He was asked—may Allah have mercy on him:

Some people live in a village near the mountain in the Fayyūm region, where half is seen in some years. This year, a three-year lease of the local land was drawn up for the village elders before the previous lease had expired and before the crops had been cleared from the land. Is this lease valid?

He answered:

If they were wrongfully compelled to enter into the lease, it is neither valid nor binding, without any disagreement among the imams. If, however, they leased it voluntarily or were rightfully compelled to do so, while the land was still leased to others, this is called a lease commencing at a future date. This has been the practice of Muslims in most times and places, for, as with a contract of sale, there is nothing in it that would invalidate the lease. It makes no difference whether enjoyment of the benefit begins at the time of the contract or not.

The fact that the tenant does not take possession immediately after concluding the contract does not invalidate it. Taking possession follows what the contract requires and entails. If it requires possession immediately afterward, possession must be taken immediately afterward; if it requires possession to be deferred, possession must be taken when the contract requires it, since what is taken into possession