Are the Fruits on Someone Else’s Tree Permissible to Eat?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it permissible to eat fruits from trees in the forest if they will go bad by not eating? Is it permissible to eat fruits that have fallen on the side of the road? Is it permissible to eat fruits from private property where they will go to waste if not eaten?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is only permissible to eat fruits that are on the tree of someone’s property if:

• One has explicit or implicit permission to do so; and
• The fruits are perishable.

If the perishable fruits are plentiful in a particular area, it is permitted (although better to abstain from) to eat them if one knows that eating would not cause hardship to the owners.

Note that even though eating is permitted, carrying fruits to take is not.

Fallen Fruits

If fruits that are in season have fallen from the tree onto the ground, it is not permissible to eat the fruits without express or implied permission of the owner if the trees are located in the city.

If the tree is located in a garden and the fruits are imperishable, such as nuts or the like, it is not permissible to eat them without express or implied permission. If the fruits are perishable, it is permissible to eat them as long as one is not aware of any explicit or implied prohibition.

If the tree is located in the village (or a rural area) and the fruits are imperishable, eating without express or implied permission is not permissible. If the fruit is perishable, then the chosen position is that it is permitted to eat from it as long as one is not clear of the prohibition.

Summary

One can find from the above rulings a baseline principle that moderates between the rights of the owner and the caution towards wasting food. If the circumstances indicate that the owner would permit or would not mind, the fruit can be eaten. Likewise, if the fruit is likely to spoil, one may eat it unless they know the owner would permit it.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.