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If someone digs a well in dead land and actually reaches the water, he has revived the land. Should he dig but fail to reach water, he does not thereby own it; he merely gains priority over others to complete its revival, for he has already begun the process.
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Whoever channels water to dead land from a spring or a river has revived it, because the benefit that water brings to the soil is greater than that provided by a wall.
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Likewise, if he diverts floodwater that used to inundate the land and render it unfit for cultivation—so that, once the water is held back, the ground becomes suitable for farming—he has revived it. The benefit produced here is greater than that of the wall which the revealed texts treat as conferring ownership.
Some scholars maintain that reviving dead land is not confined to these specific acts; rather, one should refer to custom: whatever people regard as a true revival confers ownership. This view was favored by several leading Hanbali authorities and others, on the grounds that the Law links ownership to revivification without defining it, so customary practice must determine what counts as a revival.
The Muslim ruler may grant dead land to anyone who will bring it to life, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) allotted the valley of al-‘Aqiq to Bilal ibn al-Harith and granted Wāʾil ibn Hujr a tract of land.