‘Do you have any evidence?’ He replied, ‘No, but let him swear by Allah that he does not know it to be my land, which his father seized from me.’ The man from Kindah prepared to swear, but the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘No man appropriates property by means of an oath without meeting Allah, Mighty and Majestic, while He is angry with him.’ So the man from Kindah gave it up.”
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If the property recovered through an established ownership claim has produced a yield which the person from whom it is recovered has collected, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“The yield belongs to the one who bears liability.”
This statement is general and self-contained, although, according to the report, it arose in connection with a sale:
“A man bought a slave, who remained with him for as long as Allah willed. He then discovered a defect in him and brought his dispute before the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who returned the slave to the seller. The man said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he has profited from my slave.’ The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied, ‘The yield belongs to the one who bears liability.’”
Abū Dāwūd recorded it. Scholars have differed over a general statement made on a particular occasion: should it be restricted to that occasion or understood in its general sense? There are two views. According to scholars versed in legal reasoning, the sounder view is to understand it generally, because authoritative proof lies in the words of the Lawgiver, not in the occasion. The occasion alone would establish no ruling, whereas the Prophet’s words, peace be upon him, would establish a ruling independently of the occasion. The occasion is therefore not a limiting consideration.
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Scholars likewise hold two views concerning the saying of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “The yield belongs to the one who bears liability.” Should it be understood generally, applying to both the usurper and the purchaser, and to anyone who bears liability, whether with or without an apparent legal basis? Or should it be restricted to the circumstances in which it was uttered, applying only where liability rests on an apparent legal basis?
Different positions on this matter have also been reported from Mālik, may Allah have mercy on him. Ashhab reported from him that the usurper cannot be required to surrender the yield; rather, it belongs to him because he bears liability, whether the property is immovable or animate. This applies whether he rented any of it out and collected the yield, lived in the house, used the slave’s services, or did something similar. Thus, according to this report, he interpreted