the shortfall would fall upon the last in precedence. If, however, they jointly reclaimed the land equally, with none preceding another, they should share the water proportionately, either by dividing it among themselves or by taking turns using it.
The second category is a spring brought to the surface by human effort. It becomes the property of the person who excavated it, together with its protected area, which is five hundred cubits. This appears to have been his view. Likewise, in the narration of Ibrāhīm ibn Hāniʾ, concerning a man who dug a spring beside another man’s spring, he said: “It is related from al-Zuhrī that he said: ‘The protected area of a spring is five hundred cubits.’” This appears to have been his position: the owner of the first spring has no right to prevent him.
We have already mentioned the hadith of Abū Hurayrah, in which the Prophet ﷺ said: “The protected area of a flowing spring is three hundred cubits, and the protected area of cultivated land is six hundred cubits.” The person who excavates such a spring has the right to channel its water wherever he wishes. Any land through which its water flows becomes his property and the spring’s protected area.
The third category is a spring that a man excavates on his own property. He has the strongest claim to its water for irrigating his land. If the water is only sufficient for that purpose, no one has a right to it except a person in dire need of drinking water. If it exceeds what he needs and he wishes to use the surplus to reclaim uncultivated land, he has the strongest claim to it for irrigating the land he has reclaimed. If he does not wish to use it for uncultivated land that he has reclaimed, he must make it available to livestock owners, but not to those cultivating crops, just as with the excess water of a well. If he accepts compensation for it from crop growers, that is permissible; but if he accepts compensation from livestock owners, it is not permissible. Nor is it permissible for one who digs a well in the wilderness and thereby acquires ownership of it, or excavates a spring, to sell it. This is based on Aḥmad’s statement, as reported by Abū Ṭālib: “He does not sell the water collected in a well to anyone.” He did not distinguish between a well dug in the wilderness and one dug on a man’s own property for his personal use. It has also been said that selling it is permissible.
A Chapter on Protected Reserves, Public Amenities, and the Protection of Uncultivated Land
Protecting uncultivated land means preventing its reclamation in a manner that would confer ownership, so that it remains open for the growth of pasture and the grazing of livestock. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ protected a mountain at al-Naqīʿ near Medina. He said, “This is my protected reserve,” and pointed with his hand toward the plain. It covered an area measuring one mile by six miles, and he reserved it for the horses of the Muslims from among the Ansar and the Muhajirun.
As for the reserves established by rulers after him, if they encompass all uncultivated land or most of it, they are impermissible. If they reserve a smaller portion for a particular group of people or for their wealthy, that too is impermissible. But if they reserve it for all Muslims or for the poor and needy,