Meaning of the hadeeth “Whoever sells a house or piece of land and does not put its price into something similar, will not be blessed therein”
Question

                It was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “Whoever sells a house or piece of land then does not put its price into something similar, will not be blessed therein.” Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) classed it as saheeh. I would like to know more about the meaning of the hadeeth, including what is meant by the words “it will never be blessed for him” and what is meant by “putting its price into something similar.” Does that only refer to buying another house or could it also include building another house or developing another piece of land? Can we not interpret the hadeeth as meaning that it is haraam to use the price of land except to buy other land or to build a house on other land or to develop other land?.
Praise be to Allah.The hadeeth 
	referred to was narrated by Imam Ahmad (17990) and Ibn Maajah (2481) from 
	Sa‘eed ibn Hurayth (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger 
	of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever sells a 
	house or piece of land then does not put its price into something similar 
	deserves not to be blessed therein.” 
Ibn Maajah 
	(2482) narrated that Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamaan (may Allah be pleased with him) 
	said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
	said: “Whoever sells a house and does not put its price into something 
	similar will not be blessed 
	therein.”
This hadeeth 
	was classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) in
	as-Silsilah as-Saheehah, 5/326, when all its isnaads and 
	corroborating reports are taken together. 
Al-Manaawi 
	(may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning the meaning of the hadeeth, 
	“Whoever sells a house…”: Because it is the price of blameworthy worldly 
	adornment, and Allah created the earth and made it a dwelling place for His 
	slaves, and He created the two races (of mankind and the jinn) to worship 
	Him, and He made that which is on earth as an adornment for it, “in order 
	that We may test them (mankind) as to which of them are best in deeds” [al-Kahf 
	18:7]. So it became a trial for them, “Except him on whom your Lord 
	has bestowed His Mercy” [Hood 11:119] and protected him. And it became a 
	means of disobedience, so the blessing was taken away from it. So if it is 
	sold and the money is used to buy a store, he will not be blessed therein, 
	because he has done something contrary to Allah’s plan to make the earth a 
	resting place (cf. 78:6). 
But if he 
	puts its price into something similar, then he has kept things in accordance 
	with Allah’s plan, so he will attain the blessing that Allah has put in it. 
	The blessing is connected to Allah’s plan for His creation.
End quote 
	from Fayd al-Qadeer, 6/119 
Abu Ja‘far 
	at-Tahhaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is as if Ibn ‘Uyaynah 
	understood the words of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, “and He 
	blessed it, and measured therein its sustenance” [Fussilat 41:10] as 
	referring to the earth, so whoever sells a house or piece of land has sold 
	that which Allah blessed, so He punishes him by causing there to be no 
	blessing in what he bought of other things such as properties and stores. 
	And we ask Allah for guidance and help.
End quote 
	from Bayaan Mushkil al-Athaar, 9/206  
Mullah ‘Ali 
	al-Qaari said: Selling land and houses and using the money to buy movable 
	items is not mustahabb, because it has a lot of benefits and is not subject 
	to developing problems; no one could steal it or raid it and take it away, 
	unlike movable items. So it is better that it not be sold and it is better 
	that it is price be put into (buying) another piece of land or a house. 
End quote 
	from Mirqaah al-Mafaateeh Sharh Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 5/1983 
What is 
	meant by “putting its price into” is using it to buy a house or piece of 
	land, when buying houses and land leads revitalising dead land. There is no 
	difference between buying a house that is already built or buying a piece of 
	land then building on it to achieve the purpose, which is to revitalise and 
	develop dead land. 
Al-Manaawi 
	(may Allah have mercy on him) said: Because man is required to leave a 
	legacy on the land, so when his legacy is erased by selling (his property) 
	because he wants the price, he will be punished by missing out on the 
	blessing.
End quote 
	from Fayd al-Qadeer Sharh al-Jaami‘ as-Sagheer, 6/121 
This ruling 
	applies when there is no real need to sell the piece of land or house. If 
	there is a real need to sell it, such as if a person is in debt and payment 
	is now due, and so on, and he has nothing except this house, then this is 
	not included in the hadeeth; rather he has to sell it and pay off his debt. 
And Allah knows best.