Gathering fallen olives without the owner's permission

A question about gathering fallen olives without the owner's permission, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that in principle one may not take another's fruit without permission, but gleaning what is left after harvest is tolerated on four conditions: it is after the owners have harvested, the land is not fenced or near a house, the owner's consent can be presumed, and the trees are not damaged. ¹

The questioner asked whether he may gather olives that have fallen on the ground without the landowner's permission, given that the land is not fenced. ¹

The Department answered that in principle one may not eat from fruit trees planted at homes or in orchards without the owner's permission, citing a hadith narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad whose meaning is that a person's property is not lawful to others except with his willing consent. ¹ It said that leftovers after the fruit harvest may be tolerated on four conditions: the gleaner takes what remains only after the owners have harvested, not before; the land is not fenced or close to the precincts of a house, in which case permission must be sought; the owner's forgiveness is likely, for example where custom is known to tolerate gleaning; and the gleaner takes care of the trees and does not damage or break them. ¹ It quoted Mughni al-Muhtaj (3/592) that gleaning ears of grain and the like at harvest time is permitted if one presumes the owner has abandoned them or is content for them to be taken, whether or not the gleaner is eligible for zakat, although al-Zarkashi differed on the latter point, since this small amount is overlooked, as the early and later generations practised. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3689, dated 3 March 2022. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.