The evidence for the permissibility of musāqāt and muzāraʿa is the hadith of Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them) in which “the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—made an arrangement with the people of Khaybar for half of whatever the land produced in fruit or grain.” Agreed upon. Muslim also relates: “The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—turned over the date-palms and land of Khaybar to its Jewish inhabitants on condition that they cultivate them at their own expense and that they would receive one half of the fruit,” i.e., fifty percent. Imam Ahmad records: “The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—assigned the land and palm-groves of Khaybar to its people, dividing the yield equally, half and half.” These reports establish the validity of musāqāt.

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said: “The Khaybar incident proves that musāqāt and muzāraʿa are lawful when the worker is given a share of the yield, whether fruit or grain. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—contracted with the people of Khaybar, and that arrangement remained in force until his death; it was never abrogated. The Rightly Guided Caliphs continued to apply it. It is not a rental but a partnership, exactly like muḍāraba.”

Al-Muwaffaq Ibn Qudāma stated: “The Rightly Guided Caliphs practiced this throughout their caliphates; the matter became well known and was never contested, which amounts to consensus.” He added: “One may not rely on anything that contradicts the hadith and the consensus. Many owners of palm-groves and orchards are unable to maintain and irrigate them, nor can they afford to hire workers; at the same time, many people own no trees yet need the fruit. Permitting musāqāt therefore satisfies both needs.”