Musaqah
Its Definition
Musaqah is giving palm trees, other trees, or both to one who will take care of irrigating them and the rest of their required services. This will be for a fixed portion of the fruits from the trees.
It Ruling
Musaqah is permissible. The basis of its permissibility is the practice of the Prophet (SAW) and his four rightly-guided caliphs after him. Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (SAW) dealt with the people of Khaybar by (stipulating that they give to the Muslim authority) half of what it (the land of Khaybar) produced of vegetation and dates. After Him (SAW) , Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with them, followed this same method of dealing.
Its Regulations
The regulations for Musaqah are as follows:
1) The palm trees or trees should be known (i.e. specified) upon concluding the contract. Therefore, the Musaqah contract will not be permissible on an unknown (i.e. unspecified) crop due to fear of any fraud, which is forbidden.
2) The portion of the worker should be fixed and specific, like one-fourth or one-fifth, for example. Such known division should be applicable to all palm trees or trees. Restricting it to only particular palm trees or trees is not allowed, as such trees may or may not be fruitful. Such a situation involves fraud, which is prohibited in Islam.
3) The worker is responsible for everything necessary for the growth and care of the palm trees or trees according to the customary practices that apply to their irrigation.
4) If there is any tax or duty that is levied on the land, it is the responsibility of the owner, not the worker, to pay them all. This is because paying the tax and duty is related to the basic land. The proof of it is that even if there is no plantation or agriculture on the land, the tax on the land would be paid. As for paying out the Zakah, it is compulsory when reaching the minimum amount of wealth of fruits liable to the payment of Zakah. This is applicable to all, whether the owner or the worker of it, since the Zakah is related to the fruit itself.
5) Musaqah contract on assets is permissible. A man giving his land to another in order to plant therein palm trees or trees, for example. Therefore, the latter will be responsible for the irrigation and land reformation until it becomes fruitful. This work is for one-fourth or one-third of the fruits of it. This deal would be made with the condition that the term is fixed until they are fruitful, for example. The worker can receive his share from both the land and the trees together.
6) The worker can appoint a substitute on his behalf in case the former is unable to resume his duties. The latter deserves to receive his share according to the contract.
7) If the worker flees before the appearance of fruits, the owner can abrogate the contract. If he runs off after the appearance of fruits, a substitute for the worker should be appointed to complete the rest of the work. The wage of such substitute will be provided from the dues of the worker.
8) If the worker dies, his inheritors should assign a substitute from their own part. Meanwhile, if both agree to abrogate the contract, the sharecropping contract becomes invalid.
Muzara‘ah (Sharecropping)
Its Definition
Sharecropping refers to a man giving a plot of land to another in order for him to farm it for a designated part of it (as payment) according to an agreement.
It Laws
The majority of the Companions, their successors and the Imams have allowed it. However, some others have prohibited it. Those who consider it permissible produce the following evidence. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) dealt with the people of Khaybar by (payment of) half of what it produced of fruits or corps. Al-Bukhari reported from Ibn ‘Umar that the Prophet (SAW) agreed with the people of Khaybar (to give to the Muslim authority) half of what it produced of fruits or crops (from the lands of Khaybar). The Prophet(SAW) used to give his wives a hundred Wasq out of it (i.e. eighty Wasq of dates and twenty Wasq of barley). [1]
They hold that the meaning of what was reported about a prohibition of Muzara ‘ah refers to an agreement with unspecified details. They argue based on the Hadith of Rafi ‘ bin Khadij who said, “Of the Ansar, we had more farms than anybody else (in Al-Madinah). We used to rent the land and under the condition that the yield of this plot would be for us, and the yield of that plot would be for them(as the rent). One of those plots might yield something while the other might not. So, the Prophet (SAW) forbade us to do so.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim ). Also they say that this means that such a deal is (only) disliked (i.e. but not forbidden). Their evidence is the statement of Ibn ‘Abbas, “Verily, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) did not prohibit it, rather He (SAW) said:
“ It is better for one of you to grant his land free to his brother than to charge him a fixed rental.”
(Al-Bukhari)
Its Regulations
The regulations for sharecropping are as follows:
1) The term should be fixed for a certain period such as one year, etc.
2) The portion that is agreed to should be fixed and its due proportion known, such as half, one-third, one-fourth, etc. The agreement should specify all of the crops on the land. For example, if it is said, “Whatever produce comes from such and such, then it is for you,” this is not valid.
___________________________________________
[1] It is said that the land described was gained as ‘Fay booty and an agreement was made with the people of Khaybar regarding it. In the ‘Fay booty there is a share of the Prophet (SAW) and his family. (Publisher)
------------------------------------------
3) The owner of the land should provide seeding. In case the seeding is from the worker, it is called Al- Mukhabarah. There is a more severe disagreement about the permissibility of this kind than the former. Jabir said,“The Messenger of Allah (SAW) has forbade Al-Mukhabarah.
(Imam Ahmad with a Sahih chain of narration)
4) If the owner of the land insists on receiving the seeding from the yield before its division, and distributing the rest between the owner and the worker, then the sharecropping is not correct.
5) Renting out the land for cash payment is better than Muzara‘ah. This is due to the statement of Rafi’ bin Khadij, who said, “The Prophet (SAW) did not forbid us from renting out land for gold and silver. “
6) It is recommended that the landowner who has excess land grant it to his Muslim brother free of cost. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:
“Whoever has land, let him use it for cultivation, or grant it to his brother free of cost.”
( Al-Bukhari)
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:
“It is better for him to grant his land free to his brother than to charge him a fixed rental from its produce.” (Recorded in the Sahih)
7) The majority of the scholars hold the view that renting out land for food is a prohibited act. This is because it results in selling food for food with delay and credit, as well as inequality in weight and measure, and this is forbidden. As for the report that is related from Ahmad, in which he viewed it as permissible, it refers to Muzara‘ah, not renting out the land for food.