It is reported from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) people had surplus lands, and they used to rent them out for a third, a quarter or a half. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever has surplus land, let him cultivate it himself or give it to his brother. If he refuses, let him just leave it as it is." And the wording of Ubaydullah's narration is the same.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11711
Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) we used to take land along the banks of the streams for a third or a quarter. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and said: "Whoever has land should cultivate it; if he cannot do so himself, let him give it to his brother; and if he does not take it either, let him just leave it as it is."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11712
Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) we used to practise mukhabarah (crop-sharing), taking a share of the grain that remains in the channels after harvesting. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever has land, let him put it to cultivation or let his brother cultivate it; otherwise, let him leave it as it is."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11713
Sayyiduna Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) we used to practise muhaqalah. One of the paternal uncles of Sayyiduna Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) came (Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: His name was Zuhayr (may Allah be pleased with him)) and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden a practice that was of benefit to us, but the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is of greater benefit to us. The people asked: What is that practice? He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever has land, let him cultivate it or let his brother cultivate it, and let him not rent it out for a third, a quarter or for food."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11714
Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We used to take land by muhaqalah; we would rent out land for a third, a quarter and a specified amount of food, and in those days there was no gold or silver. One day one of my paternal uncles met me and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden us practices that were of benefit to us, but the pleasure of Allah and His Messenger is of greater benefit to us. We used to practise muhaqalah with land and rent it out for a third, a quarter and a specified amount of food; then he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us that, and ordered the owner of the land "to cultivate it himself or have it cultivated", and he disliked renting it out.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11715
Abu al-Najashi said: I stayed with Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) for six years. He narrated to me from his paternal uncle Zuhayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that one day he met him and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden us a practice that was of benefit to us. Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: Whatever the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said is the truth. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What do you think of the muhaqalah you practise?" We said: We let it out for a quarter, and for wasqs of dates and barley. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not do that; cultivate it or leave it."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11716
Hanzalah bin Qays asked Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) about renting out land, and he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it." I said: For gold and silver? Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There is no harm in it for gold and silver.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11717
Ibn Shihab asked Salim bin Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him) about renting out land, and he said: There is no harm in it. I said: What is your view of the hadith of Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him)? He said: Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) went too far (in this). If I had land, I would rent it out.
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It may be that Salim (may Allah have mercy on him) heard the hadith from Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) in general terms and thought that he narrated it about (renting for) gold and silver. Therefore he saw no harm in (renting for) gold and silver. And others besides Malik bin Anas (may Allah have mercy on him) have made clear from Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) that "he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade renting out land in return for its produce."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11718
Hanzalah bin Qays asked Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) about renting out land, and he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) "forbade renting out land in return for its produce." Hanzalah said: I asked about giving it out for gold and silver, and Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There is no harm in it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11719
Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) said: My paternal uncles (may Allah be pleased with them) told me that in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) they used to rent out land in return for what the land produced, or for something which the owner of the land stipulated as excepted. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade that. I said to Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him): How is it for dirhams and dinars? Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There is no harm in it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11720
Hanzalah bin Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) about renting out land for gold and silver, and he said: There is no harm in it. In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), people used to rent it out for the banks of the streams, the heads of the water channels and the produce of the land. Sometimes one part would perish and another would survive, and people had no form of renting except this; that is why he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it. But if it is something specified, there is no harm in it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11721
Hanzalah bin Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) heard Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) say: We had the most farmland among the Ansar. We used to rent out land on the condition that this (part) would be ours and this theirs. Sometimes it would yield produce and sometimes it would not, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us that. As for silver, he did not forbid us.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11722
Hanzalah bin Qays al-Ansari (may Allah have mercy on him) heard Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) say: We had the most cultivated land of the people of Madinah, and we used to rent out land in return for one side of it that would belong to the owner of the land. Sometimes this land would be damaged and sometimes that, and sometimes this would remain sound and sometimes that. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade us that. As for gold and silver, they were not (used for this) in that time.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11723
Sayyiduna Usayd bin Zuhayr (may Allah be pleased with him), the nephew of Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him), said: When one of us had no need of his land, he would give it out for a third, a quarter or a half, stipulating three water channels, the chaff, what the spring water irrigated, and the produce; and life was hard then. We worked the lands with iron tools, and from whatever Allah willed we would obtain benefit. Then Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us and said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden you a practice that was of benefit to you, but obedience to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is of greater benefit to you; he (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden you muhaqalah and said: "Whoever has no need of his land, let him give it to his brother or leave it." And he forbade you muzabanah, and muzabanah is that a man has an orchard, then another man comes and says: I take it for so many wasqs of dates.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11724
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade muhaqalah and muzabanah, and said: "Farming may be done in three ways: the owner of the land cultivates it; a man who is given land cultivates it; and a man who rents it for gold or silver."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11725
It is reported from Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was cultivating land, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by him while he was watering it. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "For whom are you cultivating, and whose land is it?" Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: The crop is mine, by my seed and my labour; half is mine and half belongs to Banu so-and-so. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have engaged in usury (riba); return the land to its owner and take your expenses."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11726
Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: People used to rent out farmland in return for what grew along the watercourse and what the water reached around the plants of the crop, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade them that and ordered them: "to rent it out for gold and silver."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب المزارعة / 11727