and grain must water it until it is fully mature, unlike the lessor, who is not responsible for watering the fruit and crops belonging to the lessee. Rather, watering them is the responsibility of the lessee who has undertaken the lease. Umar ibn al-Khattāb leased out the orchard of Usayd ibn al-Hudayr for three years and collected its rent in advance, using it to discharge an outstanding debt. There are many comparable examples in this area.

He was asked:

Is sharecropping valid or not? And what if the sharecropper neglects half a feddan, and the landowner swears, invoking a triple divorce, that he will take compensation for it from the good crop?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah.

Sharecropping in return for a third, a quarter, or another undivided share of the crop is permissible according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and other Companions and Successors. This is also the position of the jurists known for their thorough scholarship.

If the worker has been negligent, causing some of the intended yield to be lost, and the owner takes an equivalent amount from another plot and allocates it to him, without committing any injustice, then he has not broken his oath, and no breach of oath is held against him. And Allah knows best.