the rule of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—, during the caliphates of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān, and through the early part of Muʿāwiya’s caliphate. Then a report reached him from Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—had prohibited leasing farmland. Ibn ʿUmar therefore went to Rāfiʿ, and I accompanied him. He asked him about it, and Rāfiʿ replied, ‘The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited leasing farmland.’ Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘You know that we used to lease our farmland in return for the produce growing beside the irrigation channels and a quantity of straw.’” Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim related it in their Sahih collections. This is al-Bukhārī’s wording. Muslim’s wording is: “This continued until, near the end of Muʿāwiya’s caliphate, he learned that Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj was relating a prohibition concerning it from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him. He went to see Rāfiʿ, and I accompanied him. When he asked him, Rāfiʿ replied, ‘The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—used to prohibit leasing farmland.’ Ibn ʿUmar thereafter ceased leasing it. Whenever he was subsequently asked about it, he would say, ‘Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj maintains that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited it.’”

Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar reported: “ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar used to lease out his land until he learned that Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj al-Ansārī prohibited leasing land. ʿAbd Allah met him and asked, ‘Ibn Khadīj, what do you report from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—concerning the leasing of land?’ Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj replied to ʿAbd Allah, ‘I heard my two paternal uncles—both of whom had witnessed Badr—telling the members of the household that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited leasing land.’ ʿAbd Allah said, ‘I certainly knew that land was leased during the time of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him.’ But ʿAbd Allah then feared that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—might have subsequently issued a ruling concerning it of which he was unaware, so he ceased leasing land.” Muslim related it.

Al-Bukhārī also related the concluding statement of ʿAbd Allah through Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj, from his paternal uncle Zuhayr ibn Rāfiʿ. Zuhayr said, “The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited us from a practice that had been advantageous to us.” I asked, “What was that? Whatever the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said is true.” He replied, “I was summoned by