Muzara'a (agricultural sharecropping)

The ruling of muzara'a

Muzara'a (sharecropping): an owner entrusts his land to a farmer against a fraction of the harvest. Lawful for the Malikis, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad (the Hanafi fatwa), the Hanbalis, an-Nawawi, Ibn al-Mundir and many Shafi'is, each with his conditions. Evidence: the Companions' practice reported by al-Bukhari: "there is no emigrant family in Madina but they cultivate for a third or a quarter", and Umar farmed land for half when he supplied the seed (al-Bukhari, mu'allaq report). Against it: Abu Hanifa, Zufr and the Shafi'i madhhab invalidate it, on the hadith of Rafi' ibn Khadij: "Whoever owns land, let him cultivate it, or let his brother cultivate it, and let him not take it as sharecropping for a third, a quarter, or a set food" (Muslim 1549); the Shafi'is admit only the "blank", the bare strip of land between palms and vines, from Khaybar.

The conditions of muzara'a

• For the Shafi'is: a "blank" strip between palms and vines; seed from both parties; one and the same worker for irrigation and cultivation; continuity of the contract; announcement of what will be sown.
• For the Malikis: four conditions: no rent in food (gold and silver remain allowed: "the Prophet forbade renting land against a share of its produce; for gold and silver there is no objection", reported by Ahmad 17297, al-Bayhaqi 11499); proportion between each one's contribution and his share of the harvest; common or mingled seed; no work imposed on the owner alone.
• For the Hanbalis: the share is stipulated on half of the whole harvest (hadith of Khaybar: "the Prophet made an agreement with the people of Khaybar for half of what comes out of it, fruit and crops", al-Bukhari 2203, Muslim 1551); the seed comes from the owner (madhhab), but Ibn Taymiyya prefers the form where the farmer supplies the seed, that of the Companions and of Khaybar: "he granted them the palms and the land on condition of cultivating them from their own wealth" (Muslim 1551).

The corrupting conditions of muzara'a

Invalidating: reserving the whole harvest to one party; stipulating a fixed measure of grain for one of them (consensus); splitting the land between crops without stating the rates; imposing work on the owner alone (Hanafis, Hanbalis), except a stipulated assistance (Hanbalis). No term is required for the Hanbalis (each may cancel); the dominant Hanafi view requires a known term. The contract is not binding for the majority (Hanafis, Malikis, Hanbalis); the Andalusian view binds it from the start of work (Ibn Rushd). If the owner cancels before the fruit appears, he owes the equivalent wage; if the farmer cancels, he receives nothing.

Practical note on muzara'a

Lawful sharecropping ties a land to a farmer, each bringing his own (land, seed, work), the harvest being divided in known proportions, with no rent hidden in food and no trapping term.