The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Whoever has land, let him cultivate it, or let him lend it, and let him not lease it for a third, a quarter, or for specified food."(5) From Ibn 'Umar, he said: "We did not see any harm in sharecropping until I heard Rafi' ibn Khadij say: 'The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prohibited it.'"(7) Jabir said: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) prohibited mukhabarah (sharecropping)."(8) These are all authentic hadiths agreed upon. Mukhabarah is muzara'ah (sharecropping). Its etymology is from al-khabar, which is soft land, and al-khabir is the plowman. It is also said that mukhabarah is the transaction of the people of Khaybar. The hadith of Jabir has come as an explanation; Al-Bukhari(9) narrated, with his chain of transmission(10), from
(5) Recorded by al-Bukhari in: "Chapter: What the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to do in sharing with one another regarding agriculture and fruits," from the Book of Agriculture and Sharecropping, Sahih al-Bukhari 3/141; and Muslim, in: "Chapter: Leasing Land for Food," from the Book of Sales, Sahih Muslim 3/1181. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: "Chapter: On the Strictness Regarding That," from the Book of Sales, Sunan Abi Dawud 2/233; and al-Nasa'i, in: "Chapter: Mentioning the Differing Hadiths Regarding the Prohibition of Leasing Land..." from the Book of Sharecropping, al-Mujtaba 7/39; and Ibn Majah, in: "Chapter: Leasing Land for Food," from the Book of Mortgages, Sunan Ibn Majah 2/823, 824. Al-Bukhari recorded something similar in: "Chapter: What the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to do in sharing with one another regarding agriculture and fruits," from the Book of Agriculture and Sharecropping, Sahih al-Bukhari 3/141. (6) In M: "We heard." (7) Recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud in the aforementioned places. It was also recorded by al-Nasa'i, in: "Chapter: Leasing Land for a Third or a Quarter," from the Book of Sharecropping, al-Mujtaba 7/36, 37; and Ibn Majah, in: "Chapter: Leasing Land," from the Book of Mortgages, Sunan Ibn Majah 2/820. (8) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: "Chapter: A Man Having a Right of Way or a Path in a Wall or Palm Trees," from the Book of Watering/Gardening (al-Musaqat), Sahih al-Bukhari 3/151; and Muslim, in: "Chapter: Prohibition of Muhaqalah, Muzabanah, and Mukhabarah..." and "Chapter: Leasing Land," from the Book of Sales, Sahih Muslim 3/1174, 1175, 1177. It was also recorded by Abu Dawud, in: "Chapter: On Mukhabarah," from the Book of Sales, Sunan Abi Dawud 2/235; and al-Tirmidhi, in: "Chapter: What Has Been Said Regarding the Prohibition of al-Thunya (Exclusion)," and "Chapter: What Has Been Said Regarding Mukhabarah and Mu'awamah (Selling Fruits Before They Are Fit)," from the Books of Sales, 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 5/290, 6/52; and al-Nasa'i, in: "Chapter: Selling Fruit Before Its Ripeness Becomes Apparent," "Chapter: Cultivating with Food," and "Chapter: Prohibition of Selling with Exclusion until Known," from the Book of Sales, al-Mujtaba 7/231, 232, 237, 260; and Imam Ahmad in the Musnad: 3/313, 356, 391. (9) In: "Chapter: The Virtue of the Manihah (Gift)," from the Book of Gifts, Sahih al-Bukhari 3/217. It was also recorded by Muslim, in: "Chapter: Leasing Land," from the Book of Sales, Sahih Muslim 3/1177; and Ibn Majah, in: "Chapter: Sharecropping for a Third or a Quarter," from the Book of Mortgages, Sunan Ibn Majah 2/819. (10) Omitted from: M.
