for its meaning is the reports from the Companions, who best understood the intended purposes. Understanding this precisely ensures that the principles of the Sharia are harmonious and accord with the established principles mentioned in the words of Allah Most High:

“He commands them to do what is right and forbids them from doing what is wrong, makes good things lawful for them and bad things unlawful, and relieves them of their burden and the shackles that were upon them.”

As for his prohibition, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of mu‘āwamah—explained in another narration as selling the produce of successive years—it is, and Allah knows best, like his prohibition of the sale of habal al-habalah. He only prohibited the buyer from purchasing the fruit that the owner of the tree would produce. As for leasing the land and the tree in order to obtain their yield, this does not fall under sale in its ordinary sense; rather, it is a form of leasing.

A parallel is found in the previously cited authentic hadith of Jābir: “He prohibited leasing land,” “He prohibited mukhābarah (sharecropping),” and “He prohibited muzāra‘ah (sharecropping),” and he said, “Do not lease land.” What is meant is the leasing they customarily practised, as explained in other narrations: the forms of sharecropping they customarily practised. Thus, he prohibited their customary forms of leasing and multi-year produce sales, which amounted to selling fruit before its soundness became apparent and to sharecropping in which a particular portion was stipulated. This prohibits practices whose harm outweighs their benefit. This prohibits uncertainty in the category of