Iqtina' (keeping property for oneself)

اقتناء

Iqtina' means taking a thing for oneself, not for sale or trade. The jurists' technical sense is the same as the lexical one. Keeping a thing may be permitted, or even recommended, as in keeping copies of the Qur'an and books of hadith and learning. It may be permitted in some circumstances and not others, as with keeping gold, silver, or a trained dog. It may be forbidden, as with keeping swine, wine, or instruments of forbidden play. Zakat is not due on kept livestock in general, except on animals kept for load, riding or breeding that reach the minimum (nisab). In the Hanafi view, kept gold and silver are liable to zakat once they reach the nisab, whether or not the owner intended trade; the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis agree in general, except for women's jewellery. 1 2

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
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Halal and haram

Definition

Iqtina' means taking a thing for oneself, not for sale or trade; a mare kept for breeding or riding is called qinya or qunya. The jurists' technical sense does not differ from the lexical one. 1

Ruling on keeping property

Keeping a thing may be permitted, or recommended, as with copies of the Qur'an and books of hadith and learning. It may be permitted in some circumstances and not others, as with gold, silver, or a trained dog. It may be forbidden, as with swine, wine, or instruments of forbidden play. 1

Zakat on kept property

In general zakat is not due on livestock kept for its own sake; it is due only on animals kept for load, riding or breeding that reach the nisab. 1

Kept gold and silver, whether coined, in bullion, as ornaments or as vessels, are liable to zakat once they reach the nisab, whether or not the owner intended trade, according to the Hanafis. The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis agree in general, except for women's jewellery. 1 2

People and things also explored

Akl (eating: lawful food and manners)· The divine method: commands and prohibitions· Prohibition of misappropriating spoils (ghulul)· Hadi (the whitish fluid before childbirth: its ruling on ablution and purity)· Hadm (demolition, real and legal)· Hady (animal offered to the Sacred Precinct)· Halak (destruction of property and its legal effect)· Himyan (money belt: pilgrim's wearing, spoils and theft)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3182
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3183
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Iqtina' (keeping property for oneself)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/iqtina/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Related

Akl (eating: lawful food and manners)

Eating is part of the faith: forbidden food is warned against, and the forbidden foods are known from the text and the Sunna. Eating has rulings that vary by need: obligatory up to what keeps life, required for prayer and fasting, recommended for earning and learning, permitted up to satiety, and forbidden beyond it. It is recommended for the one who sacrifices to eat from his sacrifice; the jurists differ on a sacrifice that was vowed. For expiations the Shafi'is and Hanbalis require transfer of ownership, while the Hanafis accept enabling the needy to eat. Manners include saying the basmala, eating with the right hand and from what is nearest, not blaming food, and not reclining while eating. A person in necessity may eat the forbidden only enough to keep alive. Eating from another's orchard or field without leave is allowed only under conditions.