Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
Linguistic meaning:
The word Muḍārabah comes from ضَارَبَ يُضَارِبُ (pattern of mufāʿalah) and is also called Muqāraḍah, meaning partnership in trade.
Sharʿī definition:
A form of trade in which the capital is provided by one party and labor by another, on the condition that profits are shared according to agreed terms, while financial loss is borne by the owner of the capital and the worker loses only his effort.
[al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh, 5/3924]
① Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām رضي الله عنه would give capital for Muḍārabah with the condition: “Do not trade in livestock, do not travel with my goods by sea, and do not enter flood-prone areas. If you do, you will be liable.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, 5/293]
② There is ijmāʿ (consensus) on its legitimacy. Many Companions would invest the wealth of orphans in Muḍārabah, and no one objected.
[Naṣb al-Rāyah, 4/113]
③ This practice is authentically reported from several Companions, including: Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām, Ibn Masʿūd, al-ʿAbbās, Jābir, Abū Mūsā, Ibn ʿUmar, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān رضي الله عنهم.
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq, 8/248; al-Dāraquṭnī, 242]
④ Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله: Its existence in the time of the Prophet ﷺ without objection is clear proof of its legitimacy.
⑤ al-Albānī رحمه الله: In dealings, the default is permissibility unless proven otherwise.
⑥ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله: If it were impermissible, the Prophet ﷺ would have prohibited it.
⑦ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله: Its legitimacy is based on consensus established by textual evidence.
Note: Some object because it is not directly narrated from the Prophet ﷺ. The reply is that taqrīrī ḥadīth (tacit approval) is also a form of Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ was aware of it and did not forbid it, which proves its permissibility.
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا اختلفتم في الطريق فاجعلوه سبعة أذرع
“If you disagree about the width of a path, make it seven cubits.”
[Bukhārī 2473; Muslim 1613]
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:
لا يمنع جار جاره أن يغرز خشبه في جداره
“No neighbor should prevent his neighbor from placing wooden beams in his wall.”
[Bukhārī 2463; Muslim 1609]
He would then say: “What is wrong with you that I see you turning away from this? By Allah, I will keep announcing it among you.”
Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
لا ضرر ولا ضرار
“There should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, 896]
① Dispute over water: When al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه and an Anṣārī disagreed over irrigation, the Prophet ﷺ gave a firm ruling in favor of the one being harmed. [Bukhārī 2359–2360]
② A tree causing harm: Samurah ibn Jundub رضي الله عنه had a tree in an Anṣārī’s garden. His visits caused disturbance, so the Prophet ﷺ offered alternatives: selling, exchanging, or gifting the tree. Samurah refused all, so the Prophet ﷺ ordered:
“This man is harmful; remove his tree.”
[Abū Dāwūd, al-Marāsīl: 407]
◈ Definition and Ruling of Muḍārabah
Linguistic meaning:
The word Muḍārabah comes from ضَارَبَ يُضَارِبُ (pattern of mufāʿalah) and is also called Muqāraḍah, meaning partnership in trade.
Sharʿī definition:
A form of trade in which the capital is provided by one party and labor by another, on the condition that profits are shared according to agreed terms, while financial loss is borne by the owner of the capital and the worker loses only his effort.
[al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh, 5/3924]
◈ Evidence for Its Permissibility
① Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām رضي الله عنه would give capital for Muḍārabah with the condition: “Do not trade in livestock, do not travel with my goods by sea, and do not enter flood-prone areas. If you do, you will be liable.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, 5/293]
② There is ijmāʿ (consensus) on its legitimacy. Many Companions would invest the wealth of orphans in Muḍārabah, and no one objected.
[Naṣb al-Rāyah, 4/113]
③ This practice is authentically reported from several Companions, including: Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām, Ibn Masʿūd, al-ʿAbbās, Jābir, Abū Mūsā, Ibn ʿUmar, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān رضي الله عنهم.
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq, 8/248; al-Dāraquṭnī, 242]
④ Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله: Its existence in the time of the Prophet ﷺ without objection is clear proof of its legitimacy.
⑤ al-Albānī رحمه الله: In dealings, the default is permissibility unless proven otherwise.
⑥ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله: If it were impermissible, the Prophet ﷺ would have prohibited it.
⑦ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله: Its legitimacy is based on consensus established by textual evidence.
Note: Some object because it is not directly narrated from the Prophet ﷺ. The reply is that taqrīrī ḥadīth (tacit approval) is also a form of Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ was aware of it and did not forbid it, which proves its permissibility.
◈ Rights in Shared Pathways
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا اختلفتم في الطريق فاجعلوه سبعة أذرع
“If you disagree about the width of a path, make it seven cubits.”
[Bukhārī 2473; Muslim 1613]
◈ Neighbor’s Right to Use a Wall
Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated:
لا يمنع جار جاره أن يغرز خشبه في جداره
“No neighbor should prevent his neighbor from placing wooden beams in his wall.”
[Bukhārī 2463; Muslim 1609]
He would then say: “What is wrong with you that I see you turning away from this? By Allah, I will keep announcing it among you.”
◈ The Principle of “No Harm”
Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
لا ضرر ولا ضرار
“There should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, 896]
◈ Examples from the Sunnah
① Dispute over water: When al-Zubayr رضي الله عنه and an Anṣārī disagreed over irrigation, the Prophet ﷺ gave a firm ruling in favor of the one being harmed. [Bukhārī 2359–2360]
② A tree causing harm: Samurah ibn Jundub رضي الله عنه had a tree in an Anṣārī’s garden. His visits caused disturbance, so the Prophet ﷺ offered alternatives: selling, exchanging, or gifting the tree. Samurah refused all, so the Prophet ﷺ ordered:
“This man is harmful; remove his tree.”
[Abū Dāwūd, al-Marāsīl: 407]
