Book 11: Business Transactions

‘ Abdallah b. Umar said that God’s Messenger handed over to the Jews of Khaibar the palm-trees and the land of Khaibar on condition that they should employ what belonged to them in working on them and that he should have half the produce. Muslim transmitted it. In Bukhari's version, it says that God’s Messenger gave Khaibar to the Jews to work and cultivate, in return for which they would get half of what it produced.

He said: We used to employ people to till land for a share of its produce* and see no harm in it till Rafi' b. Khadij asserted that the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade it, so we abandoned it on that account. Muslim transmitted it. * Mukhabir. From this comes the verbal noun mukhabara. See p. 607.

Hanzala b. Qais quoted Rafi‘ b. Khadij to the effect that his two paternal uncles told him they used to let out land in the time of the Prophet (ﷺ) for what grew by the streamlets, or for something the owner of the land set aside, but the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade them to do that. He asked Rafi’ how the matter would stand if payment were made in dirhams and dinars and he replied that there would be no harm in that. It seemed that what was prohibited was such as people versed in what is allowed and what is prohibited would not permit if they looked into it, because of the risk involved*. * The objection to such an agreement is that one cannot guarantee beforehand what a particular piece of land will produce. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Rafi‘ b. Khadij said: We had most agricultural land in Medina, and a man would let out his land on condition that he should have what was produced in one portion and the man to whom it was let out should have what was produced in another; but sometimes one portion produced a crop while the other did not, so the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade them to do that. (Bukhari and Muslim.)

‘Amr said that he expressed a wish to Ta’us that he would abandon the practice of employing people on land in return for part of the pro-duce, for people asserted that the Prophet (ﷺ) had forbidden it. He replied to ‘Amr that he was just giving them something and helping them, adding that the most learned of the people, meaning Ibn ‘Abbas, had informed him that the Prophet (ﷺ) did not forbid it, but said, “It is better for one of you to lend to his brother than to take a prescribed sum from him." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Jabir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone has land he should cultivate it, or lend it to his brother; but if he refuses he should retain his land.” (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Abu Umama on seeing a ploughshare and some agricultural instruments told that he had heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say, “This will not enter any people’s house without God causing ignominy to enter it*.” Bukhari transmitted it. *This tradition says that agriculture is a less noble occupation than jihad.