here in rural America.

Land ownership is a political matter that not only provides self-sufficiency, but can provide lasting and generational roots by handing down the land from generation to generation. One who owns land in full can never be evicted by a landlord or usurious moneylender, and this is handed down from generation to generation so each generation always has a place to live in. Additionally, if that land is developed for agriculture, then each generation has a reliable source of income and sustenance to depend on. Here in America, the vast expanse also makes it necessary for land owners to responsibly and legally own firearms in order to protect livestock and police their own property, which is political empowerment. Marksmanship is another Sunnah related to this. In summary, land ownership has many benefits for Muslims and is both Halal and Sunnah.

 

[Brandon Benton]

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Personally speaking, I was raised from childhood on the principle of responsible firearm ownership as well as marksmanship as a necessary skill for ethical hunting. Accuracy with a rifle is a prerequisite towards hunting ethically, as a responsible hunter aims to make a clean kill in a single shot.

Firearm ownership is also a necessity when living in a rural area. This is because the police response time is generally high, and so land owners may have to police their own properties by necessity, and firearms are also needed to manage predator animals to protect crops and livestock. That brings us to the Sunnah of marksmanship, encouraged by Nabi Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa salam, along with horse riding and swimming as Sunnah activities.

At the bare minimum, a plot of undeveloped land can be used for outdoor recreation such as camping, fishing, and hunting. Many rural people also park campers and trailers on rural plots due to their affordability as camping shelters or even housing. It is not uncommon for someone to live on a rural plot in a camper or trailer while building a permanent home on the land. Hunting is Halal and there are Hadith governing the practice to ensure that the meat harvested is Halal for consumption and sharing among the Muslim Ummah.

أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مَنِيعٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي عَاصِمٌ الأَحْوَلُ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ عَدِيِّ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنِ الصَّيْدِ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ إِذَا رَمَيْتَ سَهْمَكَ فَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَإِنْ وَجَدْتَهُ قَدْ قُتِلَ فَكُلْ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَجِدَهُ قَدْ وَقَعَ فِي مَاءٍ وَلاَ تَدْرِي الْمَاءُ قَتَلَهُ أَوْ سَهْمُكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

"I asked the Messenger of Allah about hunting and he said: 'When you shoot your arrow, mention the name of Allah, and if you find that it (the game) has been killed, then eat it, unless you find that it fell into some water, and you do not know whether the water killed it or your arrow."'

Sunan an-Nasa'i 4298
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According to Islamic jurisprudence, the name of Allah must be mentioned before firing a projectile that kills hunted game. The name of Allah, Bismillah, and the Takbir are all invocations of the name of Allah. This Hadith gives us the guidance for the Halal use of firearms when hunting wild game for food and sustenance, a common rural activity that can be carried out legally on both private and public lands. Hunting is a good skill for Muslims to have, as it provides meat, the most expensive grocery item, at a very low cost and teaches self-sustenance.