Nasai

Abdur Rahman (Nasa’i) says: Sharecropping agreements should be written in such a way that the seed and its expenses will be borne by the landowner, and the cultivator will receive a quarter of the produce granted by Allah from the crop 1. This is the document which so-and-so son of so-and-so wrote for so-and-so son of so-and-so, written in a state of health and soundness, and at a time when its rulings are enforceable. You have given me all your land, which is at such-and-such place in such-and-such area, on sharecropping, and this is the land identified as follows: its boundaries are that one of them is adjacent to such-and-such place, and likewise the second, third, and fourth boundaries are described. You have given me all your land with all the boundaries mentioned in this document. And you have given all its rights, its water, its canals, and its drains, a land that is empty of everything, with no crops or plants in it, for a full year, which will begin from the start of such-and-such month of such-and-such year, and this agreement will end at the conclusion of such-and-such month of such-and-such year. On the condition that I have taken this entire land, whose boundaries are mentioned in this agreement and which is in such-and-such place, for the specified year from beginning to end for cultivation, and in it I will cultivate whatever and whenever I wish. Wheat, barley, sesame, rice, cotton, dates, greens, chickpeas, beans, lentils, cucumber, melon, carrots, turnips, radish, onions, garlic, or greens or vine flowers, etc., that is, all summer and winter grains, in such a way that the seed will be yours and all the labor will be mine, by my own hand or by whomever I wish among my friends, laborers, and oxen and ploughs, etc. I will cultivate it, develop it, and do such work that it grows and remains proper; I will plough the land, clear its weeds. For the growing crop that needs water, I will irrigate it, and where fertilizer is needed, I will apply fertilizer, I will dig its drains and canals, and I will pick whatever fruit needs to be picked. And whatever crop needs to be harvested, I will harvest and gather it, and whatever harvest needs to be cut, I will have it cut, and whatever expenses are incurred will be on you, not on me, and all this work I will do with my own hand or through my helpers, not with your help, on the condition that during the entire period mentioned in this agreement from beginning to end, whatever Allah causes to grow from this field, three-quarters will be for you, because the land was yours, the seed was yours, and the expenses were yours, and for me, the remaining quarter will be for the reason that I cultivated, worked, and completed it with my own hand and the hands of my helpers, and you handed over to me the entire land whose boundaries are mentioned in this agreement, with all its rights and requirements, and I took this land from you into my possession, from such-and-such day of such-and-such month of such-and-such year. So this entire land is in my hands, which is yours; I have no ownership in it, nor any claim, nor any demand, except for the crop and produce mentioned in this agreement for the specified year, and when the period is completed, the entire land will be returned to you, it will be in your hands, and after the period has passed, you will have the right to remove me from it and take it from my hands and from the hands of anyone who had any involvement in it because of me. So-and-so and so-and-so agreed to this, and two copies of the agreement were written.

´It was narrated that 'Urwah bin Az-Zubair said:` "Zaid bin Thabit said: 'May Allah forgive Rafi' bin Khadij. By Allah, I have more knowledge of the Hadith than him. We were two men who fought and the Messenger of Allah said: If this is how it is between you, then do not lease land. And he only heard the words: Do not lease land.'"