belonged to the Muslims, who could take it from them if they wished, even if they embraced Islam. Nor would embracing Islam make them free. This accords with Sahnūn’s report from Ibn al-Qāsim.

Those who regarded them as free held that their property remained theirs if they embraced Islam, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever embraces Islam while possessing something retains it.” This accords with what appears in ‘Īsā’s transmission from Ibn al-Qāsim in the Book of Trade with Enemy Territory. Ibn al-Mawwāz’s distinction between what they possessed on the day of the conquest and what they acquired afterward does not accord with analogical reasoning.

As for the land on which they were allowed to remain in order to cultivate it, they have no right to it, except according to some Iraqi scholars, as I have already mentioned. And Allah grants success.