CONCLUSION

Property law, particularly land law, is an important area of traditional Islamic law, but does not occupy a significant area of legal scholarship under Islamic fiqh. It is discussed in areas such as taxation and spoils of war, gifts, treasure troves, partnership, and cultivation of dead land for agricultural purposes.

In principle, both Islamic law and Iranian law have recognised and protected private ownership of land and other property interests. The Iranian Constitution, drafted in 1979 (after the Iranian-Islamic Revolu­tion), has adopted three types of ownership, which are public ownership, cooperative ownership, and private ownership. The Constitution empha­sises that private ownership is supplementary to the public and co­operative ownership. This is probably influenced by socialist principles which were dominant among revolutionaries in the 1970s in the Middle East. However, in practice during the last few decades, privatisation of major companies and resources has increased.

Iranian property law, particularly land law, is largely based on prin­ciples of Islamic law with the adoption of some modern legal principles from continental European legal systems, such as the Swiss and French laws. Waqf, or trust, is an important charitable institution under Islamic law and Iranian law, which acts as a social security mechanism. Public charitable waqf in Iran is subject to extensive statutory provisions and is managed by a centralised department, which owns significant property resources such as mosques, and holy shrines.