A man borrowed money from another man, but the lender stipulated that he be given a piece of agricultural land from the borrower, pledged against the amount, to be cultivated and its entire harvest or half of it taken, and the other half for the landowner until the debtor returns the money in full as he took it, and then the lender returns the land that was in his possession, or

The questioner : A man borrowed money from another man, but the lender stipulated that he be given a piece of agricultural land from the borrower, pledged against the amount, to be cultivated and its entire harvest or half of it taken, and the other half for the landowner until the debtor returns the money in full as he took it, and then the lender returns the land that was in his possession. What is the ruling of the Shari'ah in your view regarding such a conditional loan?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
I say in answer to this question that a loan is one of the contracts of kindness intended to show leniency to the borrower and do him good. It is among the matters that are sought and beloved to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because it is doing good to the servants of Allah. And Allah the Exalted said: So, for the lender, it is prescribed and recommended, and for the borrower, it is permissible and lawful. It is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) borrowed a she-camel from a man and returned one better than it. And if this contract, namely the loan, is one of the contracts of kindness and doing good, then it is not permissible to turn it into a contract of exchange and profit, namely material worldly profit, because by doing so it moves from its subject to the subject of sale and exchanges. For this reason, you will find the difference between a man saying to another, "I sold you this dinar for another dinar in one year," or "I sold you this dinar for another dinar," and then they part ways before taking possession. In both cases, the sale is forbidden and usury. But if he lends him a dinar as a loan and he repays it after a month or a year, that is permissible, even though the lender did not receive the compensation until after a year or less or more, considering the prioritization of the aspect of kindness. Based on this, if the lender stipulates a material benefit for the borrower, he has taken the loan out of its original subject, which is kindness, and it becomes forbidden. The well-known principle among the scholars of knowledge is: "Every loan that brings a benefit is usury" And on this basis, it is not permissible for the lender to stipulate that the borrower give him his land to cultivate, even if the borrower gives him a share of the crop, because that brings a benefit to the lender that takes the loan out of its original subject, which is kindness and doing good.