the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘I shall allow you to remain there on those terms for as long as we wish.’ The produce from one half of Khaybar was apportioned among the holders of the shares, and the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—would take the one-fifth share.”

In another narration of Muslim, Abd Allah ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—“entrusted the palm groves and land of Khaybar to the Jews of Khaybar on condition that they cultivate them at their own expense, while the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—was to receive half their produce.” Ibn Abbās reported that “the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—entrusted Khaybar—its palm groves and land—to its inhabitants for a half share.” This was narrated by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Mājah.

Tāwūs related: “Muādh ibn Jabal let out land during the time of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—Abū Bakr, Umar, and Uthmān, for a one-third or one-quarter share. This practice has continued to be followed down to your own day.” This was narrated by Ibn Mājah. Tāwūs lived in Yemen and learned from Muādh’s companions there, who were among the foremost members of the generation that lived through both the pre-Islamic and Islamic periods.

His words, “and Umar and Uthmān,” mean: “We used to do likewise during the time of Umar and Uthmān.” The verb was omitted because the circumstances made it clear, for the audience knew that Muādh had left Yemen during the caliphate of al-Siddīq, arrived in Syria during Umar’s caliphate, and died there during that same caliphate.

Al-Bukhārī said in his Sahih: Qays ibn Muslim reported from Abū Jafar—meaning al-Bāqir—who said, “There was no Emigrant household in Medina that did not practice sharecropping for a one-third or one-quarter share.” He said, “Alī, Saīd ibn Mālik, Abd Allah ibn Masūd, Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz, al-Qāsim, Urwa, the family of Abū Bakr, the family of Umar, the family of Alī, and Ibn Sīrīn all engaged in sharecropping. Umar entered into arrangements with people on the basis that if he supplied the seed himself, he would receive half, while if they supplied the seed, they would receive such-and-such.”

These reports cited by al-Bukhārī were also narrated by more than one compiler of collections of transmitted reports.