Reply to a Query [Ownership of barren lands]

Enquirer: Muhammad-Kazim Sayfiyan, Mayor of Tehran

[The Great Leader and the Grand Religious Reference Authority, His Eminence Ayatullah Imam Khomeini,

I humbly request you to declare your verdict on the act passed by the Council of the Islamic Revolution on the annulment of the ownership of barren lands.

Yours respectfully,

Muhammad-Kazim Sayfiyan]

In His Most Exalted Name

Barren lands [aradi mawat bi'l-isalah] «1» cannot be owned by anyone unless and until they are made cultivable by the claimant. Any registrations and transactions of such lands are null and void. These lands only fall under the ownership of the Islamic government.

Rouhullah al-Mousawi al-Khomeini