The Contract of Sharecropping

Question: There is an orchard planted with date palms. The owner of the orchard owns the land, and there is a farmer who plants the palms and waters them. The landowner and the farmer agreed that when the palms bear fruit, he would give him one-third of the dates and firewood in exchange for his planting and watering. However, for more than twenty-five years, this orchard has not been watered. Does the farmer deserve to take one-third of the dates and firewood?

Answer: The contract of sharecropping is based on what the two parties agreed upon: the owner of the trees and the owner of the labor.
The laborer is entitled to a share of the produce according to the amount of the stipulated work he performs. As long as a period has passed during which he did not perform the work stipulated for him and did not water these palms, he is not entitled to any part of their produce, because he did not fulfill the condition of watering them that was stipulated. Muslims are bound by their conditions, so it is not permissible for him to take any part of their produce unless he is watering them and fulfilling the condition of the contract that he agreed upon with the owner. If he waters some of it and leaves the rest, he is entitled to a share according to the amount of work he performs. And Allah the Exalted knows best.