On September 3, 2018, the website of Dar Al-Ifta Palestine, the Palestinian fatwa institution, published an official statement by Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, in which he reiterated the fatwas banning both selling Palestinian land to "the enemies" and accepting compensation for land appropriated by Israel, and defining anyone who does so as an infidel and a traitor to Allah and the homeland.
The reiteration of this position was apparently in response to reports that Palestinian houses and properties are being sold to Israelis, an issue that greatly concerns the Palestinian Authority. It may also be a response to rumors and leaks that the U.S. intends to redefine the status of Palestinian refugees, with the aim of decreasing the number of people eligible for such status and transforming the Palestinian problem into a humanitarian issue to be resolved as part of President Trump's Middle East peace initiative, known as the Deal of the Century.
Jerusalem Mufti Muhammad Hussein (Source: Darifta.org, September 3, 2018)
The following is the translation of the mufti's statement, from the Dar Al-Ifta website: [1]
"Against the backdrop of the old/new discourse about compensating the Palestinian refugees for their property that was stolen by the Israeli occupation, Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the General Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine and preacher at Al-Aqsa mosque, stressed the October 31, 1996 decision of the [Palestinian Authority's] Supreme Fatwa Council, as well as the fatwas on this matter issued by Dar Al-Ifta Palestine [the Palestinian fatwa institution], which state: 'Palestine is a land of waqf[2] and kharaj,[3] and according to Islamic law no part of it may be sold, nor may its ownership be transferred to the enemies – because according to this law it is considered the property of the Muslim community and not the private property [of any individual]. Any transfer of ownership of Dar Al-Islam[4] [land] to the enemies is null and void and constitutes a betrayal of Allah, of His Messenger [the Prophet Muhammad], and of the trust of Islam [placed in the hands of the believers]. Allah said: "O ye that believe! Betray not the trust of Allah and the Messenger, nor misappropriate knowingly things entrusted to you [Quran 8:27]." Anyone who sells his land to enemies, or accepts compensation for it, is a sinner, for by doing so he is aiding the removal of Muslims from their lands, and Allah has connected him with those who fought the Muslims because of their religion, saying: "Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes – from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion – [forbids] that you make allies of them. And whoever makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers [Quran 60:8-9]."
"'Selling land to the enemies, and brokering its sale to them, meet [the definition] of deeds that turn those who carry them out into infidels, and are considered [an expression of] loyalty to the infidels and to those who rebel against Allah. This loyalty excludes [an individual] from the community of believers; anyone who does this is considered a murtadd – one who has abandoned Islam – and as having betrayed Allah, His Prophet, his religion, and his homeland. The Muslims must excommunicate him, must shun him, must not marry him, must not show him affection, must not attend his funeral, must not pray for his soul [after death], and must not inter him in a Muslim cemetery.
"'Therefore, anyone whose land is expropriated by the occupation must not accept compensation for it, because by doing so he might appear to have approved and agreed to the transfer of ownership of the land to the occupation. He must show forbearance, for the land will necessarily be restored to its [rightful] owners, even if it takes a long time. Allah's victory is nigh, but most people do not know this, or are impatient.'"
