What is the ruling on an arrangement where the land owner provides the land, seeds, and labor, and the water provider supplies the water, with the resulting crop shared between them?
Chapter on Sharecropping (Muzara'ah)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sharecropping (Musāqāh)
Primary text
There are two narrations regarding this specific arrangement involving water supply for crop sharing. The stronger opinion holds that the arrangement is invalid. This is because the premise of *muzara'ah* (sharecropping) requires one party to supply the land and the other to supply the labor or seeds. The water provider offers neither land, labor, nor seed, and since water cannot be sold or rented, a valid sharecropping agreement cannot be established based on it.
Supporting text
The second narration suggests that this arrangement is valid. This view was preferred by Abu Bakr and narrated from Ahmad by Ya'qub bin Bukhtan and Harb. The rationale is that water is a necessary component for cultivation, making it permissible for one party to supply it, similar to supplying the land or labor.