IN Islam, everything, including the being of man, is owned by God. Land and its plentiful provisions belong to Him, but have been given to man to keep in trust, to be used wisely for his own benefit and that of the larger community.

For example the Quran says: “To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is between them and what is under the soil” (20:6), while it also observes that “It is He who made the earth tame for you — so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision — and to Him is the resurrection” (67:15).

To promote entrepreneurship and human creativity, Islam has encouraged private holdings of such resources that may be in excess, and are not held at the cost of people’s welfare.

The Quran does not lay out specific instructions on how land may be distributed, but it does spell out the principles clearly for a fair and just system to be developed in an Islamic society.

The ‘jagirdars’ see land as their exclusive right.

Over the centuries, Muslims have used their abilities to judge right from wrong, and to develop land measurement and planning, usage and taxation systems that deter exploitation by a few. Division of state lands among farmers is a standard Islamic practice.

Caliph Umar refused to divide land conquered through victories among soldiers for fear of its concentration in a few hands. Most of the land was kept with the state, and used as a commons.

Islam does not allow ownership, as in exclusive use by a few, but gives trusteeship under defined terms. Those who have been given this trust have huge responsibilities to others in terms of their well-being. If landholders do not fulfil these obligations, the state is fully within its rights to take back the land and use it for the larger economic benefit, under the principle of public interest (maslaha).

Private trusteeship is allowed and indeed protected in the Sharia, but only if it does not create injustice, hunger and poverty in society.

Islam lays particular emphasis on social justice, the word ‘justice’ having been mentioned in the Holy Quran the third most frequently after ‘God’ and ‘knowledge’. Muslims are urged to ensure balance, fairness, kindness and truth in their dealings, reflecting on God’s qualities of adl (justice) and qist (equity).

Both the Quran and hadith forbid taking over the property of others through unlawful means by the individual or by the state.

Islam holds a strict yardstick for rulers to follow. They must ensure a socially just, economically equitable and fair society, with land distributed amongst citizens in such a way that they are not exploited by a few. They must also develop legal and transparent systems of private trusteeship that may not be susceptible to fraud or forced takeover.

As data shows, both poverty and inequity are high in Pakistan, the former defined as a composite of lack of education, nutrition, health and basic social services.

These conditions are especially prominent in the rural areas, where the often subhuman conditions of landless farmers and those with very small landholdings are directly related to the pattern of land ownership. Much agricultural land is held by a few feudal families while peasants who do own land are often denied access to water for irrigation.

With the socio-economic situation clearly showing that the current landholding pattern is a major factor contributing to increasing hunger and deprivation in the country, a judgement by the Shariat Appellate Bench, declaring land reforms un-Islamic, is difficult to comprehend. It is clear that several instances when the state should be able to intervene were not considered. Contextual reasoning and ijtehad that Islam has always urged Muslim intelligentsia to practise, were sacrificed for literal interpretation.

A most significant fact has been left out of the debate. The land distribution system existing in Pakistan today is evidently un-Islamic as it negates the basic principles of justice and equity for the majority. Eminent scholar Javed Ahmed Ghamidi points out that much of the land in pre-Partition India had been handed over by the British to individuals, although most Muslim societies had been using land as common goods. The result was that the jagirdars began to see land as their exclusive right.

If there is a case for what is Islamic or not in terms of land rights, it is whether land distribution pre- and post-1947 was legal and fair.

This should be relatively easy to prove, without affecting the Islamic tenet of protecting legally purchased property.

This would pave the way to reduce the alarming levels of income disparity, hunger and poverty, and contribute to ensuring land rights according to Islamic principles.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2015