and lease them out. However, according to the madhhab, they say: if a person can find no place except for rent, he should pay it, while the sin rests upon the one who takes it. This provides some latitude. They justify it by saying that his residence in that house is his right; so if its owner says, “You cannot stay there except for payment,” that means he has withheld your right unless you give compensation. Therefore, pay the compensation; he is the sinner.

By this explanation, we understand the case of certain countries where they say: “You must insure your car and your belongings,” while you believe insurance to be unlawful because it is a form of gambling. In this situation, you may pay them, while they bear the sin, because we cannot impose hardship on people and cause them to lose their interests. Thus, we say: enter into the insurance contract with them, but inwardly regard yourself as wronged and compelled to pay the insurance premium. In that case, if the compensation you receive for accidents exceeds what you have paid, you are not entitled to that excess, because you believe the contract to be invalid and unlawful. So take what you have lost or what you paid in insurance, and refrain from taking the remainder. If they insist that you take it, then take it and give it in charity in order to rid yourself of it. In this way, we avoid the hardship that now affects some people, who say that they live in countries where they cannot buy a car or do any work at all without insurance. We say: this is the way out, praise be to Allah, and the sin rests upon the one who takes it.

His statement: “Through reclamation, one may acquire what lies near inhabited land, provided it is not connected to its interests.” This means that reclamation is not conditional upon being far from settled areas. Thus, one may acquire through reclamation land near an inhabited place, even if it directly adjoins it. For example, if a man has built a house, and the area surrounding the house is open land belonging to no one, and he builds