CHAPTER 2 – Swearing to Acquire Another's Property
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever takes an oath falsely to consume the property of a Muslim, he will surely meet Allah with His anger.”
‘As stated: “I swear by Allah, this was concerning me. There was a piece of land between me and a Jew. The Jew denied that it belonged to me. I brought him to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me, ‘Do you have proof that the land is yours?’ I said, ‘No.’ He ordered the Jew to swear an oath. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he will swear and take my property.’ Then the verse was revealed:
“Indeed, those who sell the covenant of Allah and their own oaths for a meager price – they will have no share in it [reward] and will be among the losers.” (Quran 3:77)
3244 – From As’s ibn Kays, may Allah be pleased with him:
Two men, one from Kindah and the other from Hadhramawt, disputed before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, regarding a piece of land in Yemen.
The man from Hadhramawt said, "This man's father seized my land. The land is in this man’s possession."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked him, “Do you have proof?” The man from Hadhramawt replied, “No, but I want him to swear by Allah that he does not know that the land belongs to me and his father seized it from me.”
The man from Kindah prepared to swear. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Indeed, whoever takes a person’s property by oath, he will meet Allah with one hand severed." Upon this, the man from Kindah said, “The land belongs to him,” and relinquished it.
EXPLANATION:
When the man from Kindah intended to swear but heard about the sin of perjury, he abandoned the oath and surrendered the land to its owner.
From his father, Alkama bin Wāil bin Hujr reported:
Two men came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him – a man from Hadramawt and a man from Kindah. The man from Hadramawt said: “O Messenger of Allah, this man has forcefully taken possession of land that belonged to my father.” The man from Kindah said: "That land belongs to me. It is in my possession; I cultivate it, and he has no right to it."
Wail said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, asked the man from Hadramawt: “Do you have proof that the land belonged to your father?”
The man from Hadramawt replied: "No."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then addressed (the man from Kindah): “This (man from Kindah) is a wretched liar who avoids nothing; he does not honor his oath.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “You have nothing but his oath.”
The man from Kindah went to swear an oath [towards the pulpit]. When he returned, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Beware! Whoever swears falsely to consume property unjustly, then he meets the Mighty and Majestic Allah while Allah has turned away from him.” [139]
**EXPLANATION:**
This indicates that ownership of land is established by its cultivation by a person, just as occupancy of a house establishes ownership. It also indicates that those who swear falsely will meet Allah without His mercy.