Resources which are provided by nature free of cost and which can be use directly by man may be utilized freely and every one is entitled to benefit from them to the extent of his needs. Water flowing in the rivers and springs, woods in the forest trees, fruits of wild plants, wild grass and fodder, air, animals of the jungle, minerals under the surface of the earth and similar other resources cannot be monopolized by anyone. Nor can a restriction of any sort be imposed on their free use by God’s creatures to fulfill their own needs. Of course, people who many want to use of these things for commercial purposes can be required to pay taxes to the state. Or if there is a misuse of the resources, the Government may step in and set the things right. But there is no bar on the individuals to avail of God’s earth as long as they do not interfere with the rights of others or of the state.

Anyone who takes possession of the natural resources directly and renders it of value acquires a rightful title over it. For instance, if somebody takes possession of an uncultivated piece of land, on which nobody has a prior right of ownership, and makes a productive use of it he cannot be arbitrarily dispossessed of that piece of land. This is how a rights of ownership originated in the world. When man appeared for the first time in the world and population grew, everything was available to everyone. And whoever took possession of anything and made it useful in any manner became its owner; that is to say, he acquired the right of using it specially for his own purpose and obtaining compensation from others if they wanted to use it. This is the natural basis of all the economic activities of mankind and must not be tampered with. This right of ownership which one may acquire by permissible legal means is to be honored under all circumstances. The legality of ownership can be inquired thoroughly by the competent authority through legal means to determine its validity in accordance with the Shari'ah law. If, it be found to be illegally acquired, such ownership be annulled and be terminated accordingly. However, in no case, shall there be allowed any state or legislation to arbitrarily divest the people of their legitimate rights of ownership without justifiable cause. Islam cannot approve of an economic policy which destroys the rights conferred by the Shari'ah however attractive its name may be and whatever welfare pretensions it may make. Social justice and collective good are very dear to Islam, but not at the cost of rights given by the Shari'ah. It is as unjust to reduce or remove the restrictions placed by the Shari'ah on the rights of individual ownership for the sake of collective good of the community as it is to add such restrictions and limitations which do not fit into the scheme of the Islamic law. It is one of the duties of an Islamic state to protect the legal (Shari'ah) rights of the individuals and to ensure that they fulfill their obligations to the community as enjoined by law. That is how Islam strikes a balance between individualism and collectivism

Tags: RIGHT OF PROPERTY