These, then, are the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) who narrated the prohibition from him. They explained both the form of transaction that he prohibited and the reason for its prohibition. Although some versions of the hadith state without qualification that “he prohibited field leasing,” the definite wording refers to the form of leasing familiar among them. When the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) told them, “Do not lease fields,” he meant only the form of leasing they knew, as they themselves understood from his words—and they knew his intent best. This is also borne out by the explicit report from him: “He permitted forms of leasing other than that.” [Also among the things] resembling this is the prohibition of muzābana and similar transactions, which was mentioned alongside it.

Although wording may be unrestricted in itself, when it is addressed to a particular person—such as in response to a question, following an account of a specific situation, or in a similar context—it is often qualified by the addressee’s circumstances. For example, if a sick man tells a physician that he has a fever and the physician says, “Do not eat rich food,” it is understood that the prohibition is limited to that condition.

This is because unrestricted wording, when it has a conventionally understood referent or the circumstances dictate a particular meaning, is construed accordingly. This applies even when the expression is indefinite. For example, if one of two contracting parties says, “I have sold it to you for ten dirhams,” the dirhams are unrestricted in the wording, yet they can refer only to the dirhams customarily in use. Thus, if the people being addressed customarily used the term “leasing” only for the form they practiced, then when they were addressed using that term, it could refer only to what they knew. This is a case of restriction by customary usage. Similarly, if the term “beast” is commonly understood among them to mean a horse or an animal with solid hooves, and someone says, “Do not bring me a beast,” the unrestricted term refers only to that customary meaning. The Prophet’s prohibition to them (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was therefore qualified by customary usage and by the question asked.

The report previously cited from the two Sahih collections, on the authority of Rāfi ibn Khadīj and Zuhayr ibn Rāfi, states: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) summoned me and asked, ‘What do you do with your fields?’ I replied, ‘We lease them in return for what grows along the small stream and for wasqs