Selling Pastures

“Regarding my question before abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who is Muslim and has an asset in the mountains which is sold and his Muslim brother comes who has sheep and needs a mountain, if it is lawful to sell the mountain as he sells to others or deny him use of the mountain if he asks without payment and how is his condition and what he takes. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not lawful for him to sell his mountain to his brother because the mountain is not his mountain, he can only sell it to non-Muslims.”’

“Regarding my question before abu al-Hassan (a.s.), - after saying, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, we have a property that has boundaries and a pasture - about a man from us who has sheep and camel. He needs those pastures for his camel and sheep if it is permissible for him to preserve and protect the pastures for his needs.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘If the land is his land he has the right to reserve and keep it for his needs.’ I then asked, ‘Can the man sell the pastures?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘If the land is his land, it is not unlawful to do so.’”

“This is concerning my question before al-Rida’ (a.s.), about the case of a man who has a property which has boundaries that extend for about twenty miles or less or more and a man comes and says, ‘If you give to me from your pastures I will give you so and so amount of dirham. He (the Imam) said, ‘If the property is his property it is not unlawful.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about a man’s selling pastures which needs watering. He works to provide water for its grass and he is the one who has dug the well and canal and he has water for the plantation of whatever he likes to cultivate. He (the Imam) said, ‘If water belongs to him he can cultivate whatever he likes and sell to whoever he likes.’ I then asked him (the Imam) about selling the remaining portions of wheat or barley stems after harvest. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is lawful, thus, he can sell if he wants.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about selling grass and pastures. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not unlawful, the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, had reserved al-Naqi‘ (name of a place) for the horses of the Muslims.’”