and patience to undertake certain voluntary acts of bodily and financial devotion—such as giving away all his wealth, as Abū Bakr al-Siddīq did—which are not recommended for someone whose circumstances are otherwise. Such was the case of the man who brought the Prophet an egg-sized piece of gold. He threw it at him; had it struck him, it would have hurt him. Then he said:

“One of you goes and gives away his wealth, then sits dependent on others.”

This is supported by the authentic report in Muslim mentioned earlier, from Thābit ibn al-Dahhāk:

“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade sharecropping and instructed them to lease the land, saying, ‘There is nothing wrong with it.’”

Likewise, we have mentioned the report of Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqās:

“He forbade them to lease land in return for the crops grown on a specified part of it, and said, ‘Lease it for gold and silver.’”

This is also how the Companions understood it. Rāfiʿ ibn Khadīj narrated this and stated that there was nothing wrong with leasing land for gold and silver. The same understanding was held by the jurists among the Companions, such as Zayd ibn Thābit and Ibn ʿAbbās. In the two Sahīh collections, ʿAmr ibn Dīnār said:

“I said to Tāwūs, ‘Why do you not give up sharecropping? They claim that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade it.’

“He replied, ‘O ʿAmr, I give to them and help them. Indeed, the most knowledgeable among them told me’—meaning Ibn ʿAbbās—‘that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not forbid it. Rather, he said, “For one of you to grant his brother the use of his land free of charge is better for him than taking a specified rent for it.”’”

It is also reported from Ibn ʿAbbās:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did not prohibit sharecropping;