does its cultivator bring it about through any work or effort. Rather, it is Allah, blessed and exalted is He, who brings it forth from the earth, causes it to grow there, and, by His power, takes it from one stage to another until it becomes useful, out of His mercy towards His servants. For this reason, land may not be leased in return for anything it produces, even if it is not edible, nor for any food, even if the land does not produce it. For if the rent is food, the tenant has given the landowner food in return for receiving the food that Allah Most High causes to grow on his land through the tenant’s cultivation and labour. The transaction thus involves exchanging food for food with deferred delivery and unequal quantities where inequality is impermissible; it also involves a sale entailing uncertainty and muzābanah. This is the muhāqalah prohibited by the Prophet, peace be upon him. If the rent is not food but something such as flax, cotton, or the like, the transaction involves muzābanah and constitutes the mukhābarah prohibited by the Prophet, peace be upon him. The latter term derives from khabr, meaning tilling the land: mukhābarah is leasing land in return for a portion of its produce. Leasing is permissible in return for other things, including dinars, dirhams, goods, and animals, whether individually specified or defined by description. This is the position of Mālik, may Allah have mercy on him, and most of his followers.

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Scholars have differed considerably over leasing land because the apparent meanings of the reports transmitted from the Prophet, peace be upon him, on this matter conflict. Among these is his prohibition, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of leasing farmland. This prohibition has been transmitted from him through Rāfi' ibn Khadīj in various wordings. It has also been transmitted from him through the report of “Jābir ibn 'Abd Allāh, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, addressed us, saying: ‘Whoever has