– "Alive or dead": that is, during the grantee’s lifetime and, after his death, the property passes by inheritance to his heirs and never reverts to the original donor.
– "His descendants (ʿaqibahu)": with an open ʿayn and a kasra on the qāf; it refers to one’s children and grandchildren in successive generations, though it can carry other meanings.
– "He ratified it (ajāzahā)": one says: ajāza al-ʿaṭiyyata, yujīzuhā, ijāzatan—meaning he confirmed the grant and made it effective.
– "As long as you live (mā ʿishta)": here mā is a temporal infinitive; ʿāsha, yaʿīshu, ʿīshan means “to be alive.” The phrase therefore means “for the duration of your life in this world.”

Lessons drawn from the ḥadīth
1 – ʿUmrā takes three forms:
• A perpetual grant, as when one says, “It is yours and, after you, for your descendants.”
• An unrestricted life-grant, as in, “It is yours for your lifetime,” or “for my lifetime.”
• A grant in which the donor stipulates that the property shall return to him when either party dies.

Is the last condition valid, or is it nullified so that the grant becomes perpetual?

As for the first two forms, the majority of scholars hold that the gift is valid and remains permanently with the beneficiary and his heirs.

Regarding the third form, a number of scholars—including al-Zuhrī, Mālik, Abū Thawr, Dāwūd, and one narration from Aḥmad—consider the stipulation of reversion valid. Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn (Ibn Taymiyyah) and other Hanbalī authorities also preferred this view, citing the ḥadīth, “The Muslims are bound by their conditions.”

The more widely known position of Imām Aḥmad is that the condition is void, the gift is binding, and it remains perpetual. Shaykh ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad said: “As for ʿumrā and ruqbā there is a well-known dispute, and the reports concerning them conflict. Our conclusion is that if the donor stipulates a reversion, the property reverts to its original owner.”