Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

It is narrated from Hazrat Rafi’ bin Khadij (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us from such an act in which only we benefit. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us from giving someone’s land to another on the basis of sharecropping for a third or a quarter of the produce. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever owns land should either cultivate it himself or leave it for his brother.

Hazrat Ibn Ma'qil was asked about sharecropping. He said that Hazrat Thabit bin Dhahak (may Allah have mercy on him) informed me that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it.

It is narrated from Hazrat Jabir that the Holy Prophet ﷺ forbade giving land on sharecropping.

Hazrat Amr bin Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that we used to give land on sharecropping and did not consider there to be any harm in it, until Hazrat Rafi’ bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) thought that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had prohibited it, so we abandoned this practice because of him.

It is narrated from Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade giving land on sharecropping. The narrator says, I asked, "What is meant by mukhabarah?" He (peace be upon him) replied, "To give land on sharecropping for half or one-third of the produce."

Hazrat Habib bin Abi Thabit narrates that I was sitting with Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) in Masjid Haram, when a person came to him and said, "We take land from landlords, and we work on it with our own seeds and oxen, and we take our share from them and give them their share." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him, "Take only the principal amount, do not take more than that." The man asked him three times, and each time he gave the same answer.

Hazrat Ikrimah disliked sharecropping for one-third and one-fourth.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) disliked sharecropping for a third or a quarter.

Hazrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) disliked giving land on rent.

Hazrat Tawoos says: Do not give land and seeds on rent.

It is narrated from Hazrat Rafi’ bin Khadij (may Allah have mercy on him) that Hazrat Abu Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us from the service of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade us from a certain matter. He was very gentle with us, but obedience to Allah and His Messenger is the most gentle thing. He instructed us not to give our land for sharecropping. We are commanded either to cultivate our own land or to work on land that has been given without compensation.

Hazrat Dhahhak bin Muzahim says that the land has only two permissible qualities: a person may give the land he owns to someone temporarily, or he may give the land for a fixed period for a fixed rent.

Ibrahim says that the best principle of farming is that a person should lease his land to someone else for a known rent.

Hazrat Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) says that farming is not proper except on the land of which you are the owner; that is, the land which someone has given temporarily for the purpose of gaining profit.

Hazrat Rifa’ah bin Rafi’ bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade sharecropping and leasing of land, except that a person buys it or rents it for a specified period. Then he said that my respected father took a piece of land on loan from a person and cultivated it and built a structure on it. Then the owner of the land came there, saw the structure, and asked, “Who built this structure?” People said, “Such-and-such person to whom you had given the land on loan.” He said, “Is this the compensation for what I gave him?” People said, “Yes.” He said, “I will not leave from here until you demolish it.”