Water is a free resource that falls from the sky in the form of rain. It is available to everyone, but if I place a bucket on my roof and collect the rainwater, what is the status of that water? It becomes mine. Why? Because I put in the effort to gather it. Anything that is freely available in nature can be owned if someone makes an effort to collect or use it. Therefore, I have the right to sell the water and make a profit from it. If someone takes a glass of water from my bucket without permission, they are stealing. Morally, this is wrong because I took the effort to claim it, even though it was free in nature.

The right to own is a fundamental aspect of human dignity. Every person has the right to own what they claim or what is freely available in nature. This is part of the message conveyed in the Quran, which emphasizes that the world was created for us and that we have a purpose within it.

Let me give you another example: a bird lays an egg in your neighbor’s garden. Who owns that egg? In Islamic jurisprudence, if the neighbor has enclosed their space, making an effort to claim ownership of that piece of nature, the egg belongs to them. If they have not made that effort, then whoever takes the egg becomes the owner. The principle here is that humans can claim ownership of things in nature, but we must also respect anyone else’s effort to do so.

For example, when it comes to hunting, a person can legally own any animal they hunt, as this activity is part of nature’s design for human benefit. However, what is forbidden is hunting for sport. No one has the right to take life for pleasure; life should only be taken for the benefit of human society. This distinction highlights the importance of ownership being aligned with purpose and responsibility.

So, the first principle in Islamic law is that people can own what they claim from nature, and they have the right to sell or trade it, as long as it respects the rights of others. This is essential for recognizing human dignity and our place in the world.

~ Shaykh Sohail Hanif