Hadith Reference:
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ عَامَلَ أَهْلَ خَيْبَرَ بِشَطْرِ مَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا مِنْ تَمْرٍ أَوْ زَرْعٍ
Narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (RA):
“The Prophet ﷺ entered into an agreement with the people of Khaybar to work on the land in exchange for half of the yield of dates or crops.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: 2329; Sahih Muslim: 1551]
✿ Explanation of Terminology:
- عامل (ʿĀmala): To enter into a mutual agreement or contract.
- مساقات (Musāqāt): A specific type of contract where the owner of a garden or agricultural land assigns its cultivation to someone else on the basis of sharing the produce.
✿ Explanation of the Hadith and the Concept:
The Hadith illustrates the practice of Musāqāt, where:
- The owner of an orchard or agricultural land enters into a contract with a laborer/farmer.
- The laborer is responsible for cultivating, irrigating, and managing the crops or trees.
- In return, the produce is shared based on a pre-agreed proportion (e.g., half of the harvest).
This is similar to Muzāraʿah, another form of sharecropping, but Musāqāt is usually specific to orchards or tree-based agriculture (like date palms), whereas Muzāraʿah often refers to ploughed fields and general farming.
This type of arrangement is permissible in Islam and was practiced by the Prophet ﷺ himself, as shown in the agreement made with the people of Khaybar.
📘 This explanation is derived from the Urdu commentary on ‘Umdat al-Aḥkām min Kalām Khayr al-Anām, translated by Hafiz Faizullah Nasir.
