Re-examining the Semantics of “Property” from the Viewpoint of Shīʿa Jurisprudence

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Javad Soltanifard ¹
• Ahmadali Yousefi ²
• Ahmad Mohammadi ³

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Law, Faculty of Humanities, Shahid Motahari University, Tehran, Iran

² Professor, Department of Islamic Economics, Islamic Systems Research Institute, Islamic Culture and Thought Research Institute, Qom, Iran

³ PhD Graduate, Department of Jurisprudence and Foundations of Islamic Law, Imam Khomeini and Islamic Revolution Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

10.22067/jfiqh.2024.81361.1550

Abstract

The application of jurisprudential rulings on objects requires that an object be classified as “property”.  Verifying the “proprietary status” of objects has become necessary in today’s society, because people encounter cases in financial and economic relationships where establishing the title of “property” is not as easy as it used to be in the past. These include cases such as “copyright”, and “commercial leasehold rights” (ḥaqq-i sar quflī), as well as more recent phenomena such as “the rights (privileges) of various kinds of video games”, “high-follower social media accounts”, and “cryptocurrencies”. Therefore, defining the criteria for what qualifies as “property” has become necessary. The present study not only classifies and critiques several existing jurisprudential views, but also offers an alternative definition of property. The study employs an analytical approach and concludes through this method that property is an abstract-customary title; therefore, the only reliable method for verifying the proprietary of an object is by referring to customary exchanges and analyzing the practices of rational individuals regarding the object. Accordingly, it is impossible for the legislator (Shāriʿ) to revoke the proprietary of an object. At most, the legislator may prohibit some or all of the legal effects associated with it, for instance in the banning of wine transactions. Therefore, it may be said that many of the characteristics mentioned in jurisprudential sources defining “property” are in fact unnecessary elaborations in need of reconsideration. In addition, using the expression “legally recognized property” (māl-i sharʿī) is incorrect and considering “proprietary” as a condition for both parties in a transaction is pointless

Keywords

• property
• proprietary status
• custom
• exchange value
• economic exchange

Main Subjects

• Civil jurisprudence

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