in Hadramawt; and ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and a group of the Companions made similar allotments. Yet an allotment by itself does not confer ownership: it merely gives the recipient priority over others. If he revives the land, it becomes his property; if he is unable to do so, the ruler may take it back and grant it to someone who can, for ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb reclaimed allotments from people who had failed to bring them to life.

Whoever lays first claim to something permissible other than dead land—such as game or firewood—has the superior right to it.1

When non-owned water, like river or flood water, passes through private holdings, the owner of the upper land may irrigate from it and hold the water until it reaches ankle depth, then must release it to the property immediately downstream; that owner does the same and then releases it to the next, and so on. This follows the Prophet’s instruction, peace and blessings be upon him: “Irrigate, O Rabīʿ, and then hold the water until it reaches the walls,” agreed upon.