805 – Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The ʿumrā belongs to the one to whom it is granted.” Agreed upon.

Muslim records: “Safeguard your property and do not render it void, for whoever gives an ʿumrā, it becomes the possession of the person to whom it was given, during his life and after his death, and it passes to his descendants.”

Another wording states: “The only ʿumrā the Messenger of Allah ﷺ endorsed is when a man says, ‘It is yours and your offspring’s.’ But if he says, ‘It is yours as long as you live,’ it reverts to the original owner.”

Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī add: “Do not practice ruqbā, and do not practice ʿumrā. Whoever is given something as ruqbā or ʿumrā, it belongs to him outright and to his heirs.” ⦗1⦘

Hadith grading
– Regarding the narration of Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī, Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī said in al-Muḥarrar: “Its transmitters are trustworthy,” and Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd judged it authentic according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhārī and Muslim).

Glossary
• ʿumrā: pronounced with a ḍamma on the ʿayn and a silent mīm (the most common form); other reported pronunciations include a ḍamma on the mīm, or a fatḥa on the first letter with a silent mīm. The term is spelled without the final alif and derives from ʿumr (lifespan); it refers to a life-estate granted to someone.
• ruqbā: formed on the same pattern as ʿumrā, derived from the root “to watch,” because each party watches for the other’s death so the property may revert to him.