Question:
Allahuma Sali ala Sayyidina wa Habibina Muhammad wa ala Aal e Muhammad.
In Islam, do the locals of an area have rights over the resources of their land? eg locals of Baluchistan are deprived of using natural gas which comes from their land, is it wrong?
Answer:
Amin.
The hadith states “Muslims are equal partners in three things: “water, fire and vegetation, and it is haram to charge for them” (Ahmad and Ibn Majah). Another version has “salt” instead of vegetation. If fossil fuels are interpreted to be included, i.e. in the sense of “fire” then yes, there is a natural right of everyone to share in them freely and equally, otherwise not. Yet even in the latter case there should be provision for fair and inexpensive access to the resources of one’s own land.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
