35b/45: Chapter
Sunan an-Nasai 3902 — Forbidden Crop-Based Land Rent
Mentioning The Differing Hadiths Regarding The Prohibition Of Leasing Out Land In Return For One Third, Or One Quarter Of The Harvest And The Different Wordings Reported By The Narrators
Crop-Based Land Rent: Why This Leasing Practice Was Forbidden
Sunan an-Nasai : 3902
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3902
أَخْبَرَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ حَبِيبِ بْنِ عَرَبِيٍّ، فِي حَدِيثِهِ عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ بْنِ قَيْسٍ، عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ، قَالَ نَهَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ كِرَاءِ أَرْضِنَا وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ذَهَبٌ وَلاَ فِضَّةٌ فَكَانَ الرَّجُلُ يُكْرِي أَرْضَهُ بِمَا عَلَى الرَّبِيعِ وَالأَقْبَالِ وَأَشْيَاءَ مَعْلُومَةٍ وَسَاقَهُ. رَوَاهُ سَالِمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ وَاخْتُلِفَ عَلَى الزُّهْرِيِّ فِيهِ.
Rafi' bin Khadij Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah forbade us to lease our land. At that time there was no gold nor silver. A man would lease his land in return for what grew on the banks of streams and where the springs emerged, and in return for something specific.
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3902In-book reference : Book 35b, Hadith 46English translation : Vol. 4, Book 35, Hadith 3933
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3902
This hadith explains the kind of land leasing that was being practiced when the prohibition was reported. Rafi' bin Khadij said there was no gold or silver in use for the rent at that time. Instead, a landowner would take what grew on the banks of streams, near the places where springs emerged, or another specified part of the crop. The agreement therefore reserved particular productive areas or named produce for the owner. The narration links the prohibition to that form of crop-based land rent. It does not say that every payment arrangement was identical. The main lesson for someone studying agricultural leasing in Islam is to read the stated conditions carefully: the rent depended on selected output from the land, not on a separate fixed payment in gold or silver.
What we learn from this hadith
- The forbidden arrangement reserved selected crop-producing areas as rent.
- The report names stream banks, spring areas, and specified produce.
- Contract details matter when reading a hadith about agricultural rent.
- The narration should be explained through the payment form it actually describes.
