a wet nurse. Hiring a wet nurse is permissible according to the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus. Since milk is produced gradually, it may validly be the subject of a hiring contract, just as the use of property may, even though milk is a tangible substance. Thus, an owner may lease livestock for their milk. Leasing an orchard to someone who obtains its yield through his own labour belongs to this category, not to that of a purchase.

If it is objected, “This involves uncertainty,” the answer is: “It is like the uncertainty involved in leasing land.” Someone who leases land to cultivate it seeks its crops, which may or may not materialize. It is established that, after the death of Usayd ibn Hudayr, ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb leased out his orchard for three years, collected the rent, and used it to discharge his debt. None of the Companions objected to this.

Furthermore, when the Muslims conquered land by force, ʿUmar handed it over to them, including its date palms and grapevines, for cultivation in return for the land tax. Most scholars regard this as a lease.

He was asked about orchard leases: when the lessees heard that the forsaken enemy was approaching, they entered the city, whose gates were then shut. They no longer had any access to the orchards, and their crops and produce were plundered. Were they entitled to a reduction in the rent on account of this loss?