by the destruction of his property, this is an analogy with a relevant difference, for his debt is attached to his liability, whereas zakah is attached to this particular property.

The tithe is due from the lessee of the land, not from its owner.

His statement, “The tithe is due from the lessee of the land, not from its owner,” means that zakah on fruits and grains is due from the lessee rather than the owner. Had the author said, “Zakah on fruits and grains is due from the lessee, not from the owner,” this would have been more comprehensive than his words, “The tithe is due,” since the obligatory amount may be one-tenth, or it may be half of one-tenth. However, the author chose this wording because, after the Islamic conquests, most lands were irrigated by rivers without expense. Thus, scholars refer to zakah on grains and fruits as “the tithe,” by which they mean that zakah is obligatory, whether the amount due is one-tenth or otherwise.

The reason it is obligatory is that the lessee owns the grains and fruits, whereas the owner of the land is entitled only to the rent.

But someone may ask: How can date palms be leased? Are date palms leased at all?

According to the madhhab—the view of most scholars—date palms cannot be leased. That is, one cannot go to the owner of an orchard and say, “Lease me these date palms for ten years,” for example, because the fruit does not yet exist, and it is not known whether the yield of fruit will equal the rent, be less than it, or exceed it.

The Prophet forbade the sale of fruits until they show signs of ripeness (1). This is all the more so, since here the contract is made before the fruit has even appeared, and thus involves uncertainty.