A landlord is absolutely not allowed to lease his land for farming, whether He possessed both its neck and benefit, or He possessed its benefit only, whether the land was ’Ushri land or Kharaji land and whether its rent was money or something else. He is also not allowed to lease the land for a part of its food production or for something else other than the food, or for any other thing which it produces at all, because this is considered leasing, and leasing land for farming is absolutely not allowed. It was narrated by al-Bukhari that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Whoever has land let Him plant upon it or grant it to his brother. If He declined let Him hold his land.” Muslim also narrated, “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forbade a rent or a share be taken for the land.” The Sunan of An-Nisai states: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forbade leasing the land.We said, ‘O Prophet (pbuh) of Allah, can we then lease it for some of the grain.” He said, ‘No.’ We said, ‘We used to lease it for the straw.’ He (pbuh) said, ‘No.’We said, ‘We used to lease it in return of that on the irrigating Rabee’a.’ He (pbuh) said, ‘No, plant it or grant it to your brother.’” What is meant by Rabee’a is the small stream, that is to lease it in exchange for planting the part which is alongside the water. It was soundly narrated that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forbade a rent or a share to be taken for the land, or to be leased for a third or a fourth of its harvest. Abu Dawud has narrated from Rafi’a ibn Khadeej that the Prophet (pbuh) also said, “Whoever has land, He has to plant upon it or let his brother plant upon it, and He cannot lease it for its third or fourth or a specified food.” Bukhari narrated from Nafi’, who said, “’Abdullah ibn ’Umar was told from Rafi’a ibn Khadeej, who had said that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forbade the leasing of land. So ’Abdullah ibn ’Umar went to Rafi’a and I went with Him to ask Rafi’a who said: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had forbidden the leasing of land.” Nafi’a also mentioned that ’Abdullah ibn ’Umar had given up the leasing of the land.

These Ahadith explicitly show that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forbade leasing of land. Although forbidding means the order to leave only, there is an indication (Qareena) that this order is decisive; since they said to the Prophet (pbuh), “We lease for part of the grains.” He (pbuh) said, “No.” Then they said to him, “We used to lease it for the straw.” He (pbuh) said, “No.” Then they said, “We used to lease it for the Rabee’a.” He (pbuh) said, “No.” Then He confirmed this by saying, “Plant it or grant it to your brother.” His insistence in forbidding is clear here which denotes the confirmation. Moreover, confirmation in the Arabic language is either literal, by repeating the word or by meaning. In this Hadith, the word was repeated which means confirmation.

With regard to leasing the land of Khaybar in return of its half, this is not part of this subject, because the land of Khaybar was planted with trees and not smooth (i.e empty of trees). The evidence for this was narrated by Ibn Ishaq in his Seerah of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) from ’Abdullah ibn Abu Bakr, “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to send ’Abdullah ibn Ruwahah to the people of Khaybar to estimate the fruits between Muslims and Jews, so He estimated their part. After ’Abdullah ibn Ruwahah was martyred at Mu’tah, Jabir ibn Sakhr ibn Umayyah ibn Khansa’a, brother of Bani Salama, used to estimate the fruits of Khaybar.” Estimation is to determine the value of the fruits on the trees before it is collected. It is clear that the land of Khaybar was planted with trees and not smooth land. The plants which it contained were of a lesser size than the area of the trees, so the planted part follows the trees part in its identity.

The land of Khaybar was therefore not subject to a matter of leasing; it was rather sharecropping (Musaqat), which is allowed. Furthermore, after the prohibition by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), the Sahabah abstained from leasing land, including ’Abdullah ibn ’Umar, which indicated that they understood the prohibition of leasing the land.

However, the prohibition of leasing the land is only if it is for farming. If its lease is for other than farming, it is allowed. A person is allowed to lease the land as a day pasture or a resting place (for cattle) or a warehouse for his foods, or to use it for anything other than farming. This is because the prohibition of the leasing of land is focused on its lease for farming, as is understood from the sound Ahadith. These rules of land and what is connected with it, explain the manner by which the Shar’a restricted the Muslim when He works to increase his ownership through farming.