Permissible Cases of Consuming Others’ Property in Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah: A Jurisprudential and Maqāṣid-Based Study

Abstract

The research addresses the issue of the permissibility of eating from another’s property in light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, from a jurisprudential and maqāṣidī (objectives-of-Sharia) perspective that balances the protection of private ownership with the realization of social solidarity. It presents the legal foundation for prohibiting the consumption of others’ wealth unjustly, and then identifies the circumstances in which Islamic law allows eating from another’s property to remove hardship and fulfill the objectives of mercy, justice, and social harmony. The study adopts the inductive, analytical, comparative, and maqāṣidī methodologies, surveying Qur’anic and Prophetic texts, discussing the opinions of various Islamic schools of law, and linking them to the overarching objectives of the Sharia. It concludes that permissibility applies in specific cases, including necessity, a parent eating from a child’s property, eating from the property of relatives, guests, or friends, eating from fruit without hoarding, a guardian eating from an orphan’s wealth in moderation, and attendees partaking in inheritance division. The research concludes that Islamic law sets precise conditions for these concessions, based on the presence of need or necessity, the absence of harm to the owner, and the limitation of consumption to the amount legally permitted, while observing custom and good intention. It affirms that these rulings embody a balance between the preservation of wealth and the removal of hardship, reflecting the wisdom of the Sharia in establishing a compassionate and cooperative society governed by justice and fairness.