Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
Only one form of rental was prevalent, based on a third, a quarter, or a specified portion of the crop.
In this arrangement, the produce from water channels, drains, etc., was allocated exclusively for the owner; this form was declared prohibited.

Hadith Commentary:

In some narrations, instead of the wording "ala al-rub‘" the phrase "ala al-rabi‘" has appeared. "Arbi‘a" is its plural. "Rabi‘" refers to a water channel (nali), and in some narrations, "ala al-rub‘" is found, as is mentioned here, meaning "on a quarter of the produce." However, Hafiz (rahimahullah) has said that the correct version is "ala al-rabi‘," and the meaning is that they would stipulate as rent for the land that the produce from the water channels would go to the landowner, and the remaining produce would belong to the one who worked the land.

Upon this, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Do not do this. Either cultivate the land yourself, or have it cultivated, or leave it fallow. Or grant it to your Muslim brother for cultivation as a gift.

It is prohibited for the cultivator to specify a particular portion of the land for himself, because in this there is a possibility of harm to the cultivator, and in a way, even to the landowner, because it is possible that the yield from that specific portion may be better than from the other portions.

Therefore, sharing the produce by half, a third, or a quarter has been permitted, and this method is still prevalent everywhere to this day.

As for giving the land to the cultivator in exchange for a fixed amount of money or other produce, this method has also been permitted by Islam.

Further details regarding these statements will be mentioned in the upcoming ahadith.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has determined the meaning of the narrations mentioned under this chapter heading: that the narrations in which the prohibition of sharecropping (muzara‘ah) is mentioned are intended as a teaching of asceticism (zuhd), so that feelings of compassion and selflessness (ithar) may develop among people. The prohibition here is not intended as a prohibition of unlawfulness (tahrim).
(2)
If the question arises that leaving land uncultivated is wasting wealth, then the answer is given as follows: this does not suspend the benefit (manfa‘ah) of the land, because grass and the like will grow abundantly, which will provide ample fodder for animals. Additionally, wood and similar resources can also be obtained, and if nothing else, the growth and strength of the land will increase so that a greater crop may be produced in the following year.
In any case, the prohibition applies to specific situations, the details of which have already been clarified.

Explanation:
1:
See the previous hadith and its commentary.

Benefits and Issues:
This prohibition concerns the prevalent incorrect form.

Urdu marginal note:
"Let it remain"—this is an expression of displeasure, not of choice or permission.

(1) "Wasq" is equivalent to sixty sa’ (ṣā‘), and one sa’ is approximately two and a quarter kilograms. Thus, a wasq is roughly three maunds and fifteen kilograms. However, this is not a measure of weight but rather a measure of volume. Mudd (mudd) and sa’ (ṣā‘) were two vessels in which they used to measure grain.

Urdu marginal note:
“He has opposed.” This opposition is in making a cushion, as has been mentioned in the previous hadith. See, Hadith: 3953, Benefit: 1.

Among the students of Rabi‘ah, when his student Layth narrates, he mentions the uncle after Rafi‘ ibn Khadij and narrates it as marfu‘ (attributed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). When Awza‘i narrates from Rabi‘ah, he narrates it as marfu‘ from Rafi‘, but does not mention “his uncle” after Rafi‘. Malik also narrates in the same way as Awza‘i, but he has differed from Awza‘i in the text, as is found in Hadith: 3931. When Sufyan Thawri narrates from Rabi‘ah, he narrates it as mawquf (stopped at the Companion) from Rafi‘ and does not mention his uncle. However, this difference is not harmful because the narrators who narrate it as marfu‘ are trustworthy, and the addition of a trustworthy narrator is accepted. Therefore, the marfu‘ status of this narration is preferred. As for the issue of Rafi‘ ibn Khadij’s uncle, it is possible that at first he heard it from his uncle, and then later heard it directly from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. For this reason, this hadith is narrated both ways in the Sahihayn. In Sahih al-Bukhari (Hadith: 2339), it is with the mention of “his uncle,” and in Sahih Muslim (Hadith: 1548), it is both with and without the mention of “his uncle.” And Allah knows best.

(1) Apparently, there is no difference in the chains of narration of both hadiths, because in this narration as well, Ibn Rafi‘ is narrating from Rafi‘ bin Khadij, and in the next hadith also. In Tuhfat al-Ashraf, the chain of this hadith is as follows: Usayd bin (akhī) Rafi‘ bin Khadij, he said: Rafi‘ bin Khadij, meaning that the word "akhī" (my brother) is added in between. And this is the correct version. The commentary of Imam al-Nasa’i rahimahullah: "Khalafahu ‘Abd al-Karim bin Malik" is also correct in this case; otherwise, no contradiction is apparent. In this case, it is as if Sa‘id bin ‘Abd al-Rahman, through Mujahid, narrates from Usayd, the nephew of Rafi‘ bin Khadij, and he from Rafi‘ bin Khadij. Whereas ‘Abd al-Karim bin Malik does not narrate from the nephew of Rafi‘ bin Khadij, but from his son, and he from his father Rafi‘. In any case, the correct view is that it is his son who narrates from Rafi‘ bin Khadij, not his nephew, because ‘Abd al-Karim bin Malik is more reliable and more firmly established. And Allah knows best.

(2) "Give it"—that is, if he has surplus (land). Otherwise, if he himself is poor and, due to some excuse, cannot cultivate (for example, he is ill, or a widow, or an orphan, etc.), then without doubt, he can give it for sharecropping (bata’i) for cultivation.

Benefits and Issues:
This refers to a time when the only prevalent method of leasing land in exchange for a fixed portion, such as a third, a quarter, or a specified amount of grain, was that the yield from the piece of land situated near the edges of water channels and irrigation passages, etc., would be allocated to the owner.
It is precisely this method mentioned in the hadith that has been declared prohibited.
And Allah knows best.