What is the status and compensation for work performed under a contract stipulating a period too short for the fruit to ripen?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Sharecropping (Musāqāh)
Primary text
If the stipulated term is too short for the fruit to mature, the contract is invalid (*fāsid*). If the fruit appears but is incomplete, the worker is entitled to the fair wage for the work done, according to the sounder of two views, because the worker only agreed to work in exchange for compensation (a share of the fruit), and since the specific compensation cannot be delivered, a substitute payment is due, similar to a voided lease (*Ijārah*).
Supporting text
In another view regarding the voided contract where fruit appears but is not mature, the worker receives nothing because he consented to work without compensation, rendering him like a volunteer. If the fruit does not appear at all in this short period, the sounder view is that the worker receives nothing, as he agreed to work without compensation.