الْحَدِيثُ التَّاسِعُ: عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ قَالَ { كُنَّا أَكْثَرَ الْأَنْصَارِ حَقْلًا . وَكُنَّا نُكْرِي الْأَرْضَ ، عَلَى أَنَّ لَنَا هَذِهِ ، وَلَهُمْ هَذِهِ فَرُبَّمَا أَخْرَجَتْ هَذِهِ ، وَلَمْ تُخْرِجْ هَذِهِ فَنَهَانَا عَنْ ذَلِكَ . فَأَمَّا بِالْوَرِقِ: فَلَمْ يَنْهَنَا } .
Sayyiduna Rafi’ bin Khadij رضي الله عنه narrates that among the Ansar, we had more fields and we used to give our land on rent (i.e., lease), on the condition that this part is ours and this part is theirs (i.e., the tenants’). Sometimes it happened that the crop would grow from one part but nothing would come from the other (meaning one would benefit and the other would suffer loss), so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forbade us from doing this. But he صلى الله عليه وسلم did not forbid us from doing this in exchange for silver money.
Explanation of terms:
حقلا: Land used for cultivation and farming.
نكري To give on rent, i.e., to lease. / Dual and plural masculine and feminine of the first person, present tense verb, form of verbs.
Explanation of the Hadith:
When the owner reserves a part of the land for himself, it benefits the owner and harms the cultivator, because the owner allocates to himself the part of the land which is more fertile or near water, so that its yield is higher and he gets a more profitable share. Therefore, it was declared forbidden. Even if the parts of the land are equal, it is still not permissible, because one party suffers loss and the other gains profit, which is completely against the objectives of Shariah. Shariah forbids one party from taking advantage in a partnership where profit and loss are shared equally; therefore, both should be equal partners in profit and loss. However, doing such a transaction in exchange for silver does not carry the risk of such deception, rather a fixed wage is agreed upon beforehand for the cultivator, so it was not prohibited.
(288) صحيح البخارى، كتاب المزارعة ، باب الشروط فى المزارعة ، ح: 2327 – صحيح مسلم، كتاب البيوع ، باب كراء الأرض بالذهب والورق ، ح: 1547
289 – وَلِمُسْلِمٍ عَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ بْنِ قَيْسٍ قَالَ { سَأَلْتُ رَافِعَ بْنَ خَدِيجٍ عَنْ كِرَاءِ الْأَرْضِ بِالذَّهَبِ وَالْوَرِقِ؟ فَقَالَ: لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ . إنَّمَا كَانَ النَّاسُ يُؤَاجِرُونَ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَا عَلَى الْمَاذِيَانَاتِ ، وَأَقْبَالِ الْجَدَاوِلِ ، وَأَشْيَاءَ مِنْ الزَّرْعِ فَيَهْلِكُ هَذَا ، وَيَسْلَمُ هَذَا وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِلنَّاسِ كِرَاءٌ إلَّا هَذَا . وَلِذَلِكَ زَجَرَ عَنْهُ . فَأَمَّا شَيْءٌ مَعْلُومٌ مَضْمُونٌ: فَلَا بَأْسَ بِهِ . الْمَاذِيَانَاتِ الْأَنْهَارُ الْكِبَارُ وَالْجَدْوَلُ النَّهْرُ الصَّغِيرُ } .
Hanzalah bin Qais narrates that I asked Sayyiduna Rafi’ bin Khadij رضي الله عنه about giving land on rent (lease) in exchange for gold and silver, and he said: There is no harm. In fact, during the time of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, people used to give on wage those lands which were on the edges of canals and at the heads of small streams, and some parts of the cultivated land. Sometimes these would get damaged and others would remain intact, and sometimes vice versa, but people had no other way of leasing except this. Because of these damages, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم reprimanded them (i.e., forbade it), but there is no harm in that compensation which is known and fixed.
Explanation of terms:
لا بأس به: No fear, no harm, no sin.
الماذيانات: A little crop growing on the edges of large canals on both sides.
أقبال الجداول: Those small canals from which cultivated lands are irrigated, which we call streams, and the produce growing at their heads.
Explanation of the Hadith:
From this hadith, it is understood that giving land on lease on the condition that your wage will be the produce or grain obtained from a certain part of the land is absolutely not permissible, because it is an ambiguous transaction and there is a risk of loss for both parties. However, it is completely permissible to give it on lease with a fixed compensation agreed upon.
Narrator of the Hadith:
Hanzalah رضي الله عنه belonged to the Ansar and was a Madani Tabi’i. He is counted among the jurists of the Tabi’in. He narrated very few hadiths.
(289) صحيح مسلم، كتاب البيوع ، باب كراء الأرض بالذهب والورق ، ح: 1547
