First: What is the ruling on the produce the pledgee has been receiving throughout this entire period— is it lawful or forbidden? And if the act is forbidden, what must the one who has done it do; is repentance required?

Second: What is the situation of the pledger whose financial straits compelled him to enter into this pledge?

Third: What is the position of the witnesses to the contract for this pledge—bearing in mind that the pledger states in the document that he has allowed the pledgee to make use of the land with no share of the yield and no rent until the sum is repaid? Kindly clarify this for us; may Allah reward you with goodness.

Answer: The pledgee’s benefiting from the pledged property is subject to the following detail:

First: If he makes use of it without the pledger’s permission, this is in no circumstance permissible, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The property of a Muslim is not lawful [for another] except with his willing consent,” and he said, “Indeed, your blood, your property and your honour are sacred to you, like the sanctity of this day of yours, in this city of yours, in this month of yours,” and he also said, “The whole of a Muslim is inviolable to another Muslim: his blood, his property and his honour.” There are many narrations to this effect. Accordingly, it is forbidden for the pledgee to benefit from the pledged property without the pledger’s consent.

Al-Mughnī states, “We know of no disagreement on this point,” meaning among the scholars.

But if the pledger gives the pledgee permission to benefit from the pledge, and the debt is a loan