Whenever one of us had no need for his land, he would give it out to be cultivated in exchange for a third, a quarter, or a half of the produce, while stipulating for himself the yield of three irrigation channels, the leftover grain on the threshing floor, and whatever was watered by the spring stream. Life in those days was harsh, and the cultivator would labor on the land with iron tools and whatever else Allah willed, gaining some benefit from it.Then Rafi bin Khadij came to us and said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has forbidden you from a practice that used to benefit you, but obedience to Allah and obedience to His Messenger is more beneficial for you. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbids you from sharecropping and says, 'Whoever has no need for his land, let him grant it to his brother or leave it.'"
حدثنا محمد بن يحيى أنبأنا عبد الرزاق أنبأنا الثوري عن منصور عن مجاهد عن أسيد بن ظهير ابن أخي رافع بن خديج
كان أحدنا إذا استغنى عن أرضه أعطاها بالثلث والربع والنصف واشترط ثلاث جداول والقصارة وما يسقي الربيع وكان العيش إذ ذاك شديدا وكان يعمل فيها بالحديد وبما شاء الله ويصيب منها منفعة فأتانا رافع بن خديج فقال إن رسول الله ﷺ نهاكم عن أمر كان لكم نافعا وطاعة الله وطاعة رسوله أنفع لكم إن رسول الله ﷺ ينهاكم عن الحقل ويقول من استغنى عن أرضه فليمنحها أخاه أو ليدع