What is the ruling on leasing agricultural land?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, let us return to the matter of agriculture, please.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : There is a hadith that says:Sahih Muslim 1550a,
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Leasing land seems to have an issue. Regarding the leasing of agricultural land, could you explain to us a little what is permissible and what is not permissible?
The Shaykh : The answer, according to Ibn Abbas, is that this hadith does not carry the meaning that it was a command from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the sense of a binding obligation, but rather it was an exhortation to noble character.
The Shaykh : The issue is actually addressed from two angles. One angle we derived from Ibn Abbas, which is the answer he gave previously, is that this is not a binding command, but rather an exhortation to noble character, and this is narrated from Ibn Abbas with a sound chain.
The Shaykh : Second, this is a jurisprudential study. We, of course, benefit from those who came before us among the scholars, and we derive much of our information today from them. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated from Makkah to Madinah, many of the Muslims migrated with him from Makkah to Madinah. The people of Madinah were people of agriculture and livestock, whereas the people of Makkah were not so, because Makkah, as you know, is barren, and it is Allah (Mighty and Majestic) who provides for it.
The Shaykh : Second, the emigrants left behind their properties and their wealth, and so on.
The Shaykh : So, out of a spirit of mutual support, he (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded not to lease land, or in the wording that was transmitted, he prohibited leasing land, and he linked to this prohibition the exhortation to give land for free without rent.
The Shaykh : And this is fully in line with the brotherhood that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) established between the emigrants and the helpers. You know well that this brotherhood reached the point where one would relinquish his land, and even relinquish his second wife, saying, "Look, if you want her, divorce her and marry her," and so on.
The Shaykh : Among the emigrants was Abdullah ibn Awf. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) established a brotherhood between him and one of the helpers, and it seems his name has slipped my mind, al-Rabi' ibn so-and-so. So he offered him a share in his wealth and a share in his marriage by marrying one of his divorced wives.
The Shaykh : He said to him, "May Allah bless you in your family and your wealth. Show me the market." As you can see, the man was the wealthiest of the Companions, or at least among the wealthiest of them. In this situation, the prohibition of leasing land came. Now, the answer to your question ends here, but
The questioner : The question was, please
The Shaykh : The question was that in the hadith, this is it.
The Shaykh : Some hadiths clarify that the prohibition of leasing land was due to the poor quality of the leasing arrangements between the landowner and the tenant. Among the defects in this leasing was something resembling risk or something resembling excessive uncertainty. It came in the sound hadiths that the landowner would lease the land to whoever would farm his land, and he would designate a specific portion of the land for himself, with the rest for the tenant, and he would stipulate that... and the date palms belong to the landowner. This specification made this transaction non-compliant with the Shari'ah. Why? Because one of the parties would suffer a loss, and it is not supposed to be the tenant who suffers the loss.
The Shaykh : The lessor himself might suffer a loss, as this land might grow well and that land might not, and that would be a cause for stirring up dispute, saying, "I did not expect it to turn out this way, so what do I do for you?" So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited leasing land in this form.
The Shaykh : As for leasing for a third, or for a quarter, or for gold and silver, there is no harm in it. This is how the sound hadiths came. And due to not studying all the hadiths together, or due to looking at some without looking at others, the result of the ruling differs. So there are those, both in the past and present, who issue a ruling prohibiting the leasing of land, and they may cling to such a hadith and to some hadiths that contain an absolute prohibition of leasing. Then either they did not come across the other hadiths that provide the detail I mentioned earlier, or they did look at them but turned a blind eye to them for one reason or another. Here, the issue of desires and opinions enters, which are caused by temperament or the self, rather than being objective for the sake of correct knowledge.
The Shaykh : And unfortunately, one of the parties known today for calling for the establishment of Islamic rule or the Islamic state, which is the Tahrir Party, declares the leasing of land forbidden. And I think they say: it does not take effect; because it is not actually possible, meaning leasing land, because this means you have land, and you know now that you are leasing land for the simplest of works, such as selling watermelons or pouring blocks, for example, bricks, or or so on. All of this is not permissible according to this opinion.
The questioner : But... and all the hadiths, is the leasing intended for agriculture?
The Shaykh : Without a doubt. But they say: it is absolute. And we say: every absolute text that has been restricted must be taken as restricted.
The questioner : Subhan Allah, Shaykh, you are speaking... well, this is frankly, I am leasing it for the sake of benefit. If it is absolute, it points to the way out, meaning, since it is restricted to agriculture
The questioner : Well, could it be said, Shaykh, that agreeing on a share of the crop is fairer and better than taking a known tax, meaning, as I said, a quarter or a third, so that at least there is a yield from which he takes, so that if the crop suffers, he does not take a known tax without there being injustice to the tenant.
The Shaykh : Yes, it can be said, what?
The questioner : That it is fairer, and more just, and closer to the spirit of the Shari'ah, meaning that he takes a share of the merchant?
The Shaykh : Yes, yes. But if we rephrase the question, can it be said to be forbidden?
The questioner : No, as I said, you have some...
The Shaykh : Yes, we are done, heh.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : There is a hadith that says:
It is better if a person lends, his land to his brother (for cultivation) than that he gets recognised rent on it.
لأن يمنح الرجل أخاه أرضه خيرٌ له من أن يأخذ عليها خراجًا معلومًاThe Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Leasing land seems to have an issue. Regarding the leasing of agricultural land, could you explain to us a little what is permissible and what is not permissible?
The Shaykh : The answer, according to Ibn Abbas, is that this hadith does not carry the meaning that it was a command from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the sense of a binding obligation, but rather it was an exhortation to noble character.
The Shaykh : The issue is actually addressed from two angles. One angle we derived from Ibn Abbas, which is the answer he gave previously, is that this is not a binding command, but rather an exhortation to noble character, and this is narrated from Ibn Abbas with a sound chain.
The Shaykh : Second, this is a jurisprudential study. We, of course, benefit from those who came before us among the scholars, and we derive much of our information today from them. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated from Makkah to Madinah, many of the Muslims migrated with him from Makkah to Madinah. The people of Madinah were people of agriculture and livestock, whereas the people of Makkah were not so, because Makkah, as you know, is barren, and it is Allah (Mighty and Majestic) who provides for it.
The Shaykh : Second, the emigrants left behind their properties and their wealth, and so on.
The Shaykh : So, out of a spirit of mutual support, he (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded not to lease land, or in the wording that was transmitted, he prohibited leasing land, and he linked to this prohibition the exhortation to give land for free without rent.
The Shaykh : And this is fully in line with the brotherhood that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) established between the emigrants and the helpers. You know well that this brotherhood reached the point where one would relinquish his land, and even relinquish his second wife, saying, "Look, if you want her, divorce her and marry her," and so on.
The Shaykh : Among the emigrants was Abdullah ibn Awf. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) established a brotherhood between him and one of the helpers, and it seems his name has slipped my mind, al-Rabi' ibn so-and-so. So he offered him a share in his wealth and a share in his marriage by marrying one of his divorced wives.
The Shaykh : He said to him, "May Allah bless you in your family and your wealth. Show me the market." As you can see, the man was the wealthiest of the Companions, or at least among the wealthiest of them. In this situation, the prohibition of leasing land came. Now, the answer to your question ends here, but
The questioner : The question was, please
The Shaykh : The question was that in the hadith
For one of you to give his brother his land is better for him
لأن يمنح أحدكم أرضه أخاه خيرٌ لهThe Shaykh : Some hadiths clarify that the prohibition of leasing land was due to the poor quality of the leasing arrangements between the landowner and the tenant. Among the defects in this leasing was something resembling risk or something resembling excessive uncertainty. It came in the sound hadiths that the landowner would lease the land to whoever would farm his land, and he would designate a specific portion of the land for himself, with the rest for the tenant, and he would stipulate that... and the date palms belong to the landowner. This specification made this transaction non-compliant with the Shari'ah. Why? Because one of the parties would suffer a loss, and it is not supposed to be the tenant who suffers the loss.
The Shaykh : The lessor himself might suffer a loss, as this land might grow well and that land might not, and that would be a cause for stirring up dispute, saying, "I did not expect it to turn out this way, so what do I do for you?" So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited leasing land in this form.
The Shaykh : As for leasing for a third, or for a quarter, or for gold and silver, there is no harm in it. This is how the sound hadiths came. And due to not studying all the hadiths together, or due to looking at some without looking at others, the result of the ruling differs. So there are those, both in the past and present, who issue a ruling prohibiting the leasing of land, and they may cling to such a hadith and to some hadiths that contain an absolute prohibition of leasing. Then either they did not come across the other hadiths that provide the detail I mentioned earlier, or they did look at them but turned a blind eye to them for one reason or another. Here, the issue of desires and opinions enters, which are caused by temperament or the self, rather than being objective for the sake of correct knowledge.
The Shaykh : And unfortunately, one of the parties known today for calling for the establishment of Islamic rule or the Islamic state, which is the Tahrir Party, declares the leasing of land forbidden. And I think they say: it does not take effect; because it is not actually possible, meaning leasing land, because this means you have land, and you know now that you are leasing land for the simplest of works, such as selling watermelons or pouring blocks, for example, bricks, or or so on. All of this is not permissible according to this opinion.
The questioner : But... and all the hadiths, is the leasing intended for agriculture?
The Shaykh : Without a doubt. But they say: it is absolute. And we say: every absolute text that has been restricted must be taken as restricted.
The questioner : Subhan Allah, Shaykh, you are speaking... well, this is frankly, I am leasing it for the sake of benefit. If it is absolute, it points to the way out, meaning, since it is restricted to agriculture
The questioner : Well, could it be said, Shaykh, that agreeing on a share of the crop is fairer and better than taking a known tax, meaning, as I said, a quarter or a third, so that at least there is a yield from which he takes, so that if the crop suffers, he does not take a known tax without there being injustice to the tenant.
The Shaykh : Yes, it can be said, what?
The questioner : That it is fairer, and more just, and closer to the spirit of the Shari'ah, meaning that he takes a share of the merchant?
The Shaykh : Yes, yes. But if we rephrase the question, can it be said to be forbidden?
The questioner : No, as I said, you have some...
The Shaykh : Yes, we are done, heh.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.