*Lessons drawn from the two ḥadiths:

1 – The ruler’s iqṭāʿ is his authorization that allocates something from Allah’s property to whomever he deems worthy of it.

2 – The two ḥadiths establish that the ruler may grant waste-land to anyone who will revive it.

3 – Such a grant concerns property belonging to Allah Most High whose benefits revert to the Muslims; since the ruler is their representative, the power of iqṭāʿ rests with him or with his deputy alone, for it hinges on his judgment of the public interest.

4 – In the two reports the Prophet ﷺ allotted Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr land in Ḥaḍramawt—apt, because it was his homeland and he was capable of cultivating and using it—and he allotted al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām land equal to the distance his horse could gallop.

5 – They also show that the ruler may grant a large area to a single person when he considers that beneficial, such as when the recipient is able to develop and invest in it.

6 – They indicate that a person—even one of notable virtue—is not reproached for seeking worldly gain through lawful means, among them the gifts of the ruler. The Prophet ﷺ endorsed for al-Zubayr everything covered by the gallop of his horse, then added the span reached by his whip, thus granting him all that he desired.

*Further benefits:

First: The jurists divide iqṭāʿ into three categories:

1 – A grant intended to transfer full ownership to the recipient.

2 – A grant of usufruct: the ruler—or his deputy—assigns something to someone because he sees a benefit in it; when that benefit disappears, the ruler may reclaim it.

3 – A grant of facilitation: the ruler—or his deputy—permits vendors to sit in broad thoroughfares, open squares, courtyards, and the like.

Regarding a grant that confers ownership: the preferred legal opinion is that the recipient does not acquire title to dead land merely by virtue of the grant itself,