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Three-Level Student at Mashhad Seminary ;Mashhad-Iran
10.22034/jrj.2025.70740.2928
Abstract
The jurisprudential principle of “Man Malika Arḍan”—”Whoever owns the land, owns its airspace up to the sky’s zenith and its ground down to the earth’s boundaries”—in both earlier and later scholarly works, signifies the derivative ownership of an individual over the supra-surface spaces (airspace) and subsurface domains (the depths of the earth) by virtue of land ownership. The inclusiveness of this principle, in light of modern developments and contemporary circumstances, has encountered various challenges and has led to tensions between individual rights and governmental authority, as the exclusivity of this principle extends to both the supra-surface and sub-surface spaces of private property.
This issue has become a point of contention among scholars and intellectuals regarding the extent of individual or state ownership over supra-surface and sub-surface spaces—to the extent that an entire field within international law has been dedicated to air and space law. The emerging challenges have highlighted the necessity to clearly redefine the scope of this principle. Therefore, using a descriptive-analytical approach, this study revisits the concept of ownership of the supra-surface and sub-surface spaces. Various dimensions of this issue are examined from the perspectives of Islamic jurisprudence and legal frameworks. Furthermore, the implications of this principle on contemporary issues such as aerospace law and subterranean resources are discussed.
Moreover, this study attempts, through an examination of jurisprudential texts—considering the primary and secondary implications of the principle, as well as relevant juristic opinions and extracted legal norms—to demonstrate that the concept of ownership in this principle refers to restricted ownership (milkīyyah al-muqayyadah), which, within its customary limits, is subordinate to land ownership and beyond that is considered public domain (anfāl). Therefore, ownership of the airspace and subterranean depths by the state does not conflict with private ownership.
Bahadori Ghaleshiri, M. , Shakeri, B. , Najee Forotan, A. and Faghani Bidsokhteh, J. (2025). A Fresh Investigation into the Jurisprudential Thematic Study of the Principle of “Man Malika Arḍan ....". Journal of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, 11(2), 1-1. doi: 10.22034/jrj.2025.70740.2928
MLA
Bahadori Ghaleshiri, M. , , Shakeri, B. , , Najee Forotan, A. , and Faghani Bidsokhteh, J. . "A Fresh Investigation into the Jurisprudential Thematic Study of the Principle of “Man Malika Arḍan ...."", Journal of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, 11, 2, 2025, 1-1. doi: 10.22034/jrj.2025.70740.2928
HARVARD
Bahadori Ghaleshiri, M., Shakeri, B., Najee Forotan, A., Faghani Bidsokhteh, J. (2025). 'A Fresh Investigation into the Jurisprudential Thematic Study of the Principle of “Man Malika Arḍan ...."', Journal of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, 11(2), pp. 1-1. doi: 10.22034/jrj.2025.70740.2928
CHICAGO
M. Bahadori Ghaleshiri , B. Shakeri , A. Najee Forotan and J. Faghani Bidsokhteh, "A Fresh Investigation into the Jurisprudential Thematic Study of the Principle of “Man Malika Arḍan ...."," Journal of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, 11 2 (2025): 1-1, doi: 10.22034/jrj.2025.70740.2928
VANCOUVER
Bahadori Ghaleshiri, M., Shakeri, B., Najee Forotan, A., Faghani Bidsokhteh, J. A Fresh Investigation into the Jurisprudential Thematic Study of the Principle of “Man Malika Arḍan ....". Journal of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence, 2025; 11(2): 1-1. doi: 10.22034/jrj.2025.70740.2928
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