the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: “Whoever owns land should cultivate it himself or let his brother cultivate it; he should not lease it for a third or a quarter of its produce, or for food.”

This view, too, does not withstand scrutiny, for they permit leasing land in return for non-food crops grown on it. Yet it is established that “the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade mukhābara,” meaning leasing land in return for its produce. Such a transaction involves the muzābana and uncertainty that he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prohibited. For when someone leases land in return for flax or cotton, he has exchanged that flax or cotton for whatever the land produces of the same crop. This constitutes the impermissible uncertainty and muzābana.

Others held that land may be leased for dinars, dirhams, goods, food, or anything else, provided that the payment is specified. What is impermissible is payment consisting of a share of the land’s produce, because this involves uncertainty: this is the sharecropping that the Prophet, peace be upon him, prohibited. This is the position of al-Shāfi‘ī, and it is the apparent meaning of Mālik’s statement in the Book of Irrigation Partnerships in al-Muwatta’, where he said: “Land without trees should not be made subject to an irrigation partnership, since its owner may lease it for dinars, dirhams, and similar specified payments.” Nevertheless, this is not an established position of his.

Those who hold this view cite the report that Rāfi‘ ibn Khadīj was asked about leasing land for gold and silver, and replied: “There is nothing wrong with that. In the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, people used to lease land in return for the crops growing along the large watercourses and at the heads of irrigation channels. One crop would perish while another survived, or one would survive while another perished. That is why the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prohibited it.” He added: “But as for a guaranteed, specified payment, there is no prohibition.”

A similar view has been reported from al-Layth ibn Sa‘d. It, too, is incorrect, because “the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade muhāqala and mukhābara”: leasing land in return for wheat or for what it produces, whether food or otherwise.

Others held that land may be leased for dinars, dirhams, goods, food, or a share of its produce. Their evidence for permitting land to be leased in return for a share