Fixing Land Held in Hereditary Tenancy as Mahr

Question

At his nikah with Hinda, Zayd assigned to her as mahr a piece of land that is in his hands. In reality this land belongs to the landlord, and that man pays the landlord an annual land revenue, while Zayd remains the owner of its produce. In that place there is also a custom that the tenant peasants sell land of this kind to one another by mutual consent, and the buyer afterwards gives the landlord some money as an offering, and the landlord consents.

Answer

Fixing the land itself as mahr is valid. If the landlord gives that land to Zayd — whether for a price or as a gift — then Zayd is obliged (wajib) to give that land; otherwise the value of that land will be obligatory.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.