Is it valid for a hired laborer to be compensated with specified food and clothing instead of a known wage?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Leasing
Primary text
There is a transmission from Ahmad that this arrangement is valid when the laborer receives food and clothing. This is the madhhab of Malik and Ishaq. Narrations indicate that Abu Bakr, Umar, and Abu Musa permitted this arrangement when hiring laborers. The initial allowance was restricted by some to wet nurses only, following the Quranic verse obligating provision for the wet nurse (Quran 2:233).
Supporting text
Abu Hanifa's madhhab considers this invalid due to uncertainty (jahaalah), permitting it only for the wet nurse based on the Quranic prescription for her sustenance. A third narration from Ahmad states that this is never permissible, a view shared by Al-Shafi'i, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad, Abu Thawr, and Ibn al-Mundhir, arguing that the variation in food/clothing makes the compensation inherently unknown, whereas wages must be known.