35b/45: Chapter
Sunan an-Nasai 3907 — Specified Produce as 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
Specified Produce and Stream-Bank Crops as Land Rent
Sunan an-Nasai : 3907
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 3907
قَالَ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ مِسْكِينٍ قِرَاءَةً عَلَيْهِ وَأَنَا أَسْمَعُ، عَنِ ابْنِ وَهْبٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو خُزَيْمَةَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ طَرِيفٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الْكَرِيمِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَنَّ رَافِعَ بْنَ خَدِيجٍ، قَالَ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنْ كِرَاءِ الأَرْضِ. قَالَ ابْنُ شِهَابٍ فَسُئِلَ رَافِعٌ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ كَيْفَ كَانُوا يُكْرُونَ الأَرْضَ قَالَ بِشَىْءٍ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ مُسَمًّى وَيُشْتَرَطُ أَنَّ لَنَا مَا تُنْبِتُ مَاذِيَانَاتُ الأَرْضِ وَأَقْبَالُ الْجَدَاوِلِ. رَوَاهُ نَافِعٌ عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ وَاخْتُلِفَ عَلَيْهِ فِيهِ.
Rafi' bin Khadij Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah forbade leasing land. Ibn Shihab said: "Rafi was asked after that: 'How did they lease land?' He said: 'In return for a set amount of food (produce), and it was stipulated that we would have whatever grew on the banks of the streams and springs.'"
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 3907In-book reference : Book 35b, Hadith 51English translation : Vol. 4, Book 35, Hadith 3938
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 3907
This hadith first gives the general wording that the Messenger of Allah forbade leasing land. It then records a follow-up question: how did people lease the land? Rafi' bin Khadij explained that the rent was a set amount of food, together with a condition that the landowner would receive whatever grew on the banks of streams and near springs. This detail is central. The agreement did not simply name a separate cash rent. It reserved particular produce and fertile sections for one party. For anyone searching about agricultural land leasing in Islam, this narration helps define the practice being discussed. The explanation should stay with the stated terms: set food plus crops from named areas. It should not add other conditions or claim that every land lease has the same form.
What we learn from this hadith
- The narration explains the lease after first stating the prohibition.
- The rent included a set amount of food.
- The owner also reserved crops growing near streams and springs.
- Specific contract conditions are essential to understanding the report.
