Hiring, Renting, and Lease: Ruling on Property Dispute After Death of Owner and Unproven Counterclaim

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Hiring, Renting, and Lease: Ruling on Property Dispute After Death of Owner and Unproven Counterclaim

English:

Question #1651:

A person had some property. He put it at the disposal of his neighbour without any thing in return. The neighbour has had a free hand with the property for a number of years. The landlord passed away. His heirs laid a claim to the ownership of the property and asked the neighbor to hand it over to them. He refused to accede to their request and filed a counter claim to the effect that the property was his, without producing any evidence to substantiate such a claim. What is the ruling in this matter?

Answer #1651:

In two cases the property is restored to the heirs as the real owner:

a) the heirs prove in any shar‘ī way that the property belonged to their legator;

b) the person, who currently occupies the property, admits that the property had belonged to the legator, but claims that it became his for any reason, without proving it in any shar‘ī way.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Hiring, Renting, and Lease