عمرٰی (عمر بھر کا ہبہ)

العُمْرَى

In the lexicon, umra is what a man is given for the length of his life, or the lifetime of the grantor. For the Hanafis it is the owner's making a thing that he owns the possession of another for the life of one of the two; for the Malikis and Shafi'is it is the owner's giving of something he owns to a person for the life of the grantee ¹. It differs from loan of use, the gift of a palm's fruit, the gift of milk, and the ruqba (mutual life-grant) ². It is permitted in general on the report of Jabir, and it is a form of gift that needs offer and taking possession. The jurists differ on whether it transfers ownership or use: the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold that it transfers ownership at once, while the Malikis hold it transfers the use ^{2 3}. The Shafi'is distinguish its forms: if the owner says 'I give you this for your life, and when you die it goes to your heirs', it is a gift with ownership passing to the heirs, and the newer Shafi'i view treats a bare grant for life as a gift ³.