A man who farms land without its owners' permission

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him), as a marfu' report (traced to the Prophet), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever cultivates someone else's land without his permission has no share in the crop. His expense is to be returned to him."

Al-Hasan bin Muhammad said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once passed by a lush green piece of land and asked about it. The people said: A man has cultivated another's land without permission. He ordered him to return it and to take back his expense.

Abu Ja'far (may Allah have mercy on him) said: My uncle sent me and a boy to Sa'id bin al-Musayyib and asked him: What do you say about sharecropping (muzara'ah)? He said: Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) saw no harm in it, until this hadith was related to him from Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him): the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Banu Harithah and saw a crop on Zuhayr's land, and he said, "How excellent and fine is Zuhayr's crop!" The people said: It is not Zuhayr's. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, "Is this not Zuhayr's land?" The people said: Certainly it is, but he has given it to so-and-so to sharecrop. He said, "Return his expense to him, and take back your land and your crop." Sayyiduna Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: So we returned his expense to him and took back our crop.

Sa'id said: Lend it to your brother free of charge, or rent it out for silver.