Validity of a lease agreement where the landlord claims half the land for half the tenant's seed, the tenant's benefit, and the tenant's cattle/tools as rent.
Chapter on Sharecropping (Muzara'ah)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sharecropping (Musāqāh)
Primary text
The agreement is invalid because the benefit (manfa'ah) is not specified with certainty. If the tenant then sows all the seed, the resulting crop belongs entirely to the tenant, and the tenant owes the landowner the standard rental fee (*ujrat al-mithl*) for the land. However, if the benefit can be quantified and defined without dispute, and the seed amount is known, the contract is valid, and the resulting crop is shared between the parties.
Supporting text
An alternative view suggests that even if the benefit is measurable, the contract is invalid because the seed is considered a compensation (*'iwad*), requiring immediate possession (*qabd*) similar to a sale, which is not fully achieved here.