the fear of deceiving the seller, who has not yet entered the town and does not know the market prices. Hence the Prophet ﷺ said: “When his master reaches the market, he has the option [to confirm or rescind the sale].” (1)

His statement, “a portion”: this stipulation excludes the case where one gives land to someone to cultivate free of charge. This is not called sharecropping, because the entire crop belongs to the worker.

An example of this is a man who owns land and has an unemployed friend. He says to him, “So-and-so, take my land, cultivate it, and seek your provision from Allah through it,” without the landowner receiving any share. This is not called sharecropping; rather, it is a gift granted by the landowner to the one who works it. It is therefore not valid as sharecropping, because sharecropping is a form of partnership, whereas this is a charitable donation.

His statement, “a known proportion”: this excludes an unknown one. Thus, if he says, “Take this land on a sharecropping basis for some of the crop,” this is not permissible, because “some” is unknown; he must specify it.

Moreover, the proportion must be known—that is, it must be known as a proportion, not by specific designation. A proportion would be, for example, one quarter, one third, one tenth, and the like. This excludes what is known by specific designation, for sharecropping is not valid with such a designation. For instance, if he says, “You shall have the eastern side of the land, and I shall have the western side,” this is not permissible, because one side may yield a crop while the other is destroyed, or vice versa.

The principle in a partnership is that the two partners share alike in gain and loss. Thus, if he says, “You shall have this year’s crop, and I shall have next year’s crop—”