Tending palm-trees and Tilling land in return for some of the Produce - Section 1

‘ 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.

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ دَفَعَ إِلَى يَهُودِ خَيْبَرَ نَخْلَ خَيْبَرَ وَأَرْضَهَا عَلَى أَنْ يَعْتَمِلُوهَا مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَلِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ شَطْرُ ثَمَرِهَا. رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ وَفِي رِوَايَةِ الْبُخَارِيِّ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَعْطَى خَيْبَرَ الْيَهُودَ أَنْ يَعْمَلُوهَا ويزرعوها وَلَهُم شطر مَا يخرج مِنْهَا

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. * <i>Mukhabir</i>. From this comes the verbal noun <i>mukhabara</i>. See p. 607.

وَعنهُ قَالَ: كُنَّا نخبر وَلَا نَرَى بِذَلِكَ بَأْسًا حَتَّى زَعَمَ رَافِعُ ابْن خَدِيجٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَهَى عَنْهَا فَتَرَكْنَاهَا مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ. رَوَاهُ مُسلم

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.)

وَعَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ بْنِ قَيْسٍ عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خديج قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي عَمَّايَ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُكْرُونَ الْأَرْضَ عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَا يَنْبُتُ عَلَى الْأَرْبَعَاءِ أَوْ شَيْءٍ يَسْتَثْنِيهِ صَاحِبُ الْأَرْضِ فَنَهَانَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ لِرَافِعٍ: فَكَيْفَ هِيَ بِالدَّرَاهِمِ وَالدَّنَانِيرِ؟ فَقَالَ: لَيْسَ بِهَا بَأْسٌ وَكَأَنَّ الَّذِي نُهِيَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ مَا لَوْ نَظَرَ فِيهِ ذَوُو الْفَهْمِ بِالْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ لَمْ يُجِيزُوهُ لِمَا فِيهِ مِنَ الْمُخَاطَرَةِ

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.)

وَعَن رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ قَالَ: كُنَّا أَكْثَرَ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ حَقْلًا وَكَانَ أَحَدُنَا يُكْرِي أَرْضَهُ فَيَقُولُ: هَذِهِ الْقِطْعَةُ لِي وَهَذِهِ لَكَ فَرُبَّمَا أَخْرَجَتْ ذِهِ وَلَمْ تُخْرِجْ ذِهِ فَنَهَاهُمُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

‘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.)

وَعَن عَمْرو قَالَ: قلت لطاووس: لَوْ تُرِكَتِ الْمُخَابَرَةُ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَهَى عَنْهُ قَالَ: أَيْ عَمْرٌو إِنِّي أُعْطِيهِمْ وَأُعِينُهُمْ وَإِنَّ أَعْلَمَهُمْ أَخْبَرَنِي يَعْنِي ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ ينْه عَنهُ وَلَكِن قَالَ: «أَلا يَمْنَحْ أَحَدُكُمْ أَخَاهُ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ عَلَيْهِ خَرْجًا مَعْلُومًا»

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.)

وَعَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ أَرْضٌ فَلْيَزْرَعْهَا أَوْ لِيَمْنَحْهَا أَخَاهُ فَإِنْ أَبَى فَلْيُمْسِكْ أرضه»

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 <i>jihad</i>.

وَعَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ وَرَأَى سِكَّةً وَشَيْئًا مِنْ آلَةِ الْحَرْثِ فَقَالَ: سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «لَا يَدْخُلُ هَذَا بَيْتَ قوم إِلَّا أدخلهُ الذل» . رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ

Rafi‘ b. Khadij reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, “If anyone sows in other people’s land without their permission he has no right to any of the crop, but he may have what it cost him.” Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a <i>gharib</i> tradition.

عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «مَنْ زَرَعَ فِي أَرْضِ قَوْمٍ بِغَيْرِ إِذْنِهِمْ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ مِنَ الزَّرْعِ شَيْءٌ وَلَهُ نَفَقَتُهُ» . رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَأَبُو دَاوُدَ وَقَالَ التِّرْمِذِيُّ: هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ

Qais b. Muslim told that Abu Ja'far said there was not a family of the Emigrants who did not cultivate ground for a third and a quarter of the produce, and ‘Ali, Sa‘d b. Malik, ‘Abdallah b. Mas'ud, ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Aziz, al-Qasim, ‘Urwa, the family of Abu Bakr, the family of ‘Umar, the family of ‘Ali, and Ibn Sirin made contracts for part of the produce in return for working land. ‘Abd ar-Rahman b. al- Aswad said that he partnered 'Abd ar-Rahman b. Yazid in cultivation, and ‘Umar employed people on condition that if he provided the seed he should have half the crop, and if they provided the seed they should have such and such. Bukhari transmitted it.

عَنْ قَيْسِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: مَا بِالْمَدِينَةِ أَهْلُ بَيْتِ هِجْرَةٍ إِلَّا يَزْرَعُونَ عَلَى الثُّلُثِ وَالرُّبُعِ وَزَارَعَ عَلِيٌّ وَسَعْدُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ وَعُمَرُ ابْن عبد الْعَزِيز وَالقَاسِم وَعُرْوَة وَآل أبي بَكْرٍ وَآلُ عُمَرَ وَآلُ عَلِيٍّ وَابْنُ سِيرِينَ وَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ الْأَسْوَدِ: كُنْتُ أُشَارِكُ عَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ يَزِيدَ فِي الزَّرْعِ وَعَامَلَ عُمَرُ النَّاسَ عَلَى: إِنْ جَاءَ عُمَرُ بِالْبَذْرِ من عِنْده فَلهُ الشّطْر. وَإِن جاؤوا بالبذر فَلهم كَذَا. رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ