Sahih al-Bukhari, 2332
sahihNarrated Rafi`:
We worked on farms more than anybody else in Medina. We used to rent the land and say to the owner, "The yield of this portion is for us and the yield of that portion is for you (as the rent)." One of those portions might yield something and the other might not. So, the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade us to do so.
حَدَّثَنَا صَدَقَةُ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى، سَمِعَ حَنْظَلَةَ الزُّرَقِيَّ، عَنْ رَافِعٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ كُنَّا أَكْثَرَ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ حَقْلاً، وَكَانَ أَحَدُنَا يُكْرِي أَرْضَهُ، فَيَقُولُ هَذِهِ الْقِطْعَةُ لِي وَهَذِهِ لَكَ، فَرُبَّمَا أَخْرَجَتْ ذِهِ وَلَمْ تُخْرِجْ ذِهِ، فَنَهَاهُمُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Isnad
3 transmittersReferences2 variants
- In-Book Reference
- Book 41, Hadith 13
- USC-MSA web (English) reference
- Vol. 3, Book 39, Hadith 525 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Preserving wealth is one of the fundamental higher objectives of the Laws of Islam; whatever may harm one of the contracting parties, or may lead to the risk of losing their money is deemed prohibited. Therefore, the Prophet ﷺ forbade the form of Muzaara‘ah transaction that Raafi’ bin Khadeej (may Allah be pleased with him) reported in this hadeeth. They used to rent out their land for cultivation in return for the yield produced by a specified part of the land, and the landowner would take the yield of the other part. One part may produce a good yield and the other might not. That is why the Prophet ﷺ forbade this transaction, because of the risk involved;one of those parts might yield something and the other might not, and thus one partywould win his share of the yield, while the right of the other would be lost altogether! His saying, “We had more farms than anyone else in Al-Madeenah,” means that they owned more lands and farms. This hadeeth indicates that the business transaction that the Prophet ﷺ forbade was the unjust Muzaara‘ah transaction that was evidently corrupt, warranting forbidding it. However, if there is a guarantee for the capital in the Muzaara‘ah transactions, there is no harm in that. It is noteworthy that this does not contradict the fact the Prophet ﷺ concluded an agreement with the Jews of Khaybar to cultivate the land in return for half the yield while the other half would be given to the Prophet ﷺ. This agreement remained in force until the death of the Prophet ﷺ, and continued to be in force during the reigns of the rightly guided Caliphs. Muzaara‘ah transactions may be concluded in return for a share of the yield, rather than renting out one’s land for cultivation in return for the yield of a specific delimited portion..