Sharecropping

Khaybar is a farming town inhabited by a group of the Jews. After the conquest of Khaybar on the seventh year of Hijrah, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) divided and distributed its lands and farms among the victorious Muslims. Muslims were busy with fighting in the cause of Allah and calling people to Islam and had no time for cultivation. The Jews of Khaybar, however, were more knowledgeable about cultivation because of their long years of experience in farming. For this reason, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) made an agreement with the Jews to cultivate the land and irrigate the trees. They would receive half of the produce of its fruits and crops as a payment for their labor, while the Muslims would receive the other half for being the land owners.

صحيح البخاري، للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام، للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري -مطبعة السعادة- الطبعة الثانية، 1392هـ. تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، عبد الله البسام، تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق -مكتبة الصحابة- الشارقة، الطبعة العاشرة، 1426هـ.

Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj mentioned that his family owned the largest farms and orchards in Madīnah. They used to lease land according to a practice that was common during the pre-Islamic era. They would give out the land to be cultivated in return for the harvest of one side of the land, while the cultivator gets that harvest of the other side. Perhaps one side would yield fruit, while the other would not. They might also allocate the best harvest for the landowner, such as the yield that grows on the banks of rivers and streams. The yield of those parts might be destroyed and the rest would remain safe, or vice versa. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them from this practice because of the uncertainty, ignorance, and injustice it involves. The compensation must be known and specified; and there must be equality in the sharing of profit and loss. If the transaction is entered into for part of the land produce, it will be a sort of partnership in which profits and losses should be equally shared and according to a specific percentage such as one fourth or one half of the produce. If the transaction is made in return for a compensation, this will be a sort of lease in which the compensation must be known. In this case, it does not matter if the compensation takes the form of gold, silver, food produced from the land, food of the same type, or food of a different type. This is because it is either a land lease, letting orchards on special terms, or sharecropping, which are permissible pursuant to this Hadīth, which states: "If the rent is something known and guaranteed, there is no harm in it."

- صحيح مسلم، للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب - الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري -مطبعة السعادة- الطبعة الثانية 1392ه. - تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، عبد الله البسام، تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق، مكتبة الصحابة، الشارقة، الطبعة العاشرة، 1426ه.

This Hadīth clarifies the valid and invalid sharecropping. Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj mentioned that his people owned most of the farms and gardens in Madīnah. They used to sharecrop them in a way that was commonly practiced in the pre-Islamic era. They would give the land to be cultivated in return for receiving the produce of one side of the land and leaving the produce of the other side for the farmer. Sometimes one side would bring forth produce and the other would not. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them from this transaction, due to the great uncertainty and danger it involves. The compensation must be known, and there must also be a sort of equality in profits and losses. If the compensation is part of the produce, then it is sharecropping and partnership in cultivation that should be built upon justice and equality in its profits and losses. Justice could be achieved by assigning a specified proportion/percentage of the produce for each of the parties, such as the fourth or the half, or the like. This form of transaction is permissible whether the payment is given in gold or silver (which is leasing) or in proportion of the land produce (which is sharecropping). This is supported by the Hadīth, which reads: "If the compensation is something known and guaranteed, then there is no objection to it."

- صحيح البخاري، للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم، للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب - الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام، للشيخ إسماعيل الأنصاري -مطبعة السعادة- الطبعة الثانية، 1392ه. - تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، عبد الله البسام، تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق، مكتبة الصحابة، الشارقة، الطبعة العاشرة، 1426ه.