Is it valid to rent agricultural land for an unspecified share of its future yield (e.g., half or a third)?

Chapter on Sharecropping (Muzara'ah)

Al-Mughni

Book of Sharecropping (Musāqāh)

Book 24 · Issue 4 · Bab 2

Open in Qurani

Primary text

The established position from Ahmad is that this is not valid. This is also the opinion of the majority of the companions (Ashab). The reasoning is that the hadiths prohibiting renting for a share have no counter-evidence. Furthermore, it is a lease contract with an unknown consideration, thus invalid, similar to leasing it for a third of the yield of another piece of land. It is also leasing a tangible asset for some of its future growth, which is invalid like other assets, and there is no explicit text permitting it.

Supporting text

Abu al-Khattab chose the invalidity of this contract, aligning with Abu Hanifah and al-Shafi'i, asserting it is the correct view due to the un-countered prohibition narrations. If Ahmad's text suggesting permissibility is cited, it must be interpreted as a sharecropping contract using the wording of a lease, making its ruling equivalent to sharecropping.