Islamic Contract Law:

Mal

According to the Shafi‘i School

Shafi‘i Definition of

Mal

According to the Shafi‘i school, mal refers to something that:

• Has material or economic value, and
• Is capable of being sold.

In simple terms:

Something is considered mal when it has recognised value and can be the subject matter of a sale.

1. Material or Economic Value

For something to qualify as mal, it must have a recognised value.

This definition is broad enough to include:

• Physical property (‘ayn)
• Usufruct or benefit (manfa‘ah)

Examples of Physical Property

• House
• Car
• Land
• Gold
• Furniture

These are physical assets that have economic value.

Example of

Manfa‘ah

A person owns an apartment and rents it to another person.

• Apartment itself = physical property (‘ayn)
• Right to live in the apartment = benefit (manfa‘ah)

The benefit has economic value because people are willing to pay rent for it.

Therefore, under this approach, a valuable benefit can also fall within the concept of mal.

2. The Property Must Be Capable of Being Sold

The Shafi‘i definition also requires that the item can be legally transferred through a sale.

This means:

Having economic value alone may not be enough. The property must also be capable of being sold.

Example

A business licence may be very valuable to the business owner.

However, if the licence is personal to that owner and cannot legally be sold or transferred to another person, it may not satisfy the saleability requirement of this definition of mal.

So:

Economic value ✅

Can be sold/transferred ❌

Therefore, it may be excluded from mal under this particular definition.

Limitation of the Shafi‘i Definition

The phrase “can be sold” makes the definition narrower.

Some things may:

• Have real economic value,
• Give a person an important benefit or right,

but cannot legally be sold to another person.

Such things may therefore be excluded even though they are valuable.

Example: Business Licence

Suppose a restaurant owner has a licence that allows the restaurant to operate.

• The licence is valuable to the owner.
• Without it, the business may not operate.
• However, if the law does not allow the owner to sell the licence to another person, it may not qualify as mal under a strict saleability test.

Manfa‘ah

and

Haqq

The classical definitions of mal created an important question:

Should benefits (manfa‘ah) and rights (haqq) also be considered property (mal)?

Manfa‘ah

Means the benefit or use obtained from something.

Example:

Using a rented house for accommodation.

Haqq

Means a recognised right or legal entitlement.

Example:

A person’s contractual right to receive payment from another person.

The difficulty is that these are not always physical objects and may not always be freely sold.

Simple Summary

Under the Shafi‘i school, mal generally requires:

• Value → it must have recognised economic or material value.
• Saleability → it should be capable of being sold or transferred through a sale.
• Physical assets may be mal → such as houses, cars and land.
• Valuable benefits (manfa‘ah) may also fall within mal.
• A limitation arises where something is valuable but cannot be sold, such as certain personal licences or rights.

Easy Way to Remember

Shafi‘i: Mal = something valuable + capable of being sold.

For example:

House → valuable + saleable → mal

Benefit of using property → valuable → may be recognised as mal

Non-transferable business licence → valuable but not saleable → may be excluded from mal under this definition.