bare land or land planted with trees. Likewise, orchard sharecropping is permissible for all kinds of trees. Those who prohibit this suppose that it is a hire contract with an unknown payment. That is not the case; rather, it is a partnership, like a capital-and-labour partnership. Such a partnership accords with legal analogy rather than departing from it, for it belongs to the category of partnerships, not hire contracts, as has been discussed at length elsewhere.

He was also asked—may Allah have mercy on him—about someone who entered into a quarter-share cropping arrangement with another man.

The arrangement was as follows: one person owned the land, another supplied the cattle and seed, and the cultivator supplied the labour. The landowner was to receive half, and the other two the remaining half, with the cultivator receiving a quarter. What if some seed remained in the ground without sprouting, then sprouted in the second year without any further work?

He replied:

If this growth comes from the land and the jointly owned grain, there are two opinions:

The first is that it belongs exclusively to the landowner. The second is that it is divided among them in proportion to the benefit contributed by the land and the grain. This is the sounder of the two opinions.