they bear fruit, or until such and such a time before which the date palms will not bear fruit”; or, “Plant it, and it shall be shared between you and me,” leaving the arrangement unspecified, with no stipulated stage or term, according to those who do not permit this—there are three opinions concerning such cases.

The first is that this is an invalid contract of hire. The landowner owes the planter the value of his trees on the day he planted them, together with the customary remuneration for planting and tending them. All the yield belongs to the landowner, and the planter must return whatever he has taken of it: the measured quantity, if known, or its estimated quantity, if unknown. This is Sahnūn’s position. It accords with the reasoning of those who hold that the planted trees belong to the landowner: it is as though he hired the planter to plant the entire plot in return for half the land and trees once the trees reach the stipulated stage, together with half the fruit they produce.

The second is that this constitutes an invalid sale of half the land, which can no longer be rescinded because it has been planted. The planter therefore owes the value of that half on the day he planted it. As for the other half, it constitutes an invalid lease, for which the planter owes the landowner the customary rent from the day he took possession of it, the day he planted the trees there, or the day they began bearing fruit, according to the differing opinions already mentioned. The planter must uproot his trees unless the landowner wishes to take them at their value when uprooted. According to Yahyā ibn Yahyā’s previously mentioned opinion, however, he may take them only at their value as standing trees. All the yield belongs to the planter, and the landowner must return whatever he has taken of it: the measured quantity, if known, or its estimated quantity, if unknown. This is Ibn al-Qāsim’s position as transmitted from him by Husayn. It accords with the view that the planted trees belong to the planter.

The third is that this constitutes an invalid sale of half the land, which can no longer be rescinded because it has been planted. The planter therefore owes the value of that half on the day he planted it. As for the other half, it constitutes an invalid contract of hire, for which the landowner owes the planter the value of his trees, assessed as uprooted on the day he planted them, together with the customary remuneration for planting and tending them until judgment is given. Another view is that he owes the planter half the value of the trees as standing trees on the day