to swear, even if the rent he acknowledged exceeded the fair rental value, was that, if he declined to swear, he would be required to uproot his crop.

The fourth case is where the cultivator claims that the landowner leased the land to him and that he cultivated it with the landowner’s knowledge and awareness. If the cultivator has no evidence of this, the landowner’s statement is accepted upon his oath denying both claims. If he swears, he may choose either to take the rent acknowledged by the cultivator or to reclaim his land and require the cultivator to uproot his crop. This applies if uprooting the crop would benefit the cultivator. If, however, uprooting it would be of no benefit to him and the ruling requires that it remain with the landowner, the landowner may not leave it to the cultivator in return for either the rent he acknowledged or the fair rental value, because this would amount to selling him the crop for the rent received. The case where uprooting the crop would benefit the cultivator, but the landowner wishes to take it at its value once uprooted, has already been discussed.

If the landowner declines to swear, the cultivator must swear that he leased the land to him for such-and-such an amount, however small or large, and whether plausible or not. The reason for this has already been explained. If the cultivator declines to swear, the landowner reclaims his land.

If the landowner refuses to swear to both points, saying, “I will swear that I was unaware of his cultivating it, but I will not swear that I did not lease it to him,” his oath to this effect serves no purpose unless the cultivator declines to swear. For if the cultivator swears, “He leased it to me for such-and-such an amount,” he pays the amount to which he has sworn, even if it is implausible as rent for that land. By declining to swear that he did not lease it to him, the landowner has enabled him to establish this claim, whether or not the landowner swears that he was unaware of the cultivation. If the cultivator declines to swear, the landowner is then told: “Swear that you were unaware of his cultivating it, reclaim your land, and uproot the crop if you wish.”

Section

If the landowner refuses to swear to both points, saying, “I will swear that I did not lease it to him, but I will not swear that I was unaware of his cultivating it,” then, according to Ibn al-Qāsim, he is not permitted to take that oath. For if he declines to swear that he was unaware of the cultivation, the cultivator must swear by Allah that the landowner knew he was cultivating it. If he swears to this, he is in the same position as if he had produced