Sharecropping

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Allah Almighty gave Khaybar to His Messenger as fay' (spoils acquired without fighting). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) let its people remain there, and he divided (the produce of) the land into two shares between them and himself. He sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him), who estimated the produce, and then said: "O community of Jews, you are the most hateful of creation to me. You killed the prophets of Allah Almighty and you attributed lies to Allah Almighty, yet my hatred for you does not drive me to treat you unjustly. I have estimated that there will be twenty thousand wasqs of dates. If you wish, take it on this basis; and if you refuse, then I will take it." They said: "It is by this (truth and justice) that the heavens and the earth stand."
Imam Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Khaybar. He estimated the produce for them and then gave them the choice either to take (the produce) according to that estimate or to hand it over. They said: "It is by this (justice) that the heavens and the earth stand."
Imam Ahmad recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, al-Umari, whose narrations are hasan (sound), though there is criticism about him; the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When the Messenger of Allah conquered Khaybar, he agreed with the Jews that the Jews would give half the fruit to the Muslims and that they would look after the land (that is, do the work), and that "I will let you remain here as long as Allah Almighty lets you remain." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him), who estimated the produce there and then gave them the choice either to take it according to that estimate or to leave that share. The Jews came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained to him that he had made too high an estimate. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) summoned Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) and mentioned to him what they had said. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "That is my assessment, O Messenger of Allah. If they wish, they may take it accordingly; and if they wish, they may leave it and we will take it." The Jews were satisfied and said: "It is by this that the heavens and the earth stand." (The narrator says:) Then, during the illness in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Two religions shall not remain together in the Arabian Peninsula." When this reached Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he sent word to the Jews of Khaybar and said: "The Messenger of Allah allowed you to remain on these lands and set the condition for you that he would let you remain as long as Allah Almighty let you remain. Now Allah Almighty has permitted your expulsion." So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) expelled every Jew and every Christian from the land of the Hijaz, and then divided that land among the people of Madinah.
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Salih bin Abi al-Akhdar, and he is da'if (weak), though he has also been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Khaybar (to the Jews) in return for half (or, the narrator is unsure, perhaps the words were:) a third of the produce.
Al-Bazzar recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, al-Khazraj bin al-Khattab, whom al-Azdi declared weak.

Urwah narrates: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Khaybar, he sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) to settle the shares with the Jews. When Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to them, they gave Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) food as a gift, but Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) disliked taking anything from them and said: "The Messenger of Allah has sent me as a just arbiter between himself and you, so I have no interest in your gift." Then he estimated their date palms, and when the estimate was complete, Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) gave them the choice, saying: "If you wish, I will guarantee you your share and you hold to it; and if you wish, you guarantee us our share and you hold to it." They chose to guarantee (our share) and to hold to it. They said: "O Ibn Rawahah, this that you have offered us and by which you are acting is what the heavens and the earth stand by; these two stand only by the truth." (The narrator says:) The shares of Khaybar went to everyone who had taken part in Hudaybiyah. No one took part in it who had not been present at Hudaybiyah, none of them stayed behind from it, and no one other than them took part in it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not permit anyone who had stayed behind from his expedition to Hudaybiyah to take part in Khaybar.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir in this way as a mursal report; its chain contains a narrator, Ibn Lahi'ah, and he is hasan al-hadith (sound in hadith); the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.

Ibn Shihab narrates concerning the conquest of Khaybar: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) to divide its fruit with the Jews. When Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) came to them, they gave Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) food as a gift and began talking with him, and they also wanted to give him some of their women's jewellery. They said: "This is for you, and lighten (the estimate) for us and be lenient." Sayyiduna Ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O community of Jews, by Allah, you are the most hateful of all people to me. The Messenger of Allah has sent me as a just arbiter between you and himself. I have no interest in your worldly goods, nor will I treat you unjustly. You have offered me something unlawful, and I will not consume it." Then he estimated the produce of the date palms, and when he had finished the estimate, he gave them the choice, saying: "If you wish, I will guarantee you your share; and if you wish, you guarantee us our share and manage the rest yourselves." They chose to give the guarantee and to continue looking after it. They said: "O Ibn Rawahah, this by which you act is what the heavens and the earth stand by, and these two stand only by the truth."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir as a mursal report, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abdullah bin Ubayd bin Umayr, describing the agreement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the Jews of Khaybar, narrates: He said: "Half of the date produce will be ours and half will be yours, and you are to do the work on our behalf." When the fruit there had ripened, they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and requested of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Our dates have ripened, so send an assessor to estimate (the produce) between us and you." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him). When he had gone round their date palms and examined them, he said: "By Allah, to my knowledge there is no one among the creation of Allah who attributes greater lies to Allah Almighty, or is a greater enemy of the Messenger of Allah, than you. And by Allah, Allah Almighty has not created anyone more hateful to me than you. Yet by Allah, even this does not drive me to wrong you by the weight of a speck, and I know this well." The narrator says: Then he estimated all of the produce, both what was due to him and what was due to the Jews, and it came to eighty thousand wasqs. The Jews said: "You have wronged us." Sayyiduna Ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If you wish, give us forty thousand wasqs and we will hand the fruit over to you; and if you wish, we will give you forty thousand wasqs and you separate yourselves from us." They looked at one another and then said: "It is by this that the heavens and the earth stand, and it is by this that these people have prevailed over you."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir as a mursal report, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me to the villages of Uraynah and instructed me to collect the share of the land.
Imam Ahmad recorded it, and al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir. He said: Al-Ashja'i said: This means a third or a quarter of the produce.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Jabir al-Ju'fi, and he is da'if (weak), though Shu'bah and Sufyan declared him thiqah (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade muhaqalah and muzabanah, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Farming may be done in three cases: a man has his own land and farms it; a man is given land as a gift, so he farms it; and a man has rented land in exchange for gold or silver." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: This report is mentioned in the Sahih without this context.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not declare the renting of land unlawful; rather, he commanded the adoption of noble character.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains a narrator, Umar bin Wajih, and I have not found anyone who gave his biography.

Amir bin Abd al-Rahman bin Nistas narrates concerning the conquest of Khaybar: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered it, and all of its land, its fields and its date orchards came into the ownership of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). But he and his Companions did not have enough slaves (to work there). So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made a settlement with the Jews on the condition: "You will do the work on our behalf and you will receive half the date produce, on the condition that I let you remain here for as long as Allah and His Messenger see fit." (Then, when it was time to harvest the dates,) he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) to estimate the produce there. When Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) gave them the choice, the Jews chose the dates. After that, Khaybar remained continuously with the Jews under the settlement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), until the time of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came and he ordered that they be removed from there. The Jews said: "Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not make a settlement with us in return for such and such a share of the produce?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Yes, he did, but on the condition that we would let you remain here for as long as Allah and His Messenger saw fit. Now I consider it appropriate to remove you." So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) removed them, and then divided that land among the Muslims who had taken part in its conquest with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not give anything of that land to anyone who had not been present at the conquest of Khaybar. The narrator says: Now its owners are Muslims and there is no Jew there. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had ordered the estimation only so that the zakah could be calculated before the fruit was eaten.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; I have not found anyone who gave the biography of this narrator Amir, and the remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.