21/19. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1547m — Uncertain Field Portions
Leasing out Land (Kira) for gold and silver
Hadith About Crop Share Rent and Clear Payment
Sahih Muslim : 1547m
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1547m
حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرٌو النَّاقِدُ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ، الزُّرَقِيِّ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَافِعَ بْنَ خَدِيجٍ، يَقُولُ كُنَّا أَكْثَرَ الأَنْصَارِ حَقْلاً - قَالَ - كُنَّا نُكْرِي الأَرْضَ عَلَى أَنَّ لَنَا هَذِهِ وَلَهُمْ هَذِهِ فَرُبَّمَا أَخْرَجَتْ هَذِهِ وَلَمْ تُخْرِجْ هَذِهِ فَنَهَانَا عَنْ ذَلِكَ وَأَمَّا الْوَرِقُ فَلَمْ يَنْهَنَا .
Rafi' bin Khadij Narrated from:
We were the major agriculturists of the Ansar and so we let out land (saying): The produce of this (part of land) would be ours and (the produce) of that would be theirs. But it so happened that at times this (land) gave harvest, but the other one produced nothing. So he (the Holy Prophet) forbade this. But so far as the payment in silver (dirham, a coin) is concerned, he did not forbid.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1547mIn-book reference : Book 21, Hadith 152USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 10, Hadith 3749
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1547m
This hadith about crop share rent reports that Rafi b. Khadij said the Ansar were major agriculturists. They would rent land with the condition that one part of the produce would belong to them and another part to the cultivators. Sometimes one section produced harvest while the other produced nothing. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم forbade this arrangement. Rafi then added that payment in silver was not forbidden. The report is simple but very useful for understanding land rental in Islam. It does not condemn every possible agreement in the wording. It points to the stated problem: rent tied to uncertain field portions, while silver payment is treated differently.
What we learn from this hadith
- The report mentions the Ansar as active farmers.
- The disputed arrangement divided produce by specific parts of land.
- One part might produce while another produced nothing.
- The narration says silver payment was not forbidden.
