and the sale of standing crops for grain means that the crop in a field is sold for a known measure of grain; the sale of dates on the palms for measured dried dates means that the dates on the palms are sold for a number of wasqs of dried dates; and sharecropping means assigning one-third, one-quarter, or a similar share of the yield. Zayd said that he asked ʿAtā ibn Abī Rabāh, ‘Did you hear Jābir mention this from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’”

These hadiths may be cited as evidence by those who prohibit both leasing and sharecropping, because he prohibited leasing the land, and the term used for leasing is broad enough to include both arrangements. He also said, “Whoever owns land should cultivate it or grant its use to his brother. If he does neither, he should retain it.” Thus, he permitted only that the owner cultivate it himself or grant its use to another; he did not permit him to receive compensation for its use, whether through leasing or sharecropping.

Those who permit sharecropping—but not leasing—maintain that “renting” here denotes either leasing or the invalid form of sharecropping they used to practice, as opposed to valid sharecropping, whose supporting evidence will be presented below. This latter arrangement was employed by the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—in his dealings with the people of Khaybar, and it was practiced after him by the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the rest of the Companions.

This is supported by the fact that Ibn ʿUmar, who stopped leasing land after Rāfiʿ informed him of the hadith, himself narrated the hadith concerning the people of Khaybar in the manner of one who issued rulings in accordance with it. It is also supported by the fact that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited the sale of standing crops for grain, the sale of dates on the palms for measured dried dates, sharecropping for a portion of the yield, and advance sales of fruit for successive years. All these involve forms of prohibitive uncertainty. The uncertainty inherent in leasing is even more evident than that involved in sharecropping, as previously explained.

Those who permit leasing but not sharecropping cite the report related by Muslim in his Sahih from Thābit ibn al-Dahhāk: “The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibited sharecropping, directed that land be leased, and said, ‘There is no harm in it.’” This explicitly prohibits sharecropping and commands leasing. They also argue from what will be related below from Rāfiʿ ibn