Hadith 17366

Yahya said that Malik said, "The best of what has been heardabout a sharecropper stipulating on the owner of the property theinclusion of some slave workers, is that there is no harm in that ifthey are workers that come with the property. They are like theproperty. There is no profit in them for the share-cropper except tolighten some of his burden. If they did not come with the property,his toil would be harder. It is like share-cropping land with a springor land with a watering trough. You will not find anyone who receivesthe same share for share-cropping two lands which are equal inproperty and yield, when one property has a constant plentiful springand the other has a watering trough, because of the lightness ofworking land with a spring, and the hardship of working land with awatering trough."Malik added, "That is what is done in ourcommunity."Malik said, "A share-cropper cannot employworkers from the property in other work, and he cannot make that astipulation with the one who gives him the share-cropping contract.Nor is it permitted to one who share-crops to stipulate on the ownerof the property inclusion of slaves for use in the garden who are notin it when he makes the share-cropping contract.""Nor mustthe owner of the property stipulate on the one who uses his propertyfor share-cropping that he take any of the slaves of the property andremove him from the property. The share-cropping of property is basedon the state which it is currently in.""If the owner of theproperty wants to remove one of the slaves of the property, he removeshim before the share-cropping, or if he wants to put someone into theproperty, he does it before the share-cropping. Then he grants theshare-cropping contract after that if he wishes. If any of the slavesdie or go off or become ill, the owner of the property must replacethem."