Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2451
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الدِّمَشْقِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَوْزَاعِيُّ، حَدَّثَنِي عَطَاءٌ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، يَقُولُ كَانَتْ لِرِجَالٍ مِنَّا فُضُولُ أَرَضِينَ يُؤَاجِرُونَهَا عَلَى الثُّلُثِ وَالرُّبُعِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ فُضُولُ أَرَضِينَ فَلْيَزْرَعْهَا أَوْ لِيُزْرِعْهَا أَخَاهُ فَإِنْ أَبَى فَلْيُمْسِكْ أَرْضَهُ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim al-Dimashqi narrated to us: al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us: al-Awzai narrated to us: Ata narrated to me, saying: I heard Jabir ibn Abdullah say, “Some men among us had surplus land which they rented out for a third or a quarter of the crop.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever has surplus land should cultivate it himself or let his brother cultivate it. If he does not wish to do that, then let him keep his land.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic specifies rental for one-third or one-quarter of the crop. For the alternative arrangement it says only to let a brother cultivate the land; the English witness adds “for free,” which is not explicit in this wording.