Who owned the houses that were built for the Ummahatul Muminin?
The answer
There exists a difference of opinion among scholars concerning the ownership of the houses of the Ummāhāt al-Mu’minīn (the wives of the Prophet ﷺ). While it is undeniable that the beloved wives of the Prophet ﷺ continued to reside in their respective houses even after his passing, the issue centres around the question of ownership. In the Qur’an, there are instances where the houses are attributed to the Prophet ﷺ himself, while in other cases, they are attributed to the wives of the Prophet ﷺ. This has given rise to a scholarly dispute.
In short: scholars differ on whether the Prophet ﷺ or his wives owned the houses.
Explanation
Imām Ibn al-‘Arabī (d. 543 AH) offers an insightful perspective on this matter. According to him, when the Qur’an attributes the houses to the Prophet ﷺ, it signifies ownership. Conversely, when the attribution is made to the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, it signifies that these are their places of residence rather than implying ownership. He bases this distinction on the Qur’anic injunction regarding seeking permission to enter the blessed chambers. The Quran specifies that one should seek permission from the Prophet ﷺ, indicating that he owned the houses, as it is customary to seek permission for entry from the owner of a house.
On the other hand, others argue that the houses were owned by the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, as evidenced by the fact that they continued to live in these houses after the Prophet’s ﷺ demise. If the Prophet ﷺ had owned them, it is reasoned, these houses would have been regarded as Ṣadaq̣ah and Waqf like the rest of the Prophet’s ﷺ possessions. This perspective suggests that the Prophet ﷺ gifted the houses to his wives during his lifetime.
Imām al-Q̣urṭubī (d.671 AH) acknowledges this view but asserts that the first opinion, which contends that the Prophet ﷺ owned the houses, is more sound. Imam Ibn al-‘Arabī (d.543 AH) and Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d.463 AH) also support the view that the Prophet ﷺ owned the houses.
In response to those who argue that the Mother of the Believers owned the houses, it is proposed that they did not possess ownership rights but were permitted to reside in the houses by the Prophet ﷺ. The reason as to why the wives remained in the houses until their demise can be justified in two ways: either the ‘Iddah (waiting period) of the wives never ended until their deaths, and they were therefore required to remain in the Prophet’s ﷺ house, or the Prophet ﷺ owned the houses but excluded them from being given as Sadaq̣ah during his wives’ lifetimes. This exclusion aligns with the Prophet’s ﷺ statement that his heirs would not inherit money, and whatever he left apart from supporting his wives and employees would be given in charity.
Supporting the view that the houses were owned by the Prophet ﷺ is the fact that these houses were eventually incorporated into al-Masjid al-Nabawi and designated for public welfare, similar to the Prophet’s ﷺ other assets.
Imām al-Bukhārī (d.256 AH) included a chapter in his Ṣaḥīḥ that specifically addresses the chambers of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ and the Qur’anic attribution of these chambers to the wives. In his commentary on this chapter, ḤāfiẓIbn Hajar al-‘Asq̣alānī (d. 852 AH) elucidates the purpose behind Imām Bukhārī’s inclusion of this chapter. He explains that Imām Bukhārī aimed to establish the fact that the attribution of the blessed chambers to the wives in the Qur’an signified their right to reside in these chambers until their deaths. This aligns with the argument that has been previously presented.
Furthermore, Ḥāfidh Ibn Hajar al-‘Asq̣alānī quotes Imām al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH), who also maintains that among the two prevailing opinions on this matter, the perspective asserting that the Prophet ﷺ owned the chambers holds greater merit.
In summary, while there are two opinions among the scholars, the view favoured by several ʿUlamā’ is that the Prophet ﷺ owned the houses.
And Allah knows best.
Maulana Inaamul Hasan Chothia
Reviewed and approved by Mufti Faraz Adam
References
إضَافَةُ الْبُيُوتِ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – إضَافَةُ مِلْكِ، وَإِضَافَةُ الْبُيُوتِ إِلَى الْأَزْوَاجِ إِضَافَةُ مَحَلٌّ؛ بِدَلِيلِ أَنَّهُ جَعَلَ فِيهَا الْإِذْنَ لِلنَّبِيِّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، وَالْإِذْنُ إِنَّمَا يَكُونُ لِلْمَالِكِ
وَقَدْ اخْتَلَفَ الْعُلَمَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِ النَّبِيِّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – إذْ كُنَّ يَسْكُنَّ فِيهَا، هَلْ هُنَّ مِلْكٌ لَهُنَّ أَمْ لَا؟ فَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: كَانَتْ مِلْكًا لَهُنَّ بِدَلِيلِ أَنَّهُنَّ سَكَنَّ فِيهَا بَعْدَ مَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – إِلَى وَفَاتِهِنَّ ؛ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – وَهَبَ لَهُنَّ ذَلِكَ فِي حَيَاتِهِ.
وَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ : لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ لَهُنَّ هِبَةٌ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ إِسْكَانًا، كَمَا يُسْكِنُ الرَّجُلُ أَهْلَهُ، وَتَمَادَى سُكْنَاهُنَّ بِهَا إِلَى الْمَوْتِ لِأَحَدٍ وَجْهَيْنِ : إِمَّا لِأَنَّ عِدَّتَهُنَّ لَمْ تَنْقَضِ إِلَّا بِمَوْتِهِنَّ، وَإِمَّا لأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – اسْتَثْنَى ذَلِكَ لَهُنَّ مُدَّةَ حَيَاتِهِنَّ، كَمَا اسْتَثْنَى نَفَقَاتِهِنَّ بِقَوْلِهِ : «مَا تَرَكْتُ بَعْدَ نَفَقَةِ عِيَالِي وَمُؤْنَةِ عَامِلِي فَهُوَ صَدَقَةٌ».
فَجَعَلَهَا النَّبِيُّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – صَدَقَةٌ بَعْدَ نَفَقَةِ الْعِيَالِ ؛ وَالسُّكْنَى مِنْ جُمْلَةِ النَّفَقَاتِ، فَإِذَا مُتْنَ رَجَعَتْ مَسَاكِنُهُنَّ إِلَى أَصْلِهَا مِنْ بَيْتِ الْمَالِ، كَرُجُوعِ نَفَقَاتِهِنَّ. وَالدَّلِيلُ الْقَاطِعُ لِذَلِكَ أَنَّ وَرَثَتَهُنَّ لَمْ يَرِثُوا عَنْهُنَّ شَيْئًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَلَوْ كَانَتْ الْمَسَاكِنُ مِلْكًا لَهُنَّ لَوَرِثَ ذَلِكَ وَرَثَتُهُنَّ عَنْهُنَّ، فَلَمَّا رُدَّتْ مَنَازِلُهُنَّ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِنَّ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ الَّذِي تَعُمُّ مَنْفَعَتُهُ جَمِيعَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ دَلَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى أَنَّ سُكْنَاهُنَّ إِنَّمَا كَانَتْ مَتَاعًا لَهُنَّ إِلَى الْمَمَاتِ، ثُمَّ رَجَعَتْ إِلَى أَصْلِهَا فِي مَنَافِعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ . (احكام القرآن لابن العربي)
هَلْ هي ملك لهن أم لا على قولين : فَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: كَانَتْ مِلْكًا لَهُنَّ بِدَلِيلِ أَنَّهُنَّ سَكَنَّ فِيهَا بَعْدَ مَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ إِلَى وَفَاتِهِنَّ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ وَهَبَ ذَلِكَ لَهُنَّ فِي حَيَاتِهِ. الثَّانِي أَنَّ ذَلِكَ كَانَ إِسْكَانًا كَمَا يُسْكِنُ الرَّجُلُ أَهْلَهُ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ هِبَةً، وَتَمَادَى سُكْنَاهُنَّ بِهَا إِلَى الْمَوْتِ. وَهَذَا هُوَ الصَّحِيحُ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي ارْتَضَاهُ أَبُو عُمَرَ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْبَرِّ وَابْنُ الْعَرَبِيِّ وَغَيْرُهُمْ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مَتُونَتِهِنَّ الَّتِي كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ اسْتَفْنَاهَا لَهُنَّ، كَمَا اسْتَثْنَى لَهُنَّ نَفَقَاتَهُنَّ حِينَ قَالَ: (لَا تَقْتَسِمُ وَرَبَّتِي دِينَارًا وَلَا دِرْهَما، مَا تَرَكْتُ بَعْدَ نَفَقَةِ أَهْلِي وَمَثُونَةِ عَامِلِي فَهُوَ صَدَقَةٌ). هَكَذَا قَالَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْم ، قَالُوا: وَيَدُلُّ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَنَّ مَسَاكِنَهُنَّ لَمْ يَرِثْهَا عَنْهُنَّ وَرَثَتُهُنّ
قَالُوا : وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ مِلْكًا لَهُنَّ كَانَ لَا شَكَ قَدْ وَرِثَهُ عَنْهُنَّ وَرَتُهُنَّ . قَالُوا : وَفِي تَرْكِ وَرَبَّتِهِنَّ ذَلِكَ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ لهن ملكا (تفسير القرطبي)
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ أَبِي الزِّنَادِ، عَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” لاَ يَقْتَسِمْ وَرَثَتِي دِينَارًا، مَا تَرَكْتُ بَعْدَ نَفَقَةِ نِسَائِي وَمَئُونَةِ عَامِلِي فَهْوَ صَدَقَةٌ (صحيح البخاري)
قَالَ بن الْمُنِيرِ غَرَضُهُ بِهَذِهِ التَّرْجَمَةِ أَنْ يُبَيِّنَ أَنَّ هَذِهِ النِّسْبَةَ تُحَقِّقُ دَوَامَ اسْتِحْقَاقِهِنَّ لِلْبُيُوتِ مَا بَقِينَ لِأَنَّ نَفَقَتَهُنَّ وَسُكْنَاهُنَّ مِنْ خَصَائِصِ النبي يا الله وَالسِّرُّ فِيهِ حَبْسُهُنَّ عَلَيْهِ
قَالَ الطَّبَرِيُّ قِيلَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مَلكَ كُلًّا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِهِ الْبَيْتَ الَّذِي هِيَ فِيهِ فَسَكَنَ بَعْدَهُ فِيهِنَّ بِذَلِكَ التَّمْلِيكِ وَقِيلَ إِنَّمَا لَمْ يُنَازِعُهُنَّ فِي مَسَاكِنِهِنَّ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ جُمْلَةِ مؤنتهن الَّتِي كَانَ النَّبِيُّ الهلال و اسْتَتْنَاهَا لَهُنَّ مِمَّا كَانَ بِيَدِهِ أَيَّامَ حَيَاتِهِ حَيْثُ قَالَ مَا تَرَكْتُ بَعْدَ نَفَقَةِ نِسَائِي قَالَ وَهَذَا أَرْجَحُ وَيُؤَيِّدُهُ أَنَّ وَرَثَتَهُنَّ لَمْ يَرِثْنَ عَنْهُنَّ مَنَازِلَهُنَّ وَلَوْ كَانَتِ الْبُيُوتُ مِلْكًا لَهُنَّ لَانْتَقَلَتْ إِلَى وَرَثَتِهِنَّ وَفِي تَرْكِ وَرَبَّتِهِنَّ حُقُوقَهُمْ مِنْهَا دَلَالَةٌ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَلِهَذَا زِيدَتْ بُيُوتُهُنَّ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ النَّبَوِيِّ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِنَّ لِعُمُومِ نَفْعِهِ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ كَمَا فَعَلَ فِيمَا كَانَ يُصْرَفُ لَهُنَّ مِنَ النَّفَقَاتِ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.(فتح الباري)
Based on the Hanafi school and on the question as it was asked. Another mufti may reach a different conclusion. Read the disclaimer.