Are the Lands of India ‘Ushri?

Question

Regarding ‘ushr, you esteemed scholars write that after the abolition of the landlord system the lands of India came into the ownership of the present government, and therefore ‘ushr is not wajib. However, in an issue of the journal “Dar al-‘Ulum” (of Mawlana Fadl al-Rahman Mungeri) an article has been published in which it is argued that ‘ushri land exists in India, while the journal “Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband” holds the opposite.

Answer

The view of the Munger scholars concerning ‘ushr is precisely that it is wajib: they regard the Imarat-i Shar‘iyya (the Shari‘a imarate) as a kind of Islamic imarate (leadership of an amir). And the article published in “Dar al-‘Ulum” is also correct, but it dates from before the abolition of the landlord system.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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