As for selling it, if that were the nature of the transaction, he would also have sold the dwellings. Moreover, no sale has a price that remains payable perpetually until the Day of Resurrection. The resulting arrangement is an independent legal category established by the Sunnah and consensus, and is not to be judged by analogy with other transactions. For the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Iraq has withheld its qafīz and its dirham; Syria has withheld its mudd and its dinar; and Egypt has withheld its irdabb and its dinar.”

The Companions also agreed with ʿUmar on what he did.

This is further clarified by the fact that the basis of kharāj lies in His words:

“Whatever Allah has granted His Messenger from the people of the towns.”

This distinguishes immovable from movable property. Nevertheless, He attributed the towns to their inhabitants, thus indicating their particular entitlement to them. Accordingly, if one dhimmī—a non-Muslim under Muslim protection—took the land over from its original dhimmī holder, assuming its kharāj and paying him compensation for the transfer, this would cause no harm whatsoever. There is therefore no reason to prohibit it.

For even if it is said to be an endowment, this exchange does not cause it to cease being an endowment. Rather, the entitlement of its beneficiaries remains unchanged. Selling endowed property is prohibited only because it extinguishes the beneficiaries’ rights, whereas here those rights remain intact.

Rather, this resembles subletting endowed land for more than one rented it for. It is as though the holder said: “I lease you this land in return for your paying the kharāj incumbent upon me, together with the additional sum you pay me in advance.” This is also why it passes to the heirs of the person holding it, although endowed property may neither be sold, given away nor inherited. If it may pass by inheritance while retaining its existing status—and a gift is no different—then the same applies to a transfer for compensation, whether called a sale or a lease. This is why Ahmad permitted land subject to kharāj to be given as a dowry; and whatever may lawfully