Selling a Living Tree and the Ruling on the Branches That Grow from It

Question

Zayd sold Bakr a living tree without the land. Bakr has had possession of it for a long time, while it is Zayd himself who has kept taking wood and the like from this tree. In the case described, we wish to know: is it permissible or not to sell a living tree without the land and, keeping it in this way for a long time on the seller’s land, to obtain wood from it — that is, to obtain the ever-new branches and the growth of the tree itself, which was unknown at the time of the sale?

Answer

If it was sold for cutting down, and the buyer’s aim is also precisely to cut it down, then he is obliged to cut down his tree and vacate the seller’s land. If, however, the sale was made for the tree to remain in place, or there was no mention at all of whether this sale was for cutting or for keeping it in place, then in both of these cases the part of the tree that is…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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