Islamic Law of Transaction: Can the Owner of the Asset Sell It While Another Person Owns the Usufruct?

Yes, but we need to distinguish two different situations.

Suppose:

Ali → owns the house itself

Ahmad → owns the usufruct for 10 years

Ali has partial ownership of the asset, while Ahmad has partial ownership of the benefit.

1. If Ahmad’s usufruct remains in force

Ali cannot sell the house as if Ahmad’s usufruct does not exist. Ahmad already has a legal right over the benefit, and Ali cannot destroy that right simply by selling the asset.

If the applicable rules allow Ali to transfer his ownership of the bare asset, the buyer would normally receive the property subject to Ahmad’s existing usufruct.

For example:

Ali owns house

↓

Ahmad has 10-year usufruct

↓

Ali transfers his ownership interest to Yusuf

↓

Yusuf becomes owner of the physical property

BUT

Ahmad keeps his usufruct until it expires

So Yusuf cannot immediately tell Ahmad:

“I bought the house, so you must leave.”

Ahmad’s earlier legal right must still be respected.

The important principle is that a person cannot dispose of another person’s legally established right without that person’s authority. This is consistent with the Hanafi principle that a person cannot deal with another person’s property/right without permission or legal authority. 

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2. What If the Usufruct Owner Agrees?

This is the easier situation.

Yes — if Ahmad agrees to give up or terminate his usufruct in a legally valid way, the two elements can reunite.

Before agreement:

Ali → property

Ahmad → usufruct

Then Ahmad validly gives up his usufruct:

Ahmad’s usufruct ends

↓

Usufruct returns to Ali

↓

Ali now has:

Property + Usufruct

↓

Total Ownership

Ali can then sell the house with full ownership to Yusuf.

So:

Ali → total ownership

↓

Sale

↓

Yusuf → property + usufruct

↓

Yusuf obtains total ownership

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3. Another Possibility: Ahmad Agrees to the Sale but Keeps His Usufruct

Be careful: “Ahmad agrees to the sale” does not necessarily mean “Ahmad gives up his usufruct.”

Those are two different agreements.

Example

Ahmad says:

“I agree that Ali may sell the house, but I want to keep my right to live there for the remaining five years.”

Then the result may be:

Ali sells physical ownership to Yusuf

↓

Yusuf becomes owner of the house

BUT

Ahmad continues to hold the five-year usufruct

So after the sale:

Yusuf → asset

Ahmad → usufruct

Yusuf therefore acquires partial ownership, not immediate total ownership.

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4. If Ahmad Agrees to Surrender His Usufruct

Now suppose Ahmad says:

“I agree to end my usufruct completely so that Ali can sell the house free from my right.”

Then:

Ahmad’s usufruct terminates

↓

Ali’s asset + usufruct reunite

↓

Ali has total ownership

↓

Ali sells to Yusuf

↓

Yusuf gets total ownership

That is very different from merely agreeing that a sale may occur.

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5. Simple Example

Ali owns a house.

Ahmad has a right under a valid arrangement to live there until 2030.

Ali wants to sell the house to Yusuf.

Situation A — Ahmad does not surrender his usufruct

The house is transferred subject to Ahmad’s right.

After sale:

Yusuf = owner of house

Ahmad = continues living there until 2030

When 2030 arrives:

Ahmad’s usufruct ends

↓

Yusuf now has house + usufruct

↓

Total ownership

⸻

Situation B — Ahmad agrees to give up his usufruct now

Ahmad legally surrenders his remaining right.

Then:

Ahmad’s usufruct ends

↓

Ali has complete ownership

↓

Ali sells house to Yusuf

↓

Yusuf receives property + immediate right to use it

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6. Does Ahmad Need to Be Paid to Give Up His Usufruct?

That is a separate legal question.

If Ahmad possesses a genuine legal usufruct, Ali cannot simply take it away merely because he wants to sell the property.

Whether Ahmad may:

• surrender it voluntarily,
• receive compensation for surrendering it,
• transfer it,
• or whether a particular form of surrender is valid,

depends on how the usufruct was created and the applicable madhhab/rules.

So do not assume:

“The physical owner can just cancel the usufruct.”

He generally cannot disregard another person’s established legal right.

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7. The Most Important Distinction

If you own only the asset while someone else owns the usufruct, there are really three possibilities:

1. You sell subject to the usufruct

→ buyer owns asset, usufruct holder keeps benefit.

2. Usufruct holder agrees to the sale but does not surrender his right

→ same basic result: buyer must respect the existing usufruct.

3. Usufruct holder validly agrees to end/surrender his usufruct

→ asset and usufruct reunite → total ownership can then be transferred to buyer.

So the key question is not merely:

“Did the usufruct owner agree to the sale?”

The better question is:

“Did the usufruct owner agree only to the transfer of the asset, or did he also legally surrender his usufruct?”

Those produce different legal results.